Reimbursement available for organic certification costs

Vermont Agency of Food and Agricultural Markets If you paid fees to obtain USDA organic certification between October 1, 2021 and September 30, 2022, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets has funds available to reimburse you.

With funding assistance through the US Department of Agriculture, certified organic producers and processors who are newly certified or recertified are eligible for reimbursement.

Reimbursement may be up to 50% of direct certification costs. Maximum reimbursement is $500 per certification area. The four purposes are crops, livestock, wild crops and handling.

Allowable costs include application and inspection fees, organic certification costs, user fees/sales assessments, and postage.

The deadline to apply for a refund is November 1. Refunds are first come, first served.

Questions? Please contact Terry Smith at [email protected] or 802-828-5667.

Maple 100 events

Find a Maple 100 event near you

The Vermont Maple 100 is just two weeks away! Maple 100 is an annual month-long promotion that highlights hundreds of maple-inspired activities, adventures and products available in Vermont.

Events are taking place at farms, food businesses, sugar producers, restaurants, accommodation facilities and more!

You can see a color-coded list of Maple 100 participants here. You can also view a map of each event here.

Find an event near you, support a local business, and explore Vermont’s sweetest export!

Maple 100 Events: Sept. 15-Oct. 15

Tracking local VAAFM food data

Local food price reports

The Ag Agency, in partnership with the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, has a Local Food Data Tracking Program with weekly price reports for farmers who market meat, produce and eggs, as well as monthly beef prices.

Whether you’re a consumer buying meat and produce or a producer pricing your products, the program has average prices and ranges for a variety of vegetables, meats and eggs on the market. There is also an average price and range for retail and wholesale beef.

Data is from farmers markets and beef producers in Vermont. It is published on our website.

Check out this great resource here

UVM Extension Maple Business Programs

The University of Vermont has two educational series offered through the Maple Management Program.

The Fall Webinar Series runs Wednesdays from August through October at 7:00 PM ET. These free events cover topics such as succession and transition planning, financial planning and market development. You can see the descriptions here.

Fall Business Short Courses are in-depth, multi-session courses that include hands-on sessions, activities, and resources. The free courses are four weeks long and cover succession and transfer planning and business management. You can see the descriptions here.

Register for webinars and courses here

Raw Milk Class: Learn to make aged cheese

Join Rural Vermont at the Handspun Cow Education Homestead in Tunbridge for a raw milk to aged cheese making class.

The class will focus on making a hard alpine-style cheese using kefir grains for culture. Each participant can take home grains to make their own aged cheese.

The class instructor is Kalyn Campbell, a caregiver who produces and grows her own food and clothing, including all things dairy. She has more than 10 years of experience in commercial and domestic animal milking.

Class is $20-$40 per person (sliding scale). Registration required.

Class: September 18th from 1-4pm ET

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