Vermont Dairy Farm Emergency Biosecurity Plans & Maps Delivered

An overhead view map of a dairy farm with barns and other structures. Lines on the map show where animals need to be protected from a foreign animal disease introduction.
A Vermont dairy farm mapped for emergency biosecurity planning.

During the summer of 2023, UVM Animal and Veterinary Sciences Research Professor Julie Smith, along with two veterinary student interns, embarked on a project that took them to eight dairy farms across Vermont. Their goal was to help farmers prepare emergency biosecurity plans and maps, in order to respond to a possible foreign animal disease outbreak such as foot-and-mouth disease. Continue reading “Vermont Dairy Farm Emergency Biosecurity Plans & Maps Delivered”

Slipstream Farm: Extension Farm Viability Producer Highlight

Two men are standing in a barn next to a farm cart with three species of mushrooms growing in it.
Slipstream Farm Owner Jon Deloge talking mushrooms with UVM Extension Farm and Forest Business Educator Jeremy Russo. Photo credit: Dana Ruppert.

Jon Deloge and Lizzie Devane started Slipstream Farm in Newfane, VT in 2021, to grow and sell fresh mushrooms at farmer’s markets and to specialty markets and restaurants. They currently grow five varieties of fresh mushrooms and also produce mushroom-based tinctures. Their goal is to expand their business operations and increase production and sales by 50 to 75 percent, and they are also exploring the production and sale of compost using the nutrient-dense by-products of their mushroom cultivation process. Continue reading “Slipstream Farm: Extension Farm Viability Producer Highlight”

Extension Farm Viability Peer-to-Peer Meets at Pigasus Farm

A group of about 10 people are visiting a farm field where a herd of pigs is grazing, on a sunny, summer day.
Photo credit: Dana Ruppert

The UVM Extension Farm Viability Program’s Farmer Peer-to-Peer (FPtP) Discussion Group met during August at Pigasus farm in South Hero, VT. The FPtP is a group of farming peers which meets monthly over the course of a year, to tour and learn from participants varied farming operations, share challenges and opportunities, and hone business management skills. Continue reading “Extension Farm Viability Peer-to-Peer Meets at Pigasus Farm”