vermont

By Diane Wyatt, founder of Green Mountain Yogurt When we first got Clover, she was barely 5 days old.  She fit nicely in the back of our minivan, looking bony and frail and in my uneducated opinion, rather small for a baby cow considering her mother had to weigh close to 1000lbs. She was awfully cute though and I couldn't help but feel pride welling up inside of me as I realized I was to become the proud mother of this needy little thing who was anxiously trying to get its next meal by sucking on my fingers.   I paid the Jersey farmer $100 while taking mental notes on what he told me she required for feed, care, housing, etc. At least I had the housing part figured out since I...

Thanksgiving is a day to soak up familiar aromas and favorite flavors. There's no need to stick to tradition the day after though, and no one wants to spend too much time in the kitchen. With a fridgeful of leftovers and some hot sauce on hand, you can whip up some very tasty meals in no time at all. Check out four of our favorite day-after picks. BUTTERNUT SQUASH, SAGE & CHEDDAR GRATIN from Julie Rubaud, Red Wagon Plants in Hinesburg, Vermont This is a hearty dish and only needs a green salad to round out the meal. It’s great for potlucks and any other time you want to feed a crowd. 1 tablespoon butter1 medium onion, coarsely chopped¼ cup finely chopped fresh sage1 clove...

NAME: Jeremy Gildrien FARM: Gildrien Farm AGE: 34 Can you provide some brief background information about your farm? In your opinion, what makes it special or unique? I believe in quality over quantity, so my farm is small - just a few acres - and I focus on producing the highest-quality food that I can. I also try to push the boundaries of what we can grow here in Vermont without resorting to lots of fossil fuel - for instance, we have a solar-heated bed in the greenhouse where we grow ginger. Fresh baby ginger is a real treat! Why do you believe farming is important, particularly for the younger generation, and why did you decide to become a farmer?  I'm a farmer because I love food...

For a chance to win a copy of The Town that Food Saved, just log on to FarmPlate and review your favorite food businesses. We'll enter your name in our drawing once for every review you write. More reviews equals more chances to win! The Town That Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food... This is a mouthful of a title, one that puts forth quite a few interesting ideas. The Town the Food Saved conjures up images of a supercarrot defending a small rural town from a giant can of pesticide. The imagination can run wild with that phrase. “How one community found vitality in local food” is equally intriguing on a more intellectual level. How did they do it? What is...

On July 17, 2012, Three Revolutions launched the world's first crowdfunding platform dedicated to farm and food ventures! Here's how the platform works: Farmers, food processors, and food-associated businesses, artists and artisans, communities building gardens, brewers, abattoirs, activists, food hubs, and many others can share their story and funding needs on the 3R platform. Backers can fund these ventures with as little as $10 or as much as several thousand. The farmer or food entrepreneur responds with the tempting promise of a monthly shipment of cheese over the coming year, an open tab at the local brewpub, a half-priced CSA or perhaps an overnight stay at their farm. 3R takes a cut...

Thanks to author and speaker Ben Hewitt, the small, rural town of Hardwick, Vermont, is now affectionately known far and wide as "the town that food saved," or to some, as the "Silicon Valley of local food." Ben's book, The Town That Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food, published by Rodale Books in 2010, tells the story of Hardwick's revitalization. Not long ago, the town struggled financially, but it has since reinvented itself through a dynamic local food economy. Be sure to read more about the book on Ben's website and pick up a copy of it at a locally owned bookstore near you.  As a member of the Upper Valley Food Co-op board of directors, I had...

This past Sunday, April 15th, Kaitlin and I had the pleasure of attending the annual Flavors of the Valley event hosted by a local organization called Vital Communities. The event took place at Hartford High School in Hartford, Vermont, filling their gymnasium with over 40 farms, food artisans, restaurants and organizations from across the Upper Valley (a region that spans a small section of both Vermont and New Hampshire, where the FarmPlate headquarters are located). The importance of the local food movement to the area was evident and the hosts did a great job of integrating sustainable event practices. For example, they encouraged people to bring their own plates and utensils in...