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Vermont is well known for some aspects of its farm community: maple syrup, fine cheeses, pastoral landscapes, Morgan horses, family farms, and innovative, responsible practices.
Historic visionaries left farms that delight and teach us still. Billings Farm and Museum and Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park maintain the founders’ devotion to conservation and responsible management.
Lesser known, but no less important stories are sprinkled through current Vermont life. Bag Balm, invented by a Vermonter in 1899 to help cows heal, is still made in Lyndonville and is an important farm and family product.
The Vermont Fresh Network, a ten-year-old partnership among Vermont farmers, food producers and chefs dedicated to strengthening local markets for agriculture and creating great Vermont dining experiences.
Vermont Farms! is an association of farms dedicated to sustaining and developing the working farm landscape that characterizes Vermont, and providing education about it. Its Web site lists Vermont farms that are open to the public such as:
Adams Farm in Wilmington where the Adamses have lived and farmed since the Civil War. A maple slab in their visitor center shows the depth of tree tapping by each Adams, including the short ones made by Jill’s one armed ancestor. Today the farm integrates traditional farm activities, agricultural education, family fun and homespun (some literally) products.
Sugarbush Farm where Betsy Luce and husband Larry work the Woodstock farm she grew up on. Dairy and maple are the backbone of their operation. The Luces partner with several area landowners to work their land as well, keeping it open and productive. Thousands of visitors annually visit the farm to taste the maple syrup, see the milking parlor and find out more about the farm life.
Allenholm Orchards operated by Ray and Pam Allen in South Hero. The farm has been in the Allen family since 1870; its one of Vermont’s oldest commercial orchards. The Allens have been community leaders since the state began. Ray bakes the pies; Pam is a step on bus tour guide, and they both work the farm as lovingly as they great visitors.
On your next visit why not discover Vermont agriculture, the best of the old ways combined with inventiveness to keep agriculture strongly present.
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