NOFA Vermont's 27th Annual Winter Conference was held Feb. 14-15 at Vermont Technical College in Randoph. As usual, it was well attended. The theme of the conference was "Grow it Here! Innovations Toward Local Food Sovereignty."
The keynote speaker on Saturday was Andrew Meyer of Hardwick, who talked about "The Hardwick Agricultural Revolution." Several new agricultural developments have occurred in recent years, or are underway, in Hardwick and surrounding communities. Andrew talked about: The Center for an Agricultural Economy, Highfields Institute, High Mowing Seeds, Pete's Greens, North Hardwick Dairy, Vermont Soy, Jasper Hill Farm, Vermont Food Venture Center (moving from Fairfax to Hardwick in 2009), Bonnieview Farm, Vermont Natural Coatings, Claire's Restaurant and the Buffalo Mountain Food Co-op.
This New York Times article from last October summarizes these developments in Hardwick.
Andrew talked about the importance of local food sovereignty, and also the importance of exporting food to urban areas to bring money back to the rural economy.
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