NOFA-VT Winter Conference

The Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT) held its 28th annual Winter Conference on Feb. 13-15 at UVM.

The keynote speaker on Saturday was LaDonna Redmond of the Institute for Community Resource Development in Chicago (more info: Rodale, Time). She spoke about a food system with S.O.U.L - Sustainable, Organic, Urban and Local.

Also speaking on Saturday were Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Patrick Leahy, Congressman Peter Welch and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack (see this post).

The keynote speaker on Sunday was Jack Lazor of Butterworks Farm in Westfield. He talked about his 35 years on the farm, which produces organic milk, yogurt, grains, beans and sunflowers.

Yankee Farm Credit had a table in the vendors area on Saturday and Sunday, variously staffed by Ken Button, Tina Guerrero, Chuck Custeau, Pam Simek and Kristi Quesnel.

Richard Wiswall of Cate Farm in Plainfield presented a workshop on Monday about improving profitability on organic farms. He has written an excellent book on this subject: The Organic Farmer's Business Handbook: A Complete Guide to Managing Finances, Crops and Staff - and Making a Profit. Lisa Young, a Records and Tax Specialist in the Williston office, and I attended this workshop.

About 1200 people attended the conference on Saturday and about 800 on Sunday.

Secretary Vilsack in Vermont

On Saturday, February 13, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack visited Vermont. He was the first Secretary of Agriculture to visit Vermont in 20 years, and only the third in history. His visit was hosted by Senators Bernie Sanders and Patrick Leahy. Congressman Peter Welch and Vermont Secretary of Agriculture Roger Allbee also accompanied the Secretary throughout the day.

Secretary Vilsack's first public meeting was a Dairy Town Meeting at the Hilton Hotel in Burlington. Mike Farmer, Yankee's Vice President in the St. Albans office, attended and reported that the room was full with over 200 people in attendance and full media coverage. After opening comments by the public officials, there were questions from the audience. Bob Foster of Foster Brothers Farm in Middlebury presented a statement from the Vermont dairy industry.

The Secretary's next visit was the NOFA-VT Winter Conference at UVM (see this post). I attended this meeting, which was held in Ira Allen Chapel. There was standing room only. Will Stevens of Golden Russet Farm in Shoreham moderated the session. Secretary Vilsack spoke about the USDA's commitment to organic and local agriculture. He discussed the 2008 Organic Survey released earlier this month, noting that there were nearly 500 organic farms in Vermont with total sales of $73 million.

Secretary Vilsack also visited the St. Albans Co-op annual meeting. Shantel Thomas, Yankee's Crop Insurance Specialist in the St. Albans office, attended this meeting. She reported that the Secretary acknowledged the difficult dairy economy and that he also spoke about USDA efforts to improve the nutritional value of school lunches with more dairy products, and the challenge of getting more young people interested in agriculture.

News articles about Secretary Vilsack's visit to Vermont:
WCAX - 2/13/10
Burlington Free Press - 2/14/10

Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year is February 14 this year. This is the biggest holiday of the year for about one quarter of the world's population. Click here for more information about Chinese New Year traditions and celebrations.

Each Chinese year is named for one of 12 animals. This will be the Year of the Tiger, the 3rd of the 12 animals. According to one legend, the Emperor asked all the animals to a race. Only 12 animals showed up. The tiger finished 3rd (behind the rat and the ox). Click here for more information about the Chinese Zodiac.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

Maple Conferences

The 2010 Vermont Maple Conferences were held Jan. 16 in Middlebury, Jan. 23 in Hyde Park, and Jan. 30 in Bellows Falls. Yankee staff was in attendance at each event with a display. Ken Button, Senior Vice President, attended the Middlebury conference and presented a class on “Financing Maple Operations” in conjunction with David Girard from FSA. Tom St. Pierre, Loan Officer, attended the Hyde Park conference and Chris Bessette, Senior Loan Officer, attended the Bellow Falls conference. Attendance at each location varied from 200 to 350 people.

These are educational conferences with attendees ranging from the beginning small to large commercial producers. The trade show exhibitors displayed the latest in information and technology. Pictured below are Ben Wilcox from D & G USA in Georgia, VT (left) and Randy Gaudette from Leader Evaporator in Swanton, VT (right).

NH Farm and Forest Exposition

The New Hampshire Farm and Forest Exposition was held at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, NH on February 5 & 6, 2010. Billed as “New Hampshire’s Greatest Winter Fair,” this two day event featured a trade show, educational sessions, meetings and awards ceremony and reception. Over 70 exhibitors filled the trade show area and Yankee Farm Credit, ACA, staffed a booth with Farm Credit East (pictured at right is Dan Lynch from Farm Credit East). Jean Conklin, Loan Officer and Tax Specialist, and Ken Nelson, Senior Loan Officer from the White River Junction, VT office represented Yankee. Attendance by farmers and consumers was high due to the good weather.

Politicians were well represented at this annual event and, accompanied by NH Commissioner of Agriculture, Markets and Foods, Lorraine Merrill (right), they made the rounds of the exhibits. Governor John Lynch, Senator Jeanne Shaheen (left), Representative Charlie Bass as well as numerous local representatives, senators and members of the Executive Council were in attendance.

Keep Local Farms Update

The following update on the Keep Local Farms initiative was received today from Diane Bothfeld, Deputy Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets:

Hello All,

Hope winter is treating you well. This update is for the Keep Local Farms Program.

The program has been up and running since September 12 and is really starting to take off. Two colleges are on board – UVM began Nov 16 and Harvard began Oct 19 – where $0.10/single serve milk purchased goes to the Keep Local Farms fund that will be distributed to dairy farmers.

The website is up and running at KeepLocalFarms.org and we are seeing increased traffic. The site is educational and the pages getting the most hits are Farmer Profiles and Day on the Farm!! Also contributions have come through the website. If you are a dairy farmer and want to have your profile listed – please contact me.

On January 14, 2010 the Keep Local Farms program launched with Hannaford’s Supermarkets. In January, Hannaford supported an information phase – directing shoppers that purchasing local milk helps local farms and that consumers should go to the KeepLocalFarms.org web site to learn more about local farms and how they could take part in the Keep Local Farms program.

In February, Hannaford’s is supporting the Keep Local Farms program through a contribution phase at the register – shoppers can contribute $2 or $5 toward the Keep Local Farms program to build a fund to make a meaningful payment to dairy farmers.

The partners working on the Keep Local Farms program – New England Family Dairy Farms Cooperative, New England Dairy Promotion and the Vermont Dairy Promotion Council – are working on adding more colleges to the program, increasing membership in the Cooperative and working with consumers to raise awareness about the Keep Local Farms program throughout New England. Each of these partners is governed by dairy farmers from the New England States.

I encourage you all to take a look at the website, view the promotional materials if visiting one of the participating colleges, and visit your local Hannaford store to view the materials promoting the Keep Local Farms program. Hannaford has stores in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and New York.

If you have questions about this program, feel free to contact me!

Diane Bothfeld
Deputy Secretary

Thanks for the update, Diane!

2010 Vermont Farm Show

The 2010 Vermont Farm Show was held January 26 - 28, 2010 at the Barre Civic Center in Barre, VT. During the three day period many loan officers represented Yankee Farm Credit at our booth. Our crop insurance agent, Shantel Thomas was also on hand at various times through out the three day event.

Yankee congratulates the winners in the various categories from the Dairy banquet on January 28, 2010. Governor Jim Douglas was on hand to speak to the crowd, hand out awards, and have lunch with the farmers.

John C. Finley Award – Wanda Emrick
Vermont Farm of the Year – The Richardson Family in Hartland, VT

Highest Quality Milk Awards

Highest Quality Milk and Best Somatic Cell – North Hardwick Dairy, Hardwick, VT
1st Runner up for HQM and Best Pasteurized Milk (tie) – Richardson Family, Hartland, VT
2nd Runner up for HQM and Best Standard Plate Count – Jasper Hill Farm, Greensboro, VT
3rd Runner up for HQM (tie) and Best PI Count – Dale & Alma Briggs, Addison, VT
3rd Runner up for HQM (tie) – Davis & Tina Houde, St. Johnsbury, VT
Best Flavor and Best Pasteurized Milk (tie) – Andersonville Dairy, Glover, VT

Dairy Farmer Appreciation Day

We would like to thank Jay Peak Resort, in Jay, VT for hosting the 2010 Dairy Farmer Appreciation Day on Friday 1/29/10. Despite a temperature of 5 below and high winds which impacted some lift performance, there were still several people that turned out for this wonderful event. At left, Hans, Dan and Anna Laggis from Laggis Brothers Dairy in Hardwick, VT take a break from the cold. Rob Guay, Appraiser Trainee from the Chazy office; and Ken Buzzell, Senior Vice President of the Newport office, attended the event and donated a few door prizes. This was the 22nd anniversary of this incredible event which gives busy Vermont dairy farmers a chance to play on the mountain. Each Vermont dairy farm has the opportunity to take advantage of discounted rental equipment, free lessons and up to three complimentary lift passes. An après-ski party is held following the day on the slopes and fun events are held throughout the day. If you missed it this year, mark you calendars for next January! It is a great chance to enjoy what the Vermont winter has to offer. For more information please check out the Jay Peak website.

UNH Organic Producers Workshop

Yankee’s Crop Insurance Specialist Shantel Thomas attended the Organic Producers Workshop at Stonewall farm in Keene NH on January 26, 2010. The focus was on Marketing, Farm Infrastructure and Disease Management. The workshop was sponsored by UNH Cooperative Extension, NHDAMF, RMA and NOFA. It was a day long workshop and the following presenters were there:

Andy Jones, Intervale Community Farm, Burlington, VT
David Trumble, Good Earth Farm, Weare, NH
Shantel Thomas, Crop Growers LLP & Yankee Farm Credit
Bill Lord, UNH Cooperative Extension
Sherry Harris, Farm Service Agency
Brandon Smith, NRCS
Cheryl Smith, UNH Cooperative Extension

Tax Tips Newsletter

Our January issue of Tax Tips newsletter was mailed last month. This newsletter is sent to current tax and records clients, if you would like to be added to the mailing list for future editions please contact your local office. We anticipate sending this out quarterly. Below is an excerpt from the newsletter, to read the whole thing click here.

2009 Changes to be Aware Of by Jean Conklin, EA – Loan Officer/Farm Tax Specialist

Lump-Sum Timber Sales Now Require Issuance of Information Return Form 1099-S
The IRS has announced the finalization of amendments to the Income Tax Regulations under section 6045(e) of the Internal Revenue Code. These amendments provide that sales or exchanges of standing timber for lump-sum payments are “reportable real estate” transactions. The lump sum sales or exchanges should be reported using Form 1099-S, Proceeds from Real Estate Transactions. The amendments apply to sales completed after May 28, 2009. This change is in addition to the previously existing requirement for reporting of pay-as-cut timber sales using Form 1099-S.
Form 1099-S, Copy B, must be furnished to the timber seller by January 31st of the year after payment is made. Copy A is filed with the IRS by February 28th using a Form 1096. Completion of the form for each purchase requires the buyer to obtain the seller’s taxpayer identification number (TIN). This may be requested by using Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number.

For further assistance, please feel free to call a Financial Services Representative at your local office.