FarmStart - Brandon Bucossi

Yankee recently made its second FarmStart investment to Brandon Bucossi of Randolph, VT:

(Photo from The Herald of Randolph, July 21, 2011 issue.)

Brandon, age 21, runs Cer-Krit Jerseys, a 60 cow dairy farm. He grew up in southern Vermont and was not involved in agriculture until he was a young teenager when he began helping a neighbor with haying and eventually took an interest in raising beef animals.

After high school he chose to go to Vermont Technical College to study Dairy Herd Management and graduated with his associate’s degree in 2009. After a year of working for other farmers, Brandon decided in May of 2010 to start farming on his own. He purchased 60 cows and found a farm in Randolph to rent. After a year of high culling he was faced with heading into the fall with lower cow numbers, making his operation less efficient. For this reason he turned to FarmStart and applied for an investment to purchase replacements.

Brandon is the type of business owner that FarmStart was designed for: skilled, young entrepreneurs that show promise of success. We look forward to working with Brandon in helping his business succeed so that he may have a strong future in Vermont’s dairy industry.

Brandon's FarmStart Advisor is Morgan Greenwood Rilling, a loan officer in the White River Jct. office.

FarmStart - Gleason/O'Rourke

Steven Gleason and his partner Michelle O’Rourke were Yankee Farm Credit’s first FarmStart investment.

In May Steven and Michelle started Gleason's Custom Spreading and Hauling in Derby, VT. With the help from a FarmStart investment they were able to purchase a truck with a sliding manure tank spreader, a forage box, and ag flotation tires.

Steven, age 23, has spent his life working around agriculture. He grew up on his parent’s organic dairy farm and still helps out whenever he can. He has spent the last several years working for a custom hire operation and a local maple sugaring operation. His hands-on experience makes him a great investment for the FarmStart program.

Steven runs the day-to-day activities of the business. Michelle assists him with managing his accounts, as well as working part-time and caring for their young son.

The FarmStart Advisor for Steven and Michelle is Kelly Richardson, a loan officer in the Newport office. In addition to being a financial advisor, Kelly helped Steven and Michelle consider an appropriate business structure for their enterprise.

Vermont Farm Disaster Relief Fund

The Vermont Farm Disaster Relief Fund was created by the Vermont Community Foundation (news release) and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture (news release) to help farmers affected by Tropical Storm Irene. Thanks to generous donors there is currently over $1 million available. Quick grants of up to $10,000 are available immediately. The deadline for applications is Friday, September 30. Applications are available here.

Vermont Ag Hall of Fame

Four individuals were inducted into the Vermont Agricultural Hall of Fame on August 31st at the Champlain Valley Exposition:

Robert E. Graf (deceased)
Frederick H. Webster
Ed Eurich (deceased)
Kenley Squier

Congratulations to the 2011 inductees to the Vermont Agricultural Hall of Fame!

(Click on image to enlarge.)

This was the 9th induction ceremony. Here is the program from the ceremony, which lists all of the past winners: