Agrimark Regional Meeting

Ken Buzzell, Senior Vice President of the Newport office, attended the Agrimark Region 12 regional meeting held at the Applecheek Farm in Hyde Park Vermont. Items of discussion were: why the price of milk fell so low in 2009, Agrimark's Operations and Financial Reports and a presentation on what Cabot was doing to promote its products. Quality awards were presented. Dr. Julie Smith from UVM talked about bio-security.

VT Small Business Development Center

Ken Buzzell, Senior Vice President of the Newport office, recently participated in a lender forum at the Center for an Agricultural Economy in Hardwick. The class in business planning was offered by the Vermont Small Business Development Center (VtSBDC) and was held on October 14th. About ten people attended, in addition to staff from VtSBDC and lenders. Sarah Isham from VACC, Sam Buckley from the Vermont Community Loan Fund and Megan Dubois from FSA also participated, in addition to Ken. Each spoke about programs offered by their respective companies or agencies with emphasis on what they were, what type of loans they handled and eligibility. A question and answer session followed.

NE Regional Dairy Challenge

Yankee was well represented recently at the Northeast Regional Dairy Challenge. Loan Officer and Farm Tax Specialist Jean Conklin from our White River Junction branch reports the following:

I served as a judge at the Northeast Regional Dairy Challenge held November 5-7 in Glens Falls, NY. Hosted by SUNY Cobleskill, the Dairy Challenge provided the opportunity for about 120 students from 13 colleges, including 2 in Canada, to visit and evaluate one of 3 host farms in Saratoga County. In teams of 5 they made a presentation to a panel of 5 judges who represented all aspects of the dairy industry. I served as lead judge on a judges team which included Kurt Ruppell from Cargill, Dr. Tim Synder from Renaissance Nutrition, Bob Seglowski, DVM, a vet from southwest Vermont and Glenn Taylor a dairy producer from Cassville, NY. Dr. Charlie Sniffen, a Yankee director, also served as a volunteer judge on another team. The Dairy Challenge is sponsored by the dairy industry. The Farm Credit System, including Yankee Farm Credit, is a big supporter. NH and Vermont were well represented with students from UVM, UNH and VTC attending.

The Northeast Regional Dairy Challenge allows students to prepare for the National Dairy Challenge which will be held in Visalia, California in April 2010. This link is to a local newspaper article which provided coverage of the event. For more information please visit dairychallenge.org.

Jean Conklin also serves on the NAIDC Board of Directors.

NEK Dairy Farmer Meeting

The next meeting of the NEK Dairy Farmers will be on November 24th from 11am to 2pm at Gladstone's Newmont Farm in Bradford, VT. For more information contact Kelly Langmaid, Yankee Farm Credit, phone 802-334-8050.

On Thursday, December 3rd the Vermont Agency of Agriculture is putting on a meeting titled Batter on Deck, Are You Warming Up? It is a farm business transfer planning meeting. The discussion will be led by Rick Hermonot of First Pioneer Farm Credit. The program will begin with pizza at 12:30, followed by discussion and presentation from 1pm to 3pm. The meeting will be held in the Poulin Grain conference room in Newport. Attendance is free - don't miss this opportunity! Please RSVP by December 1st. For more information or to sign up contact Louise Waterman, VT Agency of Agriculture, phone 802-828-6900.

Bill Gates on Agriculture

Bill Gates recently gave his first major address on agriculture. He spoke at the World Food Prize Symposium in Iowa last month. The World Food Prize was the vision of Dr. Norman Borlaug.

Bill Gates praised the legacy of Dr. Borlaug and spoke about the need for the next Green Revolution, especially in Africa. He said that agriculture needs to embrace both sustainability and technology, including biotechnology. And he emphasized that "the next Green Revolution must be guided by small-holder farmers." He used the word "small" 21 times in his speech. And he announced grants totaling $120 million to nine institutions around the world from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (press release).

Speaking of Dr. Borlaug, Bill Gates said that "he proved that farming has the power to lift up the lives of the poor."

Click here for more information about the symposium. Here is a link to Bill Gates' speech.

Director Nominations

It's that time of year again when Yankee's Nominating Committee begins selecting director candidates for the elections in April 2010. There will be three elections, one director seat in each region. Each position is for a three year term. If you would like to be considered for nomination, please contact a member of the Nominating Committee at the numbers below or call your local branch.

Region #1 (Chittenden, Franklin, Grand Isle counties, Vt.; Essex, Clinton counties, N.Y.)
Arnold Mercy 802-326-4200
Wynn Paradee 802-524-4202
Mark Wrisley 518-963-4039

Region #2 (Caledonia, Essex, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans, Washington counties in Vt.; Coos and Grafton counties, N.H.)
Richard Hall 802-229-6342
Richard Martin 802-328-4120
Rendell Tullar 603-353-4860

Region #3 (Addison, Bennington, Rutland, Windham, Windsor counties, Vt.; Cheshire and Sullivan counties, N.H.)
David Ainsworth 802-763-8017
Paul Audy 802-388-2348
Bruce Bascom 603-835-6361

If you have any questions about the purpose or the procedures of the Nominating Committee, please contact John Peters, VP Operations at 800-639-3053.