Winter 2001

Conference A Success!
The first Vermont Celebrating Women in Agriculture Conference held on Thursday, November 2, 2000 was a success with 84 attendees from all over the state, as well as a few from Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York. This landmark event was co-sponsored by the Women's Agricultural Network(WAgN) and the Vermont Farm Bureau with assistance from a number of other agencies and organizations.

Louise Calderwood, Deputy Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Agriculture, started the day off with a warm welcome. She spoke about the balancing act of family, farm and her off the farm job as well as the struggles of being a woman in agriculture. She felt that people typically assume they have to talk to the "man" to get a decision on purchases, etc. but she and her husband make decisions about the farm and family together on an equal basis. Following her opening remarks, Louise moderated a panel presentation of three women from different areas of agriculture. Roberta Harold, the State Director of USDA Rural Development, Eleanor Jacobs, Editor of Northeast DairyBusiness and Enid Wonnacott, the Executive Director of the Northeast Organic Farming Association shared their personal experiences with the audience and spoke about how women can positively affect change in agriculture today.

The remainder of the conference was spent in workshops focusing on a variety of areas: personal and professional development, consumer trends in agriculture, policy development, diversification of a farm business, mentoring and discussion groups for women, and the International Women in Agriculture Conference that will be held in Spain in 2002. The workshops generated a lot of discussion and gave attendees an opportunity to learn more about specific areas and to network with one another throughout the day. The attendees were so involved in the workshops, many of them wished there was more time to talk about the issues that were brought up.

Deb Markowitz, Secretary of State, closed the conference on a positive note speaking about the "Difference You Make" in your community. She illustrated this point by telling a Native American tale about a young boy who could break one stick in half but couldn't break a bundle of sticks in half. Deb emphasized the need for all of us to get involved in our local and state government because as a collective group, we can make a difference and "not be broken."

Overall, the Conference was well received by the attendees and was a day filled with energy and excitement. It was amazing to see such a diverse gathering of backgrounds come together for the common cause of agriculture. These are some of the positive remarks from attendees-"Let's keep evolving this into a better event every year-a great start!" "Well-organized! A nice time for networking. Thanks!" "Good opportunity to meet others with like interests." We also received numerous suggestions for possible topics for future workshops-Finding Funding, Tractor Maintenance, Web Page Design, and Transition to Organic Farming, just to name a few. Seventy-five percent of those who turned in their evaluations would like to see a Women in Ag Conference once a year! WAgN hopes to collaborate with the Maine WAgN program and the New Hampshire Beginner Farmers Program to offer a regional conference on an annual basis. We'll keep you posted on the status of the next conference in future issues.

THANK YOU! Many thanks to the following people who made this conference possible as a presenter or a planning committee member: Pamela Ainsworth, UVM Extension; Beverly Bishop, Women's Ag Network; Diane Bothfeld, St. Albans Cooperative Creamery; Laura Brown, Purple Shutter Herbs; Tim Buskey, Vermont Farm Bureau; Louise Calderwood, Vermont Department of Ag; Jane Clifford, Farmer; Maria Dykema Erb, Women's Ag Network; Jackie Folsom, Vermont Farms! Association; Lois Frey, UVM Extension; Deb Heleba, UVM Center for Sustainable Ag; Laurie Howard, US Department of Ag-Natural Resources Conservation Service; Larisa Hulnick, Women's Small Business Program; Eleanor Jacobs, Northeast DairyBusiness; Beth Kennett, Vermont Farms! Association; Lindsey Ketchel, Vermont Department of Ag, Food and Markets; Kathy Kinter, Medicinal Herb Growers Association; Susan Kirtland, Vermont Farm Bureau; Deb Markowitz, Secretary of State's Office; Meredith Martin, Vermont Women's Business Center; Kristin Mason, Farm Service Agency; Ariel McCarthy, Women's Ag Network; Mary Peabody, Women's Ag Network; Markey Read, Career Networks; Jessie Schmidt, Northeast Organic Farming Association; Ellen Taggart, Rural Vermont; Margy Wolff, American Farm Bureau; and Enid Wonnacott, Northeast Organic Farming Association.

IN MEMORIAM
Carol Rees (1944-2000)
The Southern Vermont WAgN Discussion Group and all of Vermont agriculture suffered a tremendous loss with the death of our friend Carol Rees on December 8, 2000. Carol was born in Oklahoma in 1944, the daughter of farmers. She moved to the East to attend Bennington College where she met her husband , Joe Scanlon. Together they owned and operated Redwing Farm, an organic vegetable and flower farm in Townshend, Vermont. Carol was an incredible woman, farmer, and friend. She was thoughtful, positive, straightforward, dedicated and hard working. She had a great sense of humor and knew how to have a good time. She loved her family-Joe and her daughter, Emma; and she loved her work and her land. Farm women like Carol Rees don't happen along everyday. Our lives were made better just knowing her. We will miss her. Written by Mary Ellen Franklin

MEET SOME OF OUR FARMERS!
Each month, we profile one of our many, wonderful farmers on our WAgN web page. Here are the women we have featured in the past months:
Sabrina Milbury-Just Dancing in South Burlington
Sabrina specializes in unusual and heirloom varieties of annuals, perennials, herbs and vegetables, as well as custom container plantings. After many years of doing gardening workshops in her daughter's school, she decided she wanted to go into business for herself and took Growing Places through WAgN.

After completing Growing Places, she determined that she didn't want to start a business involving gardening and children, after all, but chose to start her own business in her back yard. Sabrina's business has grown steadily over the past few years. Her first year, she sent out 80 brochures; this year, she sent out over 250 brochures! This year she offered an opening days celebration, a container garden workshop, a tea with garden tours, and a tomato tasting.

Sabrina is a member of the Vermont Association of Professional Horticulturists, a committee member of the Vermont Flower Show and is a Master Gardener through UVM's Extension Service. Sabrina's advice for women in WAgN? "The most important thing is to listen to your heart, know who you are and how you operate the best-that way, you'll never get in trouble." For more information on Just Dancing, please call Sabrina at (802) 863-3530.

Evie Pepin-Ladybug Herbs of Vermont in Wolcott
Evie has a mail order business and she's a seller at the Burlington Farmer's Market. Her main product line consists of live plants and herbs (culinary, medicinal and ornamental); medicinal salves, lip balm, infused oils, face cream and cologne; herbal jellies and mustard; and homemade pet products.

After being a teacher and a recruiter for two vocational schools, Evie decided to start her own business in her back yard growing herbs-something that she knew she loved to do. In 1995, she received a scholarship to attend the Start Up Course through the Women's Small Business Program. Evie was so thankful for that opportunity she has remained a very active participant in WAgN. She attends and hosts discussion groups for the Greater Morrisville area and has also been a guest speaker for the marketing session of Growing Places.

Evie is continuously looking for ways to diversify her product line to make it more profitable throughout the duration of the Farmer's Market. Her final venture before the Farmer's Market ended this year was to start taking orders for holiday wreaths that are decorated with dried herbs and flowers from her own gardens. Evie is becoming quite well known around the New England area and is now serving as a consultant for Pride's Corner, a nursery in Connecticut. Evie's alter ego is Sarah, Pride's Corner's "Betty Crocker" and provides all of the care and use information for their herb tags. For more information on Ladybug Herbs of Vermont, please call Evie at (802) 888-5940.

Penny Sunn-Vermont Alpaca Company in South Stafford
Eight or nine years ago, a magazine article about alpacas being imported into the United States caught Penny's attention. She had always been interested in different types of fiber production so she decided to go into the alpaca business.

There are two main types of alpaca - the Wykaya and the Suri's. The Suri's have long dreadlock type fiber that is very lustrous. The Wikayas have a much denser fiber with a lot of crimp. Both have beautiful shiny fiber that is lightweight, spins nicely, knits easily and can be used for felting, crocheting, or weaving. Females produce about 7-8 pounds of fiber and males about 12 ½ pounds per year. The price is $2-3 per ounce for raw fiber and $5-7 per ounce for spun fiber; handspun fiber is sold for even more.

Penny wrote a business plan, took out some loans, and used some of her savings to start her business. She started with six alpacas and began to sell the fiber and the off-spring. Over the years, Penny has continued to add to her herd and has become an excellent resource for others who want to start their own alpaca farms. She provides financing for those who want to get into the business of raising alpacas and will offer support and advice to these new owners. She is very active in the Alpaca Association and finds that the breeders provide excellent support to one another even though this is a competitive business. For more information on the Vermont Alpaca Company, please call Penny at (802) 765-9639.

Diane Heffernan-Pine Tree Farms in Bristol
Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Diane came to Vermont through the Vermont Farm Volunteer Program. She ended up settling down in Bristol on the farm where she and her husband first met. Diane's gardening business started as a truck garden where they grew produce and delivered to area grocery stores. Eventually, the truck garden was discontinued but in between Diane's nursing career and raising her family, she started a greenhouse business.

Over time, she realized if she was going to do this business on a larger scale, she would have to hire help and not rely on volunteers, friends and family. The time finally came for Diane to quit her nursing job and garden full-time. Diane has expanded the number of greenhouses on her property and sells a wide variety of perennials and annuals as well as fresh tomatoes and sweet corn.

Diane's advice for WAgN participants is to get involved and be active in organizations related to their businesses. Her involvement in WAgN and the Vermont Professional Horticulturists has been invaluable to her. She's made improvements in her business because of what she's learned from these two organizations and established a wide network of contacts she can call upon when she needs help. For more information on Pine Tree Farms, please call Diane at (802) 453-2587.

For this month's interview, please go to www.uvm.edu/~wagn and click on Spotlight On A Farmer and for the complete version of past interviews click on Archives.

NEW ENGLAND WAgN NEWS
Maine is Networking
By Stephanie Gilbert
October through early December were "wicked busy" for the Maine Women's Agricultural Network. We increased outreach; piggy-backing two monthly meetings with business and agricultural events, in Presque Isle and Bar Harbor; got 3 newsletters out, assembled the WAgN display and attended three different conferences - two in Maine, one in Albany, NY, and wrote grants, grants, grants. Please cross your fingers that it all pays off!

In November, WAgN member Marcia Gartley, spoke for the Aroostook County Status of Women Project brown-bag luncheon series. Attendees included Presque Isle High School's Future Farmers of America, Extension Educators, WAgN members and many newcomers. Marcia said, "...everyone attending asked wonderful questions that quickly illustrated how the network is useful. One woman hoped that the network would help her find a local source for lanolin. Another asked for a list of local producers so that she could be more conscious about buying locally grown foods."

Member Kate Simonds-Cook was joined by two experienced farmers and two beginner farmers at WAgN's workshop in November at MOFGA's Farmer-to-Farmer Conference in Bar Harbor. Kate helped us all address, "Women in Agriculture: Growing our Future," by considering some of the ways we can, and do, create "safety nets" for ourselves, our families and our local communities. The group felt that women - as mothers, daughters, farmers, leaders and business owners- are key to the future of agriculture in New England.

Fourteen members gathered at Uncas Farms, a 180-acre farm and beautiful farm store in Whitefield, Maine, for our December meeting. We discussed transitions - on our farms and in our lives - and found that time management, stress reduction, sharing farm chores and redefining family, business or farm goals were common challenges. We brainstormed topics for a WAgN educational (weekend or evening) conference in March/April. Members were interested in doing hands-on training such as chainsaw safety, small engine repair, pumps, plumbing, electrical; and reviewing technical information about licensing small scale production of (butter, maple sugar, cheeses), insurance and estate planning.

WAgN will host three informational meetings, January 9 -11 at the Ag Trade Show in the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta, Maine. Please join us Jan 9th from 11-12; the 10th from 12-1; and the 11th from 12-1. We will also have a display in the Waldo Room. Call Stephanie Gilbert at (207) 799-3783 or email sgilbert@umext.maine.edu for more information.

WSBP/VWBC News
Scholarships Available for Ag Businesses. The Women's Small Business Program (WSBP)is currently accepting applications for the spring cycle of Start Up, a semester-long business planning course. The class is team taught by experienced businesswomen who specialize in marketing, finance, personal & professional development, and technology. During the 15-week, 100-hour course, participants thoroughly examine all aspects of their business, while creating a business plan. They learn business skills and experience using these skills in their own business situation. The tuition is $1,250, but there are scholarships available for agricultural businesses. Call Meredith at (802) 846-7338 or (877) 770-8922 for more details.

Adventures in Marketing Offered in Brattleboro. The Women's Small Business Program, The Women's Ag Network, and the Micro Business Development Program will be offering a new class to help businesses develop an effective marketing plan. It will take place Feb. 6, 13, 20, and 27 from 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. in Brattleboro, Vermont. The tuition is $150, but will be paid by scholarships for all agricultural businesses. Call Meredith at (802) 846-7338 or (877) 770-8922 for more details.

Statewide Business Roundtables. The Vermont Women's Business Center (VWBC) will be continuing the statewide business roundtables. These networking events will be offered in Burlington, Montpelier, Brattleboro, Rutland, and St. Johnsbury the first Wednesday evening of each month from 6 - 8 p.m. The sessions are free of charge and are a wonderful opportunity to hear from expert speakers, business owners, and others about topics that are critical to business ownership. They are useful for both business start-ups and veteran business owners. Call Meredith at (802) 846-7338 or (877) 770-8922 for more details.

- February 7: "Developing a Business Image"
- March 7: "Doing Business on the Internet"
- April 4: "Marketing Your Business"
- May 2: "Understanding Small Business Accounting and Tax Issues"
- June 6: "How to Finance your Small Business"

WSBP/VWBC Mailing List. If you would like to be on the WSBP/VWBC Mailing List to receive their newsletters and special mailings, please contact Meredith by phone at (877)770-8922 or (802) 846-7338; or by e-mail at vwbc@trinityvt.edu.

COMPLETE YOUR PARTICIPANT NEEDS ASSESSMENT SURVEY TODAY!
Located in the center of this newsletter, you will find the WAgN Participant Needs Assessment. This is an opportunity for you to let us know how we're doing, what your needs are, and update your mailing list information. We know that you're very busy but your input is extremely valuable to us. We would like to hear from you by Tuesday, January 31, 2001. For your convenience, you can either mail the survey to us (just fold, staple and put a stamp on it) or fill it out on-line at www.uvm.edu/~wagn. Thanks in advance for your assistance!

DISCUSSION GROUP DATES SET FOR THE NEXT THREE MONTHS!
Now is your chance to attend a Discussion Group near you! We have set the Discussion Group dates and locations through the end of March 2001. The Discussion Groups provide a wonderful opportunity for you to get together with other women farmers to network, learn new things, and enjoy one another's company; especially during these cold, winter months that can be very isolating. Please check the enclosed calendar of events for details.

Interested in hosting a Discussion Group in your home? Call Beverly so she can book you for a date in the upcoming year. We especially would like to start a Discussion Group in the Addison County area and Central Vermont.

For more information and directions, contact the hostess listed on the calendar or contact Beverly Bishop, WAgN Staff Member, at (802) 888-4951 or (802) 253-4353. Please give Beverly a call as well if you would like to host a future Discussion Group.

VERMONT GRAZING CONFERENCE
Join us at Vermont Technical College in Randolph Center, Vermont on Saturday, February 3, 2001 for the Annual Vermont Grazing Conference.

Roman Stoltzfoos, grass based seasonal dairy farmer from PA, and Dr. Ann Clark, a pasture researcher from Ontario are this year's guest speakers. Roman Stoltzfoos farms with his family in Eastern PA, where in addition to grazing and milking 100 cows, they also raise 9000 organic turkeys and make and sell compost. At the grazing conference he will lead several workshops, including: "Quality of Life - The Family Farm Ideas and Practice"-a discussion on the sustainable philosophies that his farm and family goals are built on; "Increasing Profits on a Grass Based Dairy Farm" which he describes as a management tune-up and ideas for reducing costs while increasing output; and he'll also lead a workshop on soil fertility and composting.

Dr. Clark is an Associate Professor in the Plant Agriculture Department of the University of Guelph, with specific interests in pasture and grazing management and in the design of ecologically sustainable production systems. Dr Clark will speak on "Using Your Farmland to Its Strengths"- how to use an ecological approach to capture the strengths of each part of your farm.

Other speakers will include Jim and Adele Hayes, Jerry Brunetti, Sarah Flack and Troy Bishopp. Workshop topics will include milking parlor design for grass based dairy farms, pastured poultry, grazing beef, raising pigs, herbs in your pasture for animal health, grazing goats and sheep, marketing grass raised farm products and much more!

This event is co-sponsored by the Vermont Grass Farmers Association and the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont's Dairy Technical Assistance Program, with support from the UVM Center for Sustainable Agriculture and the Natural Resources Conservation Service Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative. The cost to attend is $30 per family plus $10 per person for lunch if you preregister before January 15 . For more information, please call (802) 656-5459.

START UP GRADS
Congratulations to the WAgN participants who graduated from the Start Up Cycle 24. Our Graduates: Christina Bickford, Judith Giusto, and Bonnie Waninger.

GROWING PLACES GRADS
Congratulations! to the graduates of Cycle 10 of Growing Places, which took place this fall. We had a great group of women, as well as guest speakers and presenters. Thanks to everyone who participated in making this a successful cycle!

The next cycle of Growing Places will be sometime during this upcoming spring, so please stay in touch for those dates and locations.

Our Graduates: Jessica Aube, Tracey Beaudin, Jane Briggs, Rosemary Croizet, Mariead Cudden, Carolyn Devlin, Barbara Eastman, Holly Ferguson, Judy Goodyear, Susan Shea, Marjorie Westphal, and Jessanne Wyman.

Thank you to our presenters and guest speakers: Judy Clark, Applecheek Farm; Andy Jones, Intervale Farm; Beth Wagner-Boutin, Vermont Community Loan Fund; Evie Pepin, Ladybug Herbs of Vermont; Lindsey Ketchel, Vermont Department of Agriculture; and Meredith Martin, Vermont Women's Business Center.

NOFA-VT WINTER CONFERENCE
The Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT) announces its 19th annual Winter Conference. This year's conference to be held February 17th, 2001 at the Vermont Technical College in Randolph, Vermont. "Farming as if Nature Mattered: Reconnecting Food Systems with Ecosystems" will address the question of how we can cultivate a food system that benefits both the ecosystem and the stewardship farmer.

Two notable figures, in the national organic farming community, Mark Ritchie and Dana Jackson, will present a keynote address. Mark Ritchie, President of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, has been working for the past 20 years to build bridges between farmers and consumers in the US and around the world. Dana Jackson, Co-founder of The Land Institute, currently serves as Associate Director of The Land Stewardship Project, an 18-year-old Minnesota-based organization that fosters a renewed ethic of stewardship for America's farmlands while promoting sustainable agriculture and sustainable communities.

In addition to the keynote, over 30 workshops presented by experienced farmers and authors on a wide range of topics of interest to home gardeners, skilled growers, dairy farmers and concerned consumers will be offered for the anticipated 600 conference attendees. This year, we'll offer several workshop tracks, including: Direct Marketing, Livestock, Roots and Fruits, Gardening/Homesteading, Farming With the Wild, and Alternative Crops. Future farmers can attend the Children's Conference for ages 6 to 13. The Children's Conference offers farming related workshops, games and crafts.

A colorful farmers' market will be open during the day featuring educational materials, organic products, crafts, and associated businesses and non-profits. For more information, please contact Nicole Krotinger at NOFA-VT at (802) 434-4122 or nofavt@together.net.

FARMER'S LUNG
It is very likely that farmers more than any other occupation are exposed to a tremendous variety of agents that are potentially harmful to the respiratory system. Agricultural workers are likely to inhale many substances on any given day including fumigants, bacteria, infectious disease agents, growth promoters, ammonia, pollen grains, and chemical residues to name a few.

These various substances can cause many serious respiratory ailments. At this time of year, when the barn is closed up and farmers are feeding hay that has been stored, there is a likely chance of breathing mold spores that have grown on the hay. These mold spores form two types of bacteria called, micropolyspora faeni and thermoactinomyces vulgaris. These two types of bacteria are the cause of farmers lung.

The individual handling hay with mold spores develops an allergy to the bacteria. The symptoms of farmer's lung can occur after working with moldy hay for several months or several years, depending upon the individual. The farm worker may begin to notice symptoms of increased coughing, fever and sometimes chills, shortness of breath, discomfort in the lungs, a tightness and/or pain in the chest.

The onset of symptoms may be sudden or slowly progressive. Lengthy exposure of the mold spore to the farmer can cause permanent lung damage and sometimes be fatal. Farmer's lung can be mistaken for pneumonia or other chest conditions. Also some of the other symptoms such as shortness of breath and coughing over a long period of time can be the same symptoms of emphysema, chronic bronchitis or lung cancer.

Due to the difficulty to diagnose farmers lung it is important, for the individual experiencing the above described symptoms, to see their physician and inform them of their work history of the past few months. All too often, health care professionals are unaware of the physical hazards of farming and because of this, physicians need to know what the farmer has been exposed to in the last few months to properly diagnose the problem. Solutions to working with farmer's lung can include, using a respirator, increasing ventilation of the barn, feeding haylage or using mild inhibitors.

Rural and Farm Family Vocational rehabilitation Program, a cooperative program with the University of Vermont Extension and the state of Vermont Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, can also provide some financial support for modifications needed in the barn and respirator equipment. There is no cost for the services provided and all information is kept confidential.

To contact the Rural and Farm Family Vocational Rehabilitation Program, call Brett Chornyak at (800) 571-0668

CORNELL TO OFFER ON-LINE KOSHER COURSE A new "on-line" course on Kosher and Halal Food Regulations will be offered this spring by the Cornell University Kosher Food Initiative of the Institute of Food Science and Technology. The kosher food laws, their origin, and their application in modern food processing will be examined. The nature of the kosher supervision industry in America will be described. Current food-related issues in both communities will be reviewed, including recent court decisions striking down kosher laws in the state of New Jersey and the City of Baltimore. Some aspects of the growth of ethnic food products in the US will also be considered. Information on the course is available from Joe Regenstein at jmr9@cornell.edu.

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WAgN
Women's Agricultural Network
590 Main St., UVM
Burlington, VT  05405
(802) 656-3276
or wagn@zoo.uvm.edu

University of Vermont Extension and U.S. Department of Agriculture, cooperating, offer education and employment to everyone without regard to race, color, notional orgin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or familial status.