As time goes on and our students and alumni spread out, our network of farms and agribusinesses, both within Vermont and outside of the state, is expanding. These farms become resources for internships, individual student projects and places of entry into the dairy careers that our graduates will follow.

Past Internship Locations:

• Conant's Riverside Dairy - Richmond, VT
• VTC's Dairy Farm - Randolph Center, VT
• UVM's Miller Research Complex - South Burlington, VT
• Miner Institute's Heart's Delight Dairy - Chazy, NY
• Adirondack Dairy - Peru, NY
• DuBois Brother's Dairy - Addison, VT
• Stewart Farms, Inc. - Nampa, ID
• Norwich Farms - Norwich, VT
• M.S. Montero and Sons - Tulare, CA

Career Options:

• Yankee Farm Credit
• St. Albans NRCS Office
• Robitaille Feeds, Quebec, Canada
• Feed Commodities International
• Vermont DHIA
• Genex/CRI
• ABS Global
• Select Sires/Sire Power
• Bordeau Brothers

"To prepare the next generation of Vermont farm managers, utilizing the collective resources of Vermont Technical College, Miner Institute and the University of Vermont, coupled with the agricultural industry in the Northeast and beyond. Our product shall be individuals who are well grounded in animal science, business and communications and who are first and foremost, mature, critical thinkers commited to life-long learning to achieve their personal goals. In this way, the program will produce industry leadership."

Offered in cooperation with the Vermont Technical College, the Farm and Agricultural Resource Management Stewards (FARMS 2 + 2) degree program enables students to make a seamless transition from dairy farm or agribusiness management at VTC to a second two years at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Vermont.  Advanced material relating to the courses taught at VTC is offered at UVM through one of two majors, Animal Science or Agriculture and  Resource Entrepreneurship.  Successfully completing one of these majors leads to a Bachelor of Science Degree in either Animal Science (ASCI) or Community Development and Applied Economics (CDAE). 

Also, students spend a semester at Miner Agricultural Research Institute which provides a "total immersion" that focuses entirely on the real problems of managing a dairy farm. Students live at the Miner Institute in Chazy, New York for the spring semester of their Junior year.

Students receive their Associates Degree in Applied Science by attending Vermont Technical College their Freshman and Sophomore years and enrolling in the following academic program Dairy Farm Management Technology.

In their Junior and Senior year students attend the University of Vermont F.A.R.M.S. 2 + 2 program enrolling in one of the following academic areas:

1. Animal Science
2. Agricultural Resource Entrepeneurship - Community Development and Applied Economics (CDAE)
3. The University of Vermont Logo

During the second semester of their Junior year students live at the Miner Agriculture Research Institute for the semester where they focus entirely on the real problems of managing a dairy farm.

Advanced Dairy Management
(F.A.R.M.S. 2 + 2)

During the spring semester of their junior year, students live at the Miner Institute in Chazy, New York  where they enroll in Advanced Dairy Management and Farm Credit Fellowship through the F.A.R.M.S. 2 + 2 program.  This semester allows students to be totally immersed in dairy management, learning all aspects of the dairy industry.

* Other good selections as electives include: HIS 2150, ACC 2121, 2122, ECO 2020, ECO 2030. Only a grade of C or better will transfer to UVM.

During the four-year UVM/VTC FARMS 2 + 2 program it is expected that the following competencies will be gained:

• Understanding dairy businesses as systems
• Communication skills needed for coaching a management team
• Autonomous, lifelong learning
• Confidence in application of technical knowledge

• An interest in and engagement with the Vermont Dairy Industry
• A minimum combined verbal/math SAT score of 1100
• High school Chemistry and Algebra
• Two years of a foreign language
• Maintenance of 3.0 GPA all four years
• Vermont Residency
• Farm Scene

Transfer

Students may transfer into the UVM/VTC FARMS 2 + 2  program from other colleges at the third year level. The University's Office of Transfer Affairs is able to help determine the exact transfer of credits, but it is advisable that a core of courses, similar to the VTC curriculum list linked below, be taken.

The Vermont Legislature, through the Vermont Department of Agriculture, with generous industry support, provides full tuition scholarships for Vermont residents who begin the program at VTC and maintain at least a B grade average each year of their college career. The amount of the scholarship is the current year's full tuition cost at either VTC or UVM.  At this printing, we are fully funded for five scholarships per school year - total of twenty scholarships across four years.
   
In addition to the Vermont Department of Agriculture's scholarship program, students may be eligible for the following scholarships:

• Vermont Dairy Industry Association (VDIA) Memorial Scholarship

• Accelerated Genetics Collegiate Scholarship Program
  
  Two, $1,000.00 scholarships are awarded to students currently enrolled in a short course, vocation technical college or a four-year university degree program by Accelerated Genetics.
  The collegiate scholarship program is for individuals who have completed their freshman, sophomore or junior year and are majoring in dairy, beef or an agricultural-related area.  The applicant or their parents must currently purchasing semen or products from an authorized Accelerated Genetics representative.
  Scholarship recipients are named in May, followed by a waiting period of acceptance and then the scholarship checks are awarded.
  To obtain an application form, individuals can download it from the National FFA Foundation website or by contacting the National FFA Foundation at (317) 802-4416 or scholarships@ffa.org.  Applications are due postmarked by February 15, 2004 to:  National Scholarship Office, National FFA Center, PO Box 68960, Indianapolis, IN  46268.
  This scholarship program is managed by Accelerated Genetics and the National FFA Foundation.

• Agri-Mark Members Scholarship

• Select Sires/Sire Power Scholarship

• Robert H. Rumler MBA Scholarship Program under sponsorship of Holstein Association USA

• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) Awards & Scholarships

• Animal Science Department Scholarship

•  Dairy Farmers of American Scholarships

For assistance or to discuss other scholarship opportunities, students may contact:

• UVM Financial Aid Office
• VTC Office of Financial Aid
• Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC)

For further information contact either:

• Kate Finley Woodruff at cfinley@uvm.edu or (802) 656-1032
• Dave Townson at Dave.Townson@uvm.edu  or (802) 656-1192

The UVM/VTC FARMS 2 + 2 program would like to recognize and thank the following organizations or individuals for their continued support to the UVM/VTC FARMS 2 + 2 program, both financially and through resources:

• Peeking cow in the barn. Vermont State Legislature
• Agency of Agriculture
• Agri-Mark
• Cargill Nutrition
• Conant Farms - Richmond, VT
• Gary & Tammy Davis - Underhill, VT
• Farr's Farm - Richmond, VT
• Feed Commodities International
• Merck Foundation
• Monsanto
• Craig Newton - Middlebury, VT
• Norwich Farms
• Poulin Grain
• St. Albans Co-op
• University of Vermont Extension
• Vermont DHIA
• Walker's Feed
• Whitman's Feed Store
• Yankee Farm Credit