Pro Picks

The Viability Program provides a range of services, from in-depth long-term business planning to short-term specialized assistance, including Business Planning, Enterprise Analysis, Financial Record-keeping and Management, Marketing and Sales, Human Resources Management, Management Coaching, and Retirement & Ownership Succession Planning. Participants are matched with advisors who have the skillsets to meet their needs, and services are generally free of charge following a $75 enrollment fee.

An annually updated guide for Vermont farmers that includes local, state, and federal technical and financial assistance opportunities for individuals and entities working with crops, forestry products, livestock, nursery stock, and/or other land-based products.

A pool of funds to distribute directly to farmers as grants to fund projects that will improve longer-term resilience on farms.

Monthly awards recognize farmers whose businesses are contributing to a resilient Vermont agricultural landscape and demonstrate environmental stewards. Grants fund Vermont farm resilience-building projects. Three application cycles annually.

NOFA-VT’s Farmer Services Team offers flexible, responsive services to support farmers in assessing their level of climate risk and identifying adaptation strategies to increase their resilience. Submit Services Questionnaire to connect with the team

Utilizes state funding to help Vermont farms implement soil-based agronomic practices that improve soil quality, increase crop production, and reduce erosion and agricultural waste discharges.

Provides pasture management technical assistance and financial assistance to Vermont farmers to improve water quality and on-farm livestock exclusion from surface waters statewide.

The goals of this publication are to present the principles behind drip irrigation and some practical guidelines for successful and profitable use of drip irrigation.

The CSF Water Deficit Calculator estimates soil water content within a crop’s effective root zone to inform decision makers about current and forecasted water deficits. Information is used to determine the optimum frequency and duration of irrigation

A cost benefit analysis of irrigation at Intervale Community Farm in Burlington, VT, calculated using records from 2006 to 2016.

This publication addresses basic concepts related to agricultural drainage.

This publication explains how increased soil health and organic matter content help retain moisture to aid during droughty periods. It also discusses soil health management strategies to improve organic matter content.

Webinar on Reduced Tillage Systems for Organic Vegetables including cover crop management and equipement strategies.

This webinar explores the spectrum of reduced tillage practices at all scales, covering equipment and methods that can improve soil health and save labor. Speakers: Julie Fine, American Farmland Trust; Natalie Lounsbury, University of New Hampshire.

This page collects research around reduced tillage topics for vegetables, including living mulch under organic acorn squash and Brussel sprouts, tarps to terminate cover crops, sorghum sudan grass residue as mulch for tomatoes, and more....

An online toolkit is designed to help farmers from the Northeast US improve their productivity and resiliency in the face of a changing climate by using decision support tools for growing degree days, water deficits, and planting schedules.

This workshop covers regenerative systems used at Freedom Food Farm: no-till crops, livestock integration, rotational grazing, biodiversity, soil preservation, input reduction, and more! From the 2020 NOFA Summer Conference

Farmer-Led Innovations for Reduced Tillage (FLI) cultivates co-learning and innovation among organic vegetable farmers in New England. This site features the trials of a small cohort of innovative farmers trialing reduced tillage practices.