Intervale Center - Sustaining People, Land and Farms

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Press Room | Monthly Newsletter | Farm Profiles

Press Room

 

 

Spring Flooding in the Intervale, May 19, 2011.

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March 2011: ICN work-study student Ben
harvests trees by canoe. Credit: L. Wolfe

This spring, Lake Champlain and the Winooski River reached record levels, and flood damage in Vermont has been severe. Many of you have asked about the effects of flooding in the Intervale.
Many Intervale farm fields were partially or completely flooded, and heavy rain left standing water remaining long after the Winooski had receded. Says Rachel Schattman of Bella Farm, which grows garlic, basil, and herbs for its in-house produced pesto, “…Most of our garlic is located in a low part of our main field, meaning that a portion of it had been submerged almost the whole time. We’re hoping part of the crop survives, but it will definitely set us back in terms of how much seed we will save for next year.”
Cool, moist soil also prevented seeds from germinating and slowed sprouts’ growth, says Thomas Case of Arethusa Farm. “We’re at least a month behind schedule at this point, and we’ve been delayed in getting things transplanted.” Besides losing potential sales, Case also added that there sometimes hasn’t been enough work to go around for farm employees who were hired earlier in the season.    
Since Intervale farms grow a variety of crops, problems posed by the flood vary widely. For Adam Hausmann of Adam’s Berry Farm, his berry plants are perennials, not annuals like many other farms’ crops. Damage is slower to appear, but potentially more severe, even to typically moisture-loving berries like blueberries. “Plants suffer when they don’t get oxygen to their roots, no matter how much they tolerate ‘getting their feet wet,’” he says.
Intervale farmers understand that in exchange for the floodplain’s rich soil, they must also deal with seasonal flooding, although this year reached unusual levels.  “We practice succession seeding and planting so that if we lose some crop in a flood, we can make up for it with later planting,” says Schattman. 

How can the community help?
“The later start to the season means that we probably won’t have as much pesto as we had planned for 2011,” says Schattman. “The community can help by seeking out our fresh culinary herbs at the farmers’ market this summer!”
Hausmann echoes the sentiment. “Come out and pick berries this season. And pray for drought!”
Participate in CSA, says Case. Pre-paying at the start of the season is a financial commitment to supporting a local farm.  In addition, he says, restaurant partners can educate consumers about the flood’s impact on the local food supply: “When the community is educated and sympathetic about the benefits and consequences of eating locally and seasonally, it goes a long way.” 

 

 

Congressman Peter Welch kicks off Farm-to-Plate roundtable at the Intervale Center, Feb. 3, 2011.

Congressman Peter Welch (D-VT) visited the Intervale Center last Thursday for a tour of key Intervale Center programs and to participate in a roundtable discussion on food systems and agriculture in Vermont. A new appointee to the House Committee on Agriculture, Welch said he was committed to “bringing Vermont ideas to Washington,” citing the recent release of the state’s FarmtoPlate executive summary as an example. He said he was specifically interested in the ways that Vermonters have improved their communities’ access to healthy, local food from the grassroots level.

As he toured the Intervale Food Hub – an Intervale Center enterprise that aggregates, markets, and distributes local food to create a link between local farmers and the local marketplace – Welch applauded the “appetite Vermonters have for local food.” He also enjoyed watching the One Revolution bicyclists getting ready to deliver carbon-neutral CSA shares to workplaces throughout Burlington.

During the discussion, around 20 participants from organizations like the Burlington School District, Fletcher Allen, Intervale Community Farm and NOFA-VT, shared the impact of their work with Congressman Welch. They also mentioned specific policy issues that have prevented success in certain areas, such as roadblocks to purchasing local food in schools and tax regulations that may impede farmers’ markets abilities to accept EBT.

Congressman Welch concluded the session by emphasizing, “We know that the incentives in big ag are upside-down. We need these local examples to show that it can be done.”

 

 

Intervale Center Names New Executive Director (PRESS RELEASE), Nov. 29, 2010. (pdf version)

BURLINGTON, VT -- The Board of Directors of the Intervale Center announces that Travis Marcotte will succeed Glenn McRae as Executive Director on December 1, 2010. Travis Marcotte, currently Director of Programs, joined the Intervale Center in 2006 and has managed the successful growth of Success on Farms, a statewide farm businessplanning program; the nationally recognized Farms Program; the Intervale Conservation Nursery, which grows native-species trees for wetland restoration projects; and the creation and growth of the Intervale Food Hub, which delivers healthy, local food to employees at Burlington-area workplaces.
Prior to joining the Intervale Center, Marcotte worked in Vermont and internationally as a consultant in agricultural enterprise and policy development. During this time, he worked with local communities, government, the United Nations, non-profit organizations, and farmers to develop more sustainable farms and food systems. Marcotte graduated from the University of Vermont with an undergraduate degree in Community Development and Applied Economics, and received his Master’s degree in International Agricultural Development from the University of California, Davis. He grew up on a family farm in Charlotte, Vermont.
Glenn McRae, Executive Director of the Intervale Center since 2008, will return to consult for a United Nations funded environmental program he helped design and initiate prior to coming to the Center. As a member of the graduate faculty at UVM, he also plans to work on developing courses and opportunities for research and student involvement in food systems policy. McRae will stay on in an advisory capacity at the Intervale Center through the end of the year, to ensure a smooth transition.
The Intervale Center is a non-profit organization that builds strong local community food systems and stewards farming and community-based activities on over 350 acres in Burlington, Vermont. Dedicated to preserving a great agricultural resource for the Burlington community, the Center works with farmers across the state to increase market access and viability, and promotes land use that protects Vermont's water quality.

 

Interview with new Executive Director Travis Marcotte (pdf version)

Q: The Intervale Center is going through a transition with the departure of Executive Director Glenn McRae, and with your taking on this leadership position. What do you bring to the organization?
 A: I’ve worked here for several years, and know the organization well. Given my tenure as the Director of Programs here – and before that, Director of Agricultural Development Services - I have a very strong understanding of what the Intervale Center needs to operate successfully. I’ve run Success on Farms and the Farms Program and overseen the Conservation Nursery for the past year and was part of the team that developed the Food Hub. As a result, I’ve tried hard to make sure we hire the right people and put strong teams together. I’ve also served on our Strategic Planning and Land Committees, and I represent the IntervaleCenter to the Intervale Farm Equipment Company. My background in agricultural development and economics, with degrees from both UVM and the University of California Davis, also help me in my new role. My focus through undergrad and graduate schools has been on the economics of sustainable agriculture.  Professionally, I’ve worked in community economic development, both in Vermont and internationally as a consultant. Much of my overseas work was in Belize, in partnership with the government, the UN and farmer groups. Some of the most exciting work I had the opportunity to do was with Mayan farmers who grow the cacao beans for Green and Black’s Maya Gold chocolate bar. Additionally, I grew up on a dairy farm in Charlotte and worked for 10 years in the food industry -- I even started an organic dog food company in the early 1990s, before the term “organic” was really understood and trendy. Our products were distributed in 40 states; at one point, we were talking to Trader Joe’s. 

Q: The IntervaleCenter’s mission is to “strengthen community food systems.” What does this term mean? What does a strong and healthy community food system look like?
A: To me, it’s all about knowing where your food comes from. A community food system includes production, distribution, and consumption all near one another, and the participants have a relationship.
The IntervaleCenter’s work includes all the working parts of a strong community food system: we have excellent agricultural land; we incubate farms; we provide distribution and marketing for farmers; we provide business development services across the state; and we foster a community of engaged and empowered consumers.
The global food system has increased overall production, but it has serious problems. Land is degraded, farming is undervalued, food is often unhealthy, and rural economies are hollowing out as farm families leave agriculture. Luckily, Vermont is different and I’m very hopeful about our future. Here, farmers and consumers have used important tools like community root cellars, meat lockers, and farm stands to keep each other connected for a long time. Many Vermonters grow their own food and barter with neighbors. I think we can continue to build on our strong interest in the working landscape to strengthen our local food systems and our quality of life.
Because we’re an active part of a community food system, we’re engaged with farmers, farming, and food production. We appreciate the great resource we have in our own backyard, and understand how essential it is to protect farmers’ livelihoods and take care of the land.

Q: We hear about CSAs and local farming all over the country. What makes the IntervaleCenter unique?
A: A lot of places around the country are working on similar components of the food system. I think of the Bay Area where farmers can grow food all year round, and where the production scale is so much greater.
What’s unique about the Intervale Center’s work is that all components of this work are under one roof, and that it’s all happening right here in Burlington. The integration of the different parts of our work is really important to our success and our identity – we’re developing collaborative models with our Food Hub; we’re restoring the environment with our Conservation Nursery; we’re growing new farmers with our Farms Program; we celebrate our history with the Abenaki Garden.
For example, the Intervale Food Hub -- which markets and distributes local food through a multi-farm CSA and wholesale service -- was developed in collaboration with over 25 farmers and producers, and works with business partners throughout ChittendenCounty to provide access to locally grown food. Customers are impressed by the diversity and high quality of the goods they buy -- people say, “It’s like opening a present when my Food Hub share comes!”

Q: You grew up on a family farm in Vermont, worked abroad, and then decided to return, unlike many young Vermonters. What was the incentive to return to Vermont? Did part of this appeal have to do with the IntervaleCenter’s work?
I always knew I’d settle in Vermont. I went away for my first year of college, then came back to attend UVM. I like the four seasons; I like that there aren’t too many people here; and most of all, I appreciate the working landscapes and the farms. I like that Vermonters have a visceral connection to their landscape.
The IntervaleCenter certainly works to enhance the working landscape, both in Burlington and across Vermont. I was also drawn to the fact that the IC is the steward of 350 areas of land in the City limits. There is a very tangible aspect to our work. Not only do we provide an extensive array of services, we own, share and manage real assets. That’s important to me, both personally and professionally. I feel really good about how the work we do overlaps very closely with how I want to live my life.

Q: You’re a talented home cook; you’ve baked muffins with James Beard, skied all day and worked as a fine-dining cook at night – you seem to have a taste for adventure and extremes. What drew you to your current work?
Well, first of all, the work that we’re doing is at the forefront of what’s happening in the food movement in the US today.  I really enjoy the challenge of trying to make our food system more sustainable, which hinges on three major tenets: economics, which translates into providing livelihoods and quality of life for producers; equity, which means empowering all participants in the food systems and providing access to high quality food to all; and environment, where every choice is considered for its impact on our natural references.
As I said earlier, the work we do at the IntervaleCenter is very challenging and very diverse. I am attracted to variety and the opportunity to do new things every day.

Q: Many Vermonters grow their own garden and raise their own animals, but they may not produce enough to feed their families all year long. How do the IntervaleCenter’s programs help fill those gaps?
I think the IntervaleCenter’s work to restore the Intervale has been an underestimated contribution to local food security. Simply having the land in production – either through an independent business like Intervale Community Farm or Diggers Mirth, or with a community garden plot at the Tommy Thompson gardens – is a huge contributor to Burlington’s food security.  We also run the Intervale Food Hub, which delivers food to people at their workplaces and through wholesale to restaurants, schools, Fletcher Allen, and other kitchens around Burlington. Through many of these options people can use payment plans, SNAP benefits or participate in the NOFA Farm Share program. 

Q: You have a young family, and you and your partner both work full-time. When you’re cooking at home with local ingredients, what choices do you make to feed your family deliciously, seasonally, and on a budget?
 I do most of the cooking and food shopping in our household. If I can’t grow it, I try to buy it from a farm I like. And I shop at my local supermarket. For me, it’s important to know the farm and the quality of its products. I have a large kitchen garden and raise chickens and pigs, so my pantry is well stocked -- but I still buy most of our food.
Since I have a background in cooking, I know I could use lower-priced cuts of meat. And, there are many products that can’t be grown in Vermont. I love seafood, but sourcing clean, sustainable produced fish can be tricky. I love coffee, and typically buy it from a UVM developed project that sources directly from Honduras. I love chocolate – I wrote my master’s thesis on cacao farming in Belize. It’s important to extend the same criteria for sustainability to food available in the global market.

Q: Since coming to the Intervale Center, what accomplishments are you most proud of? Which upcoming projects are you most excited about?
I’m most proud of putting together some great teams at the IntervaleCenter. Together with Mandy Davis, Sona Desai and Mark Cannella, I worked on the Food Hub from its inception, writing early grants, developing the vision and putting together financial growth projections. I like to keep people engaged and help them develop their careers.  I strive to create an environment where people can move things forward and put their ideas into action.
Looking to the future, I’m excited about exploring innovative uses for Intervale Compost buildings and land with farmers, expanding the Food Hub, exploring food processing, optimizing our Nursery business and our business planning work. I’d also love to see how we can grow more food year round. Intervale farmers are already extending the growing season with hoop houses, and we have the perfect opportunity to access the waste steam from the McNeil plant to heat greenhouses for even more season flexibility.
I’m also excited by our work with communities and organizations across the United States looking to create an Intervale in their own backyards. We do a lot of great work sharing out the aspects of our individual programs and the history of how the Intervale evolved. I’m still looking for ways to better articulate the synergy of what we do here at the IntervaleCenter – or what Mandy and I call “the magic.”

 

A delegation from the Near East learns about the Intervale Center Farm Incubator Program, Nov. 20, 2010. 

Last weekend the Intervale Center hosted a visit from a delegation from the Near East of visitors sponsored by the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program and organized locally by the Vermont Council on World Affairs.  This group was traveling around the region examining different models to promote agricultural development and build local infrastructure to reduce hunger and food insecurity and review partnerships to help communities reduce hunger.

The group included Mr. Ibrahim Almadani who works on the Palestinian Agribusiness Partnership Activity (PAPA) program; Mr. Zaen Alabdien Jawad Balkout Al-Khafaji, Director General of the Agricultural Extension and Cooperation Center in Iraq; Mr. Mutlaq Y.M.N. Alzayed, Deputy Managing Director of the Kuwait Four Mills & Bakeries Company; Mr. Baba Mohamedou Welata, the Director of Programs for the Mauritania National Food Security Commission and Ms. Nadya Mohammed Ahmed Ali, the Director of the Women’s Rural Development Department in Yemen’s Ministry of Agriculture.

The group was particularly interested in the development of the Intervale’s farm incubator program and the idea of creating a community of practice that helped grow new small diversified farm enterprises.  They met with Executive Director Glenn McRae and briefly toured the Intervale farms, now largely dormant, awaiting the coming of winter.  They came to the Center after touring the indoor Burlington Farmer’s Market, and when they left the Center they were going to stop at City Market to look at one of the major outlets for Intervale farms, grab some lunch and end their day touring at Shelburne Farms.

Picnic at the Intervale featured in July/August 2010 Eating Well Magazine
Picnicking at the Intervale with summer recipes is featured in Eating Well.  This is a great activity especially in conjunction with the summer Thursday night series of events with music, food, tastings, and lots of fun (PDF article here).

One Revolution Pedals Food from Intervale to Customer
The Intervale Food Hub has launched a bike delivery partnership with One Revolution, a Burlington-based cargo bicycle delivery service! READ MORE +

Produce for the People collecting Garden Surplus at Intervale Thursdays
Produce for the People is a local partnership campaign to ensure everyone has access to fresh, local food by collecting and dispersing surplus produce grown by home gardeners and farmers. Produce received from Thursday donations will benefit local service non-profit organizations. Please bring your donated produce to the designated Produce for the People table at 2010 Summer Thursdays at the Intervale. For more information, or to volunteer with Produce for the People visit their website.

Articles from our Newsletters:
February 2011

What was the impetus for starting your incubation project?
New Entry observed that aspiring growers needed access to technical support, farmland, physical and financial resources and business planning/record keeping skills. Our comprehensive training programs evolved from a simple idea that by providing new growers with access to these resources, we could help create a program that supported farm start ups and future business expansion.  One of the key factors of success is getting farmers on the land, whether it is through an incubator farm which provides all of the amenities to begin production immediately, or on leased, rented, or purchased property.  By providing the incubator farm space, with access to tillage services, water, hoophouses, small tools and equipment, and technical production assistance, New Entry helps new growers to begin production and succeed in the first several years of operations.  They can then build on that success and are earning a production history and records they can take to USDA Farm Service Agency for continuing capital support and expansion.

How is the program structured?
The intake point to New Entry’s incubator program is a two-hour course that helps participants evaluate the three “non-negotiables” in starting a farm business: minimum capital, available time and community/family support of their project and ideas. After taking this course, the participants can then elect to participate in the next step of New Entry’s beginning farmer program- the 6 week, 22 hour Farm Business Course. In the Farm Business Course students learn about production planning, marketing and are taught how to research and write a comprehensive startup farm business plan. After the course concludes, farmers with viable business plans are invited to apply for a ¼ acre plot at one of the two fully outfitted New Entry Incubator sites. Growers can remain at these sites for up to three years. They have the option of expanding their businesses every year.   Growers pay a rental fee for the land, tractor services, cooling/crop storage, pesticides (organic-approved are provided), and equipment rental.  Growers must comply with all guidelines outlined in our Farmer Manual and participate in seasonal training workshops.  They also receive regular weekly field scouting and technical assistance supervision in the fields.

What kind of transition support do you offer to farmers when they are preparing to leave?
Staff is continually reminding growers of their “big picture” farm dream. Post-season planning meetings are held to help farmers plan for their farm transitions. Business plans are regularly updated, and financial planning is emphasized. Growers are introduced to various lending agencies and are connected to applicable credit sources including government loan and cost-sharing programs, traditional banks and peer to peer lending (and other non-traditional) channels. New Entry also identifies farmland for transitioning growers and assists them in every aspect of that physical farmland transition. We continue to provide technical assistance to growers for the first several years of their transition to independent farms.

What is unique about your program?
New Entry offers a full spectrum of farm start-up support services and ongoing farm planning assistance. We are a “soup to nuts” organization that trains growers in farm business planning, production and marketing skills. We work with individuals from a diversity of backgrounds – immigrants, refugees, retirees, unemployed, youth, corporate “refugees” or career changers, and more.  We meet people at their level of knowledge and experience and help them reach their goals.  Staff is available to assist farmers for office-based or in-field technical assistance and is there with continued support during their farm career.

What’s next for your incubator project?
To this point, New Entry’s incubator farm sites have been focused exclusively on mixed vegetable farming. Starting next year, we will be including a pastured poultry demonstration center as a new arm of our incubator site programming and we hope to add additional livestock species as farmer interest demands.   We are also looking to develop strategies that will assist growers to “scale up” their production capacity.  Starting individuals on ¼ acre up to 1 acre plots is relatively small-scale.  We would like to be able to develop capacity for individuals to learn and gain experience with mechanical cultivation, field scale systems, and planning for the growth and expansion of their farm businesses.

  • New Farms for New Americans: rooted in Vermont

Over the past 10 years, Burlington’s immigrant community has grown substantially, contributing a wealth of global culture to our neighborhoods and schools. Many of these new American families come from rural or agrarian backgrounds, and most have spent between 2 and 20 years in refugee camps waiting for their chance to come to the United States and other welcoming host countries.

New Farms for New Americans (NFNA), administered by the Association of Africans Living in Vermont (AALV) with advisory assistance from the Intervale Center, has been partnering with refugees in the Burlington area for the past three years to help them thrive in their new community. Through this program, families grow their own food and get the support they need to sell produce and develop farming enterprises. Some  make prepared foods to sell at farmers’ markets and other local venues.  NFNA’s mission is to help refugees grow more of their own food that is fresh, culturally appropriate and free from harmful chemicals; provide workplace or business training for unemployed refugees; and to help refugees create their own successful farm- and food-based businesses.

Since its inception in 2008, NFNA has grown from 27 market gardeners working a 2-acre plot at the Ethan Allen Farmstead to 60 market gardeners on 9 acres in 3 locations. The Intervale Center provides technical assistance to these budding enterprises and helps AALV evolve its incubation of refugee farmers. Each winter, participants have access to a series of weekly workshops that help them with financial planning, vegetable production in a cold climate, record-keeping, and marketing to grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and restaurants. The Intervale Center helps develop the curriculum for this educational program, and our staff works with farmers one-on-one to help them improve their business and marketing skills. For many NFNA growers, our climate and our distribution systems are unfamiliar, but the ability to grow food is a skill they have brought with them and they are eager to become Vermont farmers. Our job is to help them succeed.

  

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nfna

 

November 2010 (available here)

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