 Good to be here today in Plainfield with members of the Agriculture Committee, Secretary Tebbets and his team and others to talk about the importance of agriculture to our state. My mom actually grew up here in Plainfield on a farm, the Cape Farm, so it's again great to be back with that connection to here in Plainfield. I also want to give a special thanks to Janet and Ray for hosting us here today at Greenfield Highland Beef. Full disclosure, Janet was my daughter's second grade teacher, first grade, first grade teacher, former teacher of the year as well, and so it all makes sense that you're here and Greenfield Highland Beef, right? We know farmers are important to Vermont, they're part of our culture, our brand and a critical part of our economy, especially in rural parts of the state. That's why it's so important that we find ways to continue supporting this sector, and why last year I created the Governor's Future of Agriculture Commission. This year, my budget included millions to support agriculture in Vermont, and I'm thankful for Representative Partridge and Senator Star for being such strong partners, essential to our work. Through a $40 million grant program administered by the Agency of Commerce, farmers will have access to money for new infrastructure, including things like storage, distribution, waste management, and meat processing. And nearly $5 million will be used for agronomic practices to lessen the impact of farms have on climate change. This includes things like cover crops and improving soil health. Giving farmers the resources they need will help keep more farms in business, because local farms are the reason we're able to enjoy fresh produce at our markets, real maple syrup. And local beef, some of which is raised right here on this farm. And that's all possible because of the people who work here, putting in long days, rain or shine. Next week also marks the opening of Open Farms Week. For eight years now, farmers have opened up their doors to Vermonters and others to get a look at what Vermont agriculture is all about. This allows folks to spend time learning more about the process and hearing stories from farmers, many who have been carrying on the tradition of their families for generations. Vermont has been leading the way in many areas. In fact, our Open Farm Week model has been a framework for other states to use as well. And later this month, Vermont will be hosting the International Workshop on Agritourism in Burlington. Our Agency of Agriculture has been working closely with the UVM Extension Service and other state partners to lead this incredible effort. This event brings together farmers, researchers and agriculture service providers to learn and talk to experts from across the country. August is also Agritourism Month in Vermont and this gives people from around the country the opportunity to try some of the best meat, cheese, ice cream and maple in the world and experience farms up close. This has opened up a new revenue stream for those who make a living off the land and our Agency of Agriculture has been working closely with the Department of Tourism to partner with our farms and get the message out. So, I want to thank them for their work and once again thank Senator Starr and Representative Partridge for their hard work and partnership. With that, I'll turn it over to our host, Janet Steward, to talk a little bit about the great work they do here at Greenfield Island Beach. Janet. I can barely see over the podium, but that's okay. We were at a show once with our Bull Cinnamon Bear. He was Grand Champion and the photographer, Ray was standing with him and I was standing behind Cinnamon Bear and the photographer said, excuse me, could you please stand up? I said I am. Cinnamon Bear was probably the tallest Highland Bull that we have ever seen anywhere. He weighed over 2,200 pounds and he was our herdsire for 13 years. We were lucky to have Bear, but I feel sort of like I'm behind Bear again here. We own, my husband Ray Shatney and I own Shat Acres Highland Cattle, Greenfield Highland Beef and Highland House Farmstay. We predominantly have been selling beef for about 20 years and we now are pivoting more towards selling breeding stock. Throughout the United States, people are particularly interested in our breeding stock. We have the oldest registered Highland Fold in the United States since 1966. We are also excited about incorporating agritourism. Agritourism, as Governor Scott said, is incredibly important to Vermont. It's a way to help people understand about farming. It's different than tourism. Agritourism means that you are showing people working lands. They need to see how food is produced humanely, how soils are improved, how we take care of the land, how we are stewards of the state. And so we're very excited. We have something special. We have Highland Cattle that people love. People write me every week, can I just come see those cows? My girlfriend loves them. My mom wants to see them. There is something very prehistoric about them. They have been unaltered for 1600 years. They have been working with humans for 1600 years starting in Scotland and they love being with people. They're different than other cattle. When I first met Ray, he said he had some Highlands and I said, oh, cows. And he said, no, Highlands. As Governor Scott said, I taught school for 30 years. I thought that I was pretty educated. And I said, aren't Highlands cows? He said, no, ma'am, they're Highlands. He was right. They're different than other cows. The bonding that takes place between people in Highlands that brings a real peace. We are blessed with an exquisite view. We are blessed with one of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen on earth. And we feel obligated to share those gifts. And so we have built a house for farmstays and we are excited about being able to let others enjoy what we enjoy. I won't say it's easy every day. This is a day where it looks idyllic and it looks perfect. It's not all the time. I tell people that calving is the best and the worst of days. When it goes well, it's wonderful. When it doesn't, it's so painful and so sad and so hard that I sometimes say, I can't do this. And then I look out at Mighty Mouse, a little calf out there. And I look at it, all the other calves bouncing around with their mothers. And I say, this is part of farming. And it is a part that people need to be able to enjoy. I'm not the real farmer. I grew up on Long Island. I was terrified of cows. I said, I will never have cows here. And here they are. Ray is the real farmer. He was born in 1953. His parents started showing cattle in 1954. So he was one years old when he started showing cattle. His grandfather, Arthur Shatney, started Shad Acres in 1915. So our Shad Acres farm is over 100 years old. Ray is full of stories. I'm probably good at marketing, but he's much funnier than I am and probably much more enjoyable to be with. But we're so happy that you're all here. We're so honored that you chose our site to announce this wonderful initiative. And we hope you'll all come back. We have open farm day here on August 13th from 11 to 2. You bring a picnic and you get to sit and lawn and watch the cattle. We'll have a cake with a Highland cow on the front and we'll just enjoy the time together. Thank you. Thank you very much. Good afternoon, Anson Tibbets for the Agency of Agriculture. Thank you, Janet and Ray and Governor for bringing the importance of agriculture to the state of Vermont. As Janet has mentioned, these Highlander cows are some of the finest in the world. Ray and Janet have taken them across the country to be shown and they've been judged and they're world-class animals. And this farm also contributes to feeding us. We always should keep our eye on that. That farms like this and around Vermont are feeding us and they contribute to our communities. In a few moments we'll see some of that beef. You can buy it right here on the farm but you'll also see Janet at the farmer's market in Montpelier every Saturday. And it's high quality meat that customers rave about the quality of it. So we look forward to seeing more of the farm in just a few moments. As Janet has told you, they're about to expand their agritourism operation here. And this allows visitors to stay overnight. This grows their business. But it also allows visitors to explore other parts of Vermont. They can spend time on another farm, maybe shop at a farmstead, maybe eat out, visit a brewery, winery or distillery. Those are all important to our rural Vermont. We want to thank the countless farmers and the producers who are about to welcome visitors to their farms in the coming week. Dig In Vermont is the place to go to find the list of the countless and dozens of places where people can visit over the next week. And those are all authentic experiences. And I encourage everyone to go to the Dig In Vermont website to sign up and enjoy Vermont. We're also excited to welcome the world at the end of the month with the help of UVM Extension. Vermont hosting the international conference on agritourism. And Vermont can become the number one place in the United States in the world for agritourism. And that is our goal with this. We have the farmers, the experiences, and the lodging, the landscape, and more importantly, the people like Ray and Janet. We want to thank our partners with the Vermont Commerce Agency and Tourism for their leadership as we grow this opportunity for others in Vermont. We also want to thank our friends in the legislature who have supported growing our agriculture economy each session. In a moment we will hear from Representative Partridge, who for more than two decades has put Agriculture Front and Center at the State House. She is about ready to go into retirement, but we know that she will continue to be a strong voice for Vermont farmers and agriculture. For now I'm going to turn it over to Senator Starr. Senator Starr chairs the Agriculture Committee. From Derry to Maple to Avertures and Beyond, Senator Starr has been a leader at the State House. And in just a few weeks we'll be together again in gathering because we're going to celebrate Senator Starr's introduction into the Ag Hall of Fame. So we look forward to doing that in a couple of weeks. But for now, Senator Starr. Thank you, Winston and Janet and Ray. I see he's a real farmer, he's working in the background to let you take the lead. But agritourism is very important for Vermont and all of Vermont actually. And for many years we've worked on putting policies together to help and expand agritourism. And a few years ago you've all seen or heard about these tiny houses. And a farmer down in the White River area wanted to put four of those on one acre land because they're just tiny. And what a mess they got into trying to get permits through the state because the land's a conserved land. And we have a two acre rule that goes with the housing. And we did get a bill passed to allow the expansion for these tiny houses for agritourism on one acre land. Why would we want to waste eight acres of land for four tiny houses? And so it all came together and with the governor's support and the administration we got that passed. But I think the real important thing in ag is that Vermont's a small state. We have a small table, but at that table we have room for all farmers. Agritourism farmers, beef farmers, vegetable farmers, we have room for all of them. And we certainly in the legislature certainly try to accommodate all of our different aspects of agriculture. And, you know, we've had a pretty good, Carolyn and I have worked together for 20 years. How many? It seems like forever. She says it's only 20. But anyways, you know, we work hard at what we do and for the people that we represent. And I must say to the governor that I really appreciate you not vetoing our ag bills. Like some committees, they get them all vetoed and I lay that to our relationship and working together. And I don't veto good bills. Oh, that's it. But, you know, it's been a pleasure working with Governor Scott. We served together in the Senate on the Transportation Committee many years ago. And it's, I've always found that it's important to keep everybody informed. I play my cards pretty close. But I keep the leadership at least in line with where we're going and where I want to go and how I think we should get there. And it's worked well. And Janet, you know, you folks have got a beautiful spot here. You shouldn't have in your name somewhere's top of the world farm or something because it's really beautiful here and want to congratulate you and Ray. I'm putting this all together. So with that, thank you, Governor. And Carolyn, I'd like to introduce you. Bobby said he didn't have much to say. Good thing. Well, thank you, Bobby, and thank you, Governor Scott and Anson for inviting me today. And thank you, Ray and Janet for hosting us today. This is an amazing spot. I mean, the background is just exquisite. I wanted to say a few words about the importance of agriculture. You can go to carolinpartridge.com and read my articles, which have accumulated over the years. But agriculture is incredibly important to the state of Vermont. Number one, we're feeding the people. We're talking about the future food security and the work that's being done on a regional basis. How can New England feed New England? And so that aspect is incredibly important to our future. As we potentially look at more pandemics, more extreme precipitation events that could have an intense impact on the supply chain. Secondly, I'm very proud of the fact that agriculture and farmers can take credit for cleaning up Lake Champlain. I believe it's 94, 95, 96% of the phosphorus reduction has occurred because of the work our farmers are doing. Through the use of some of the practices that Janet mentioned, but cover cropping, low till no till. And in addition to using those practices, we are sequestering carbon. And through that sequestration, we are also creating resilience in our soil against drought and the extreme precipitation events. So I'm really proud of agriculture and what we in the state have done, all of us together. In terms of agritourism, this has been an incredible opportunity for our farms during this pandemic to pivot. Yes, agritourism has been going on for decades. I think of Beth Canette and her work in terms of agritourism. But this allowed our farmers to pivot and expand in some cases and really prosper in many. So I'm really, I'm really proud of what we've done. Most recent thing we've done last year, just a little over a year ago, we passed Act 3031. Thank you, Governor, for signing it, which created a limited liability for inherent risk for our farms that are doing agritourism. So that's about all I have to say on a personal note. I really appreciate the response to the the relationship I've had with the agency of agriculture. I've chaired it for 14 years. It's agriculture and forestry. Also get along very well with Forest Parks and Recreation. Really appreciate the work I've done with Bobby. I have served on agriculture for 20 of my 24 years in the in the State House, and it has been a pure pleasure to be there. So I want to thank everyone I've worked with, Governor Scott, for not vetoing our bills. I think we do pass, we pass really good bills. So thank you. And with that, I'll say so long for now. Yeah, thanks. And I don't know who's next. I think that's it. Yeah, now we'll open up to questions. Well, I wanted to ask about the farm show a couple of weeks ago. We heard that like 2023 farm shows canceled. Maybe you could explain a little why a little bit of why and then also where we envision the farm show going in the future and what it could look like, what role it plays. Yeah, thank you. Yeah, the farm show, you know, had a rough time because of the pandemic. It had to be canceled a couple of times because it was right in that area where we couldn't gather and it's a three day show. So you've got people going to booze, shaking hands, close contact over a three day period. So those couple of days were really a couple of years really difficult. There is a committee that has been formed and they are working on looking at reopening the farm show, not this January, but the following one. So they're going to come back. We at the agency are helping with that to look to the future. You know, this is an independent organization, much like a fairer field day, so it has an independent board. We are at the table trying to assist them, trying to figure out what they want to do. You'll see over time that some of these bigger shows have changed over time. You know, commerce has done a little bit differently than it's been done in the past. You know, e-commerce is something that is happening in agriculture as well. So the old days, maybe someone went to the farm show and looked at a piece of machinery and thought, do I want to buy it? But there are other ways that their farmers are using ways to buy equipment and so forth. It's really valuable for networking, really valuable for the producers shows and the producers associations to get together. So we think that will be part of the plan going forward. We're going to spend some time, figure out the best way to reinvent that show and the goal is to have it reopened, not in January, but the year after. Anne? What does that look like? It looks like this. It looks like this, but it looks like, you know, we can bring people not only from other states, but the world can come here and we can showcase what we offer. And what we offer is authentic experiences. We offer quality food, beverages, drinks. You know, people get a chance to travel to other regions of the United States. I think you get a perspective that Vermont has something really special that we could open up more opportunities for our farms to do that. You know, it's not for everybody. We're not saying this is for everybody, but it does have an opportunity like Janet's doing. You know, you'll see the house that they're putting in here. They're going to have someone stay there. Maybe a week, maybe two weeks. And the pandemic has proven that a lot of people have discovered Vermont or rediscovered Vermont again. Some people are coming seeing it. So I don't think there's any reason we can't be the number one place for agriturs in the world. There's no doubt about that. I think as you recall, we had a very wet spring. So we aren't that far behind in terms of the amount of rain that we've received this year. So I think we've been blessed to have these storms every now and then. And the crops are doing well, but always wanting to make sure that we have enough water. I mean, that's one of the benefits of Vermont. And we've, I think this year, have done fairly well in terms of avoiding that. Anything you want to add to that? Yeah, this is always kind of a tricky. It depends where you're standing, you know, and, you know, some places have gotten plenty of rain. Other places, there'll be spots that don't. So it's something that farmers are adapting to, though. They'll tell you that this is part of their, part of their plan now is they've always got to be ready for this. So Janet talked about more cover crops. She talked about how she's rotational, the grazing is rotational for the animals. So it's protecting the soil, making it a sponge, all that. So all that stuff is being done, you know, it's, but life on the farm is sometimes controlled by the weather, just like our daily lives can be controlled by the weather, except for them. It's really, their livelihood is at stake. So it's really, really critical that we get the amount of rain that we do need. Okay. Well, thank you very much and a tour at this point. We can go see the beef room first, and we can go look at the pouch. Okay, great. Thank you all very much.