 And I chair the Senate Act committee and I think to get you've already introduced yourself myself Yeah, so we'll have the rest of the committee Introduce Senator from Addison County Ryan Colomore representing the Ruffin district Chris Pearson senator Wait and I will say dairy farmer for 40 years So to kick this off Special welcome to all of you great turnout But who have you here today visiting the state house and and we've got not an hour and Almost an hour and well we have our hour and ten minutes Yeah, they hear from you folks and and We've got ideas that you'd like to promote I know Jackie's here and Joe The president farm bureau he's around the state house a lot Nick does Jane Jane Morris and her crew Make sure that you know that your ideas get brought up to the forefront So and it's good to have help here because we have you know We've got the natural resources committees in Bolton and of course the Appropriations committees where it ends up if we need money to do practices so Yeah, it isn't like the old days where you could get by with one part-time person's kind of helping out It's a big job And the help is certainly appreciated So Jackie I guess turned over to you and sure and before we go any farther. We have some unfinished business in November at the Vermont Farm Bureau annual meetings Our president always announces the winner of a president's award and this is given to someone who's been a strong advocate and voice of Agriculture on behalf of our industry and this year the winner was senator star who is not at our meeting But I do have the plaque and I just like to tell folks who maybe weren't there that Senator star first came to the dome the under the golden dome in 1979 last century He came in as a representative so he came in in 1979 and he chaired the housing committee from 1985 to 2000 and then he ran for the Senate came in as a senator in 2005 He was chair of the Senate Education Committee from 2009 to 2012 and since 2013 he's been the chair of the Senate Act Committee for which we are so grateful It's a wonderful committee. He's got some great folks on there that really listen to to your voices and and it's also and Carolyn won the Stephanie Bordeaux award a couple years ago, which was a strong women leading in agriculture So we've got some really good people here who work very hard for all of you But since senator star wasn't at the meeting I brought the plaque on behalf of Joe and the president's award is given to senator Bobby star for his Unfailing commitment to our own agriculture pretty nice In a long time Well when When I first came to the legislature It was a little bit like now and farming farmers were really in in bad shape milk prices were low some farmers were dumping their milk protesting and So and up in Orleans County and in Troy We had some excellent farmland and of course I grew up on the farm I've always other than one year have always lived on our home farm You know eventually I bought it, but that's all beside the point But agriculture Is far as I'm concerned is probably the most important natural resource and the foundation of our state agriculture is it and When when I first came to it wasn't always considered a very good or ambitious committee to be on and you know, this is My 42nd year of being on either the house ag committee or the senate ag committee and and I wouldn't trade any one of those years for some other committee in the world, I mean You know, we've we've done a lot of good things in ag Current use program wasn't really in place for ag BHCB was non-existent and we set that up in in ag At the Vita loan program, which we have now was non-existent We set that up in the ag committee the dairy, I don't know if I mentioned it but the dairy compact we put together and You know, it's it's been a It's been a great run and and I said on the Appropriations Committee in the Senate now But over in the house, which is it's really important for ag to have somebody in there Because the box stops there and but over in the house I never cared about being on Appropriations, but I always had people up there that were good friends and Considered ag is a very important issue. Perry late Paul that was up there for a long time and Michael old bohoski was Chair of that and so along the way, you know, we've had some I've had some good partners That that really helped out and and did a lot of the works All I was doing is steering the bus a little bit But it's like the crew that I have now. I mean, they're the ones that do the work I just try to keep a lid on the cattle and So anyways, I want to thank Jackie in the firm bureau and for all the help that that they have provided Along the way and hopefully will continue into the future. So thank you very much So we do have people that would like to chat with you about some of their challenges and concerns We've been going over some of the bills that that are walking around the building both upstairs and downstairs So I think we've got dairy. We've got some sheep. We've got some egg wine clothes here and some people So we'll try to keep them moving along and if you have any questions, you know, please please ask them We'll try to figure it out. So Mary. I'd like you to start Mary What I think a lot of you know who she is head up up there to the hot seat there Mary's just come back from Austin, Texas She was down at the American Farm Hero Federation annual meeting talking with them about growth management for dairy Yeah, yeah, so great to be here. Mary white from Vermont. We own and operate a cabinet ever mark dairy farm I want to thank you all for being here And just wanted to give you a little update about what happened in Austin, Texas at the American Farm Bureau annual convention Unfortunately, the president of the American Farm Bureau was not able to be there due to his wife's passing Actually during the convention up in a long courageous battle with a beer in cancer So we continued the meeting and he was elected for another term So our best to see if you do ball on his family So the the convention was well attended We had over 5,000 people in attendance from across the country. It was myself president Joe Tisbert and Ann and Jay They're representing Vermont As we know we've really kind of worked with the Montville Commission on pushing growth management and just trying to start the conversation throughout the country So it was great to be able to actually sit down with dairy farmers from California, Kentucky, Wisconsin And I'll try to get on the same page with us and do something to control our domestic supply So as a result, we did unanimously pass some policy on the American Farm Bureau side Which supports a farmer and industry-driven milk management program So that's huge for us I mean you needlessly pass on the floor and that really opens the door for the American Farm Bureau To get their staff on this and start working and other states have passed similar wording in their policies as well So it's really encouraging And it really started with us kind of reaching out and starting this conversation on a national level So thank you for all of you for having your support in the Vermont Mill Commission Just a few other industries that we talked about We did stand up and speak for organic soil to keep the word organic in the soil And we did pass that by a majority at the national level as well There was kind of an opposition from hydroponic operations But we were able to pass that as American Farm Bureau policy as well So we considered that a win for Vermont And one other thing we did pass some hemp regulations on a national level And the American Farm Bureau is going to be supporting a THC of one percent So that it's going to be in the American One percent yes one percent More in line with some of the global regulations. So those are just a few things I want to present to you today I've got some other people here. They want to speak on Jerry But if we have time I might come back later and we can talk about but I just want to applaud you all for Senator star your milk and meat labeling bills. We're always strong supporters of those So I think we could do to get behind those in the state of Vermont. I think would be great since again We're not really seeing anything move at the national level. Do you produce a home and milk? Interesting though, so a lot of these dairy farmers from california their diversity is growing almonds So it was a very interesting conversation I I've been a sponsor of the so-called right to repair bill, which is ag Farmers In a tense way. I think there was a discussion nationally at the past of meeting, but I could be wrong. I know in Nebraska and past Resolution around it. Did that come up? Yeah, just give me a little more background on right to repair is the idea that everything from your cell phone to your tractor You should be able to get parts and repair yourself not bring to the dealer necessarily Which is really hard for us in rural state where You know, you can't go necessarily to authorize repair people And so it's the idea that you should have access to parts you pay for the tractor or for the cell phone or whatever So this has been a national discussion of kind of trying to help our independent repair shops Help farmers who know their own tractors, but are greatly banned from working on them So maybe it didn't come up or so I think there was some discussion on the floor But I wasn't present for that and we'd be happy to look into it and when we get the policy book I will let you know how it stands nationally There was a lot of discussion when I was on the floor about broadband internet And getting that to rural communities. So that was one thing that they were definitely in support of Thanks Other questions Just a really quick one. You mentioned that the word organic in the is it in the definition of soil or what To keep the organic definite to keep the definition of organic in the soil. So with the soil components Being the driver behind that rather than a hydroponic operation or something along those lines using an organic certification I see. Okay. I see. Got it. Thank you All right. Thank you. Yeah, thank you mary Thanks for your hard work on that Yeah, they're very excited to see you That's good Good morning. Good morning I'm Heidi Kranz and I'm worth the Vermont Horse Council. Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak with you all again Um, I wanted to speak uh very briefly to the h254 the adequate shelter Um, we really appreciate all the work that has been going into that particular piece of legislation And feel that the wording that you've settled on you've done an amazing job of trying to Make a one-size-fits-all for all the kinds of livestock that it has to cover And understanding that there's never going to be an absolutely perfect piece of legislation that can cover all that but We've had some of our members and constituents. I think right in and call it to give you some feedback on it and appreciate the work You've done on that Yes, I also wanted to update you. I think I've spoken before both Committees in the past about our economic impact study Which the horse council started back in 2018 And we finished the first phase of that which was a study that looked at the impact of events equine events in the In the state of vermont. I sent had uh forwarded to you our executive summary To give you some background on that the full report is available on our website But the probably the two main important facts that uh hit me from it was that we There's an estimated almost 9 000 people that in 2018 came into the state specifically for equine related events the total impact that they had was almost 22 million dollars in the economy of vermont So that's an average of 2400 per group that came So the impacts there and the potential For growth of that part of the economy in vermont is is fairly significant If we could take advantage of a little bit more of the tourism piece of it We are um next week at the farm show going to be kicking off the second phase of the study Which will look specifically at the economic impact of Owning courses in the state of vermont and it will look both that personal Ownership but also equine businesses and the impacts that they have So we're hoping that by the end of this summer We'll have a whole new set of data for you about that, which I think is going to provide even more valuable information in terms of the what the opportunities are with the equine industry and and answer some questions that we've Nobody's ever been able to seem to answer like just how many horses are there in vermont and what is the impact? And then finally I wanted to put in a word some years ago the Extension service lost its equine specialist And has not been able to replace that person. We are Approached regularly about the that lack And if there I know that we're in tight very tight budget times I know that that's a difficult position to look at But we would love if there was ever an opportunity to um have some Have an opportunity to have that position refilled. It's a valuable position. It gives us access to nationwide outreach that we just don't have now and um support that we've really been missing in the past The study that the horse council just undertook was undertaken by extension And they have the ability to do it. So the horse council as a very small nonprofit Raised the $25,000 that was needed to do that study And hasn't had much Help from at all from the state other than through the center for rural studies who's Been very generous at working with us So thank you very much for your continued work on behalf and we really do appreciate Your consideration of equine Concerns, thank you. Thank you. Thank you idea. Are there any questions for Heidi and me guards? Thank you Rob Cary from Longford. We have a small sheep farm down there and First I would like to thank you for supporting agriculture farming logging and other traditional land uses I recently saw where there was a special working group or committee It will work out of water quality or some related subject And when I saw that senator star was a member of the committee I knew that our interests were being well represented And I know that both agriculture committees are working very hard to keep agriculture and all its farms here in Vermont And I saw a nice picture of you with your sheep upstairs in the Oh, yeah That's that's a part of being part of that Um, we've talked about the shelter bill a lot Um, but just and I think I'm preaching to the choir, but just so you have somebody else here Not all animals certainly need Four walls or whatever specific shelter might be specified here in Vermont in 24 7 365 basis and a lot of animals actually do better Unsheltered in moderate weather and are less likely to have respiratory and other problems such as pneumonia And really most livestock owners out there know what their particular livestock needs and how to care for them They're always going to be some people who are either don't know Or just aren't Doing the proper thing on the tci This seems to be like another name for carbon tax, which I'm personally opposed to And here in Vermont, we are very proud of our rural character and transportation is a very necessary part of that Consolidation of services such as schools and shopping actually increases our need for transportation And any increase of fuel cost is probably going to be a regressive tax Especially to rural residents because they need to travel farther on a daily basis than urban people usually do Farmers loggers and other people working outside will often bear the heaviest costs and are bringing a lot of cases the least able to afford it And One of the other commentaries I'd like to make is a lot of times I've seen over the years I'm sure you have two where what start out as suggestions Guides and best practices and recommended somehow seem to evolve into requirements and mandatory regulation And my personal number one concern for our children and grandchildren Is that there will still be any economy here in Vermont where they can find Jobs to live on Questions for mom Sarah star told me about the idea of wool in insulation And uh, that was intriguing to me because we're always thinking about food really And and I'm just curious if you're aware of Vermont wool producers that are part of that sort of I'm assuming that's a A newer sort of an old idea and then maybe a new idea all at the same time I'm aware a little bit. I know there's there have been At least two I think attempts within the last 20 years or so To do that on some form of a commercial scale Typically would be used for a lower quality wool And Last I've heard in fact we talked about a little bit at our recent sheep group meeting It seems that there's just not enough of a commercial market to really make it go It's hard to compete with fiberglass and the big money there But it has been tried. It's certainly something that Might have a future but right now it seems to be Something that hasn't played reached its time to bloom. Yeah. Thank you. Well in this this very morning We heard the university extension service you're working on dirty wool Working that into the soil is uh in is an alternative to Commercial fertilizer, I think they were saying I I've heard some sort of some sort of palette I'm not full with all the details of it Which is being being tested as a possible feed supplement And also as a soil stabilizer in places So those are those are things that I'm aware of people are are testing I haven't heard they're still working on it as to whether it's Truly going to come commercially viable. It's always it's always good heat Listen for things. So are we going to be able to have Sheep and kels or are we going to have a little battle? Oh, well, you know, it's one of those things that changed over time Wild back through a sheep were the heavy numbers and Then out west they started getting cheaper places to graze and then In more recent times the uh commercial wool market in the u.s. Pretty much collapsed Um Patron guys took care of that That and the imports from Australia and new zeal and they were heavy hitters and that change So anything for else for thought And I don't think there's currently a small ruminant specialist in the extension service either What's the market house the market for in high grade the world these days? Uh In terms of like a full commercial market where Uh a group of small boys would get together and there's somebody that comes into the tractor trailer by tractor trailer loads It's pretty much not exist every couple of years somebody tries to get something a little bit going Um, but there really isn't that full envelope used to be 30 years ago Um, so it's kind of off to small groups. So what we do with ours Um, we some of it we just clean very lightly and sell to hand spinners and other craft people Um, a lot of that sale actually happened. So it is in New Hampshire and Vermont at those sheep and wool festivals and a big fleece showdown at the Biggie grounds in, uh, massachusetts Um, we also take and have some of it more cleaned More cleaned so it can be used as is and my wife makes a lot of crafts that we sell a variety of crash shows So there's some of these people doing it for the higher quality but as far as Actually make being being a part of like a johnson woolen shirt like i'm wearing it's probably insignificant or less What about me? me There are places that in Vermont that will commercially slaughter and an inspection land or sale We've worked with several places including in years past. We worked with A food co-op that had a good market down in boston in new york, but then Wasn't able to keep going So as far as what we personally do for me our meat sales or somebody comes and buy something On the hoof Whether they use it for breeding or for me after it's on their truck or trailer. That's entirely their business Uh, but we do shakers. We ship some lambs down to northampton in massachusetts for auction And i'm sure most of that ends up outplayed Thank thank you. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you Hello Jennifer Lambert from washington vermont. My husband and I operate Um 100 cow organic farm there. You aren't on You aren't one of them on the ridge, right? On the ridge. Yeah, so one side you get a manure pit and the other side you don't you aren't one of them We're on the champlain valley river basin. So you got your pick Uh, yeah, we got approved for a pit, but then we it's married. We denied our pit I'm just kidding. Yes, we're at the line. We're on the good side of the line So, uh We milk just over 100 cows in washington and then we also have a custom harvesting business So we're in Contact with many farms in washington county orange county um, and today I just Mostly want to address the use of roundup and pesticides And uh, it might seem strange as an organic farmer, but I am opposed to Limiting the use of these products for farmers. Um, I believe but we are in the midst of an anti-science movement Fear-based claims are ruling social media, which is where most people get their news from. Um, it's pretty scary But I think roundup has its place in responsible farming Without roundup, we're not going to be able to do things like cover crop and uh, no till like that'll just be impossible We actually tried growing organic corn for a few years and it was Just futile the amount of diesel fuel that we used trying to cultivate the crop trying to keep the weeds down It was impossible that our last year that we Grew corn it was so weedy that we had to Mow it we had to get the mowers out mow it down and put the grass head on the chopper because it was it was just such a Impossible crop to harvest you tried to do it the right way. Yeah the right way the safe way And the corn was about as high as I stand and barely had any grain on it. So limiting these Products from far, sorry. I'm fighting a cold. I'm half here Limiting these products It's just going to harm the farming community. We're going to Not be able to grow other crops other than grass. And so we're going to be more dependent on other states for grain and things It's just going to make it impossible to farm So I think there's a place for pesticides and roundup and Many other tools that we probably haven't discovered yet. I do think that A roundup doesn't belong unregulated on shelves for consumers to buy I mean, there's nothing saying that you couldn't use three gallons a roundup on one dandelion on your lawn Really, and I think it's very overused So we're not in a place yet to go without roundup We don't hopefully there's going to be more tools that we can Use but we're just we're not there yet So farms will become Vermont farms will become more dependent upon other states for grain And fuel We don't have the tools to grow crops other than grass in Vermont without these tools Carver cropping and no till will be impossible without these tools And I'm just urging you guys to Please continue making decisions from the wisdom of the science community not From a place of fear and misunderstanding Farmers need to feed the world and we're going to need as many tools as possible to do that Questions for jane Can you sell your milk to sell our milk to organic valley? Yeah, we're still under quota Yeah What's that price wise is that price wise we're getting 35 right now, but we're in our our high We get three dollar premium for december january and february We'll get it taken away in march and then in the summer we get two dollar deduct For what they call spring flush So we barely cash flow during the summer months So it We got a pocket all the money that we get this time of the year So I wanted to ask you about your About the round up testimony So as you as a farmer as an organic farmer you can still use round up. No, you can't okay So whatever you use it on You wouldn't be able to count it as organic Yeah, we are so we have a custom harvesting business So we do a lot of my husband does a lot of work for other farms plants corn Got it. Okay does So i'm assuming you and your husband I have to have Our certified pesticide You have to go through the training in order to be able to use the round up. Is that correct? Yeah, he's been through the the trainings and the farms that he works for And through the the trainings and last year we worked on a bill about new nicotinoids You probably know and we took the route that you suggested which was to Not allow serve regular consumers to to use it but still Certified operators like farmers or Call for some or some stuff like that to use it Is that something you that's what it sounded like you were suggesting for the for glyphosate did I say that right? Yeah Which they already do now, I think If I understand that right Yeah Right that's what i'm saying as a consumer you can just go buy it by the bucket But right So what i'm just trying to declare what i heard you suggesting is kind of the route that we've had New nicotinoids, which was to not just allow sort of average. Yeah use it responsibly so that Yeah, that's when we don't use these products responsibly is when they're going to stop working so Great, that's I just wanted to make sure that's here. All right. Thank you Any other questions? Nope, thank you Tom it's good. Jen. It's good to hear you're asking for the use of round It's kind of the first I hear it. I get emails and I'm sure we all do it on the other side And I have a question I have not used it on my dandelions for three years And quite frankly my lawn looks like hell I'm doing say I bet you have a good crop You got a moment more Dandelions are beautiful and they're good for pollinators. So just leave Yes, they're the first food for the bees. So you have to You're saving the bees Be proud of Thank you Morning I'll start she's off on their risks This is my daughter Anna So my name is Justin Pullman. This is my daughter Anna Pullman We run a small their first five-firing brand-off with 45 beef cows 5000 maple tats And my days in agriculture are numbered and it's rough on my body And I'm at the point that I wanted to exit agriculture. She graduated high school last year Tried different hands into Childcare and a couple different things who decided that she wanted to continue the farm So we've kind of made an arrangement that I've given her a period of time to try it pick on some responsibility and Decide if that's what she wants to do for the rest of her life So we're here today to talk about a little bit about the struggles of agriculture And one of the biggest things we're facing right now on our farm In regards to regulation new mandates coming and and repressed commodity prices, whether it be beef or maple syrup Those are all things that occur on a daily basis But our biggest thing right now is we're doing more land further away from the farm So we're on roads more than we've ever used to be our farm equipment has gotten bigger because we're trying to do more With less health. We don't hire any farm on farm health. We crop over 400 acres A lot of it we only do once because of the quality of the land, but we're still covering a lot of ground She is lucky to be here today because of a Accident to happen on the roadway with an altercation with another vehicle using the road So we're here to try to raise awareness and get the discussion started about Right the way it's on on the highways and who has that right away, so we're there's some language and We've made up these really neat signs We're language in 732 that talks about the right to farm law about section three. I think line g about Farm equipment being able to use the roadways, but it doesn't give clear language to who actually has the right way And so this is just her accident. She was going a tractor with she had a tractor and a Assets around actually in a manure spreader last spring and we were going an alternate route to try to avoid the mainstream traffic and It was just probably not the best route to be going with that size of the load She had a car behind her. I'll let her tell the story, but it's becoming a daily Issue for us Confrontations with cars whether it is 10 cars behind us or we're trying to make a left-hand turn Into a field or whatever it might be It's just becoming a real safety issue And there's no real clear statute that says who has the right away And I've had in discussions with my insurance agent and local police That if we actually pull over and try to let cars go and which is very difficult for us because their equipment is wider There's really not safe places to pull over. We can't get off the roadway Far enough. So if a cargo was around us and there happens to be another car speeding around wherever we pull over We're actually Potentially liable if something happens to that car because we've gave the indication that they can they can pass us clearly So I'll let her tell her story about her accident and Answer any questions With the accident I was headed up to with a little manure to dump it off in the field and I was going on the back road and there's a bridge and before the bridge there's a pullout And then right after the bridge it's an immediate incline and Car that came up behind me. I felt pressured from it to go faster So I went up the hill and weighed too high of a gear and then when I went to ship down The tractor stalled So the tractor she actually kept it in the The ditch and the car was able to move backwards and get out of the way And she almost had it off the side of the road But then the spreader caught a tree the tractor jackknife dropped our broke off the tractor and the tractor went over a 20-foot bridge and bank she landed Got ejected out of the tractor tractor roll over the top of her. So if you don't believe in faith If you saw that accident you would definitely change your opinion. So did you have your seatbelts on? No So that is our problem. Did you have a roll bar? Yes So we've learned we've learned multiple lessons In regards to an understanding about second chances. So seatbelts are on the priority list and So yeah, it's it's that's an important thing Um But it's the roll bar is no good unless you heard your seatbelts up correct There's a picture of your life. There's there's a picture of a dump truck there also So that was a friend of my neighbor of mine. They were hauling corn last fall Met a car on a kind of a corner of the car wouldn't yield or get over So he stopped and when he stopped the roadside shoulder gave out and the truck did throw it over the bank So that's how the traction. Yeah, so that was just another example of you know A confrontation that you know And I almost got in a physical altercation with a fellow last year We were spreading manure and you all are aware of the manure van So we had to put our manure spreading on hold because we got all that early snow in the ground became froze So it was about a week and then they lifted the van because we were still before the december 15th deadline and So we were moving a truck so finally we're going to spread again But the roads were allies and I was moving a tractor from one location to another and a gentleman got behind me And there was no way I could pull off the road because if I pulled over to let him go by I was slid into the ditch and uh pretty soon he started blinking his lights and blasting his horn So I thought something might be wrong with the spreader So I stopped and and then he just lost it with me on how he had a place to go and In one of those Carol so I've I've been taking testimony from you and Anna since she was way smaller And I just want to say I'm really glad you're alive And please wear your seat belt and as I said earlier before some of our folks got here That means we have a roll call vote and we have to go upstairs And I want to say thank you to everybody for coming today. We really love hearing from you I've been taking notes for the first time on this thing And uh, and I I appreciate your input and please would you please know that we are always available to you Uh through email or phone calls Thanks Yeah, we'll excuse the house Thank you Carol Tell them to shut that I'll had testimony from fair mine farms Over east Montpelier. They've had several challenges with The interpretation of some of the laws of farming farm equipment being allowed on Roads and so this isn't and I'm sure any farmer in here can tell you of their own challenges Um with people on the roads it's it is a challenge Oh, sorry Thank you for coming. I know how hard it is to just come and testify let alone to tell such a good story And I'm sorry that happened to you I rolled a tractor when I was a kid too and it's really scary really really scary Um And I've heard from a lot of people on well not a lot a few constituents on both sides of this issue As you can probably imagine So I'm interested to learn more and and also the interpretation issue that you mentioned Jackie But I wanted to ask you about something else if that's okay You're from Randolph and so and you're thinking about taking over your dad's farm and I'm wondering if you have taken advantage of any of the Courses or our programs at Vermont tech their ag programs or any or our ccb or any of the Higher education options that are available and And if you haven't so why not and what what is there? It's a barrier to you being able to do those programs Or is it just something you're not interested in or? I just know that haven't like looked into this. Yeah Is there a lot there are a lot Vermont tech has a lot of really great programs for from management and operations and They have a program where you do two years at Vermont tech and then two years at ubm and I know Students who've done it and it's been our really valuable program for them and it's Tuition-free you could do it without if you get into the program. It's So anyway, I just encourage you to look into that especially since you're right there And I think it's a you know will help you sort of with the whole farm management operations and You know good luck and congratulations. I think it's a great thing that you're wanting to go into farming Good to see young people wanting to do it I don't want to answer for her, but she we have two daughters one was very one Pleasant The older one, but she's probably not the most One that has a favorite phone for school, but she did do her cdl course this summer and she did get her cdl She's licensed for everything but has Thank you Through that mess with the tractor coming up here is a great That's not what they think though Yeah Morning, good morning. Good morning. I'm Robert Whitman Did she act President of anything coming from girl past president of the not feed dealers have been involved with farming for Over 50 years running a family feed business and I was sold a few years ago um I just want to make a few comments. It's kind of I think it's kind of ironic that The state spent thousands of dollars to redo the statue on top of the dome and it's the It's the goddess of agriculture and yet we seem to be In a constant pressure to Tell the farmers what they can and can't do and so on so forth. So Um My first comment is about the Medical monitoring of the toxic release thing. I know that This uh specifies that farmers are exempt from this But it doesn't say anything about the but the infrastructure that supports farming for instance Cabbage cheese Washing their stainless steel equipment to make sure it's safe and all that sort of stuff I'm sure uses some pretty hazardous materials Even the feed industry we put in some Some chemicals into feed and very small amounts, but it does say hazardous material on the bag and so on and so forth The insurance company, uh, I went to the insurance company when I first saw the bill and they said well I don't know if we would actually Insure you with this type of language, especially Um The medical monitoring but that's so I just want you to be aware that maybe I maybe farmers are exempt from this But not farming industry is not exempt from this We We do have our legal person scheduled To come in I think I believe that's A Wednesday maybe of next is that Wednesday Yeah, Wednesday or next week to kind of lay that out for for us to answer those kind of questions because uh, you know, we're We're hearing it like you just said both ways and And it's important that we try to get that right In my next comments or Just before you leave that I I guess a couple of thoughts there are other states that have a similar sort of medical monitoring and so Businesses get insured there. I think I think that's worth Talking about with your insurer and the other thing that has complicated this discussion for us is that there was a court ruling That's sort of three quarters ruled. He hasn't finished But it seems pretty clear to us that that would be way less protective If you know, if we don't pass this bill and the court ruling stands the court ruling that kind of becomes the de facto rules and and I don't think there's too many people that disagree that that is less protective Farmers at least So we're trying to weigh that and then I would just invite you to understand that It's not just yes or no, right? It's which one is The better solution for us Yeah, thanks, and and then of course the the pesticide things of neonex which are Big improvement over again our phosphates and that sort of stuff Treated seed a lot of times there's other things other than neonex in a treated seed Cactan sometimes there's enzymes in there to enhance growth and all that sort of stuff. So Um We want to be careful about painting A lot of things the coral pyrophos I understand that that is actually, uh Mr. Uh Pajir is already taken out off the market Um, but it's there in case we need it A lot of people here don't remember what every worms can do. I mean, I've seen just the devastate whole firearms And so we want to be actually be able to use something like this if if necessary And and then uh life is safe How is it that uh somebody can sponsor a bill a few years ago that Wanted to regenerative eggs, which meant that you Did no-till planting and cover crops and all that sort of stuff And then sponsor a bill that would eliminate glyphosate, which is what you have to use for all those things And I think you've actually you've taken testimony that you've never found glyphosate in any in the environment All the tests they've done and all that sort of stuff so Is this a public health thing? And if it is it's rather interesting when I was looking Uh for all the information I could find on the chlorophos I have to run across the statement that said that Pesticide applicators as a whole Were found to have 50 lower cancer risk than the general public Likely due to their nearly 50 lower smoking rate So if we're really worried about public health, why are we Encouraging smoking a pot where we let him put some cigarettes these are known Carcinogenics, so if this is a public health thing, I think we should start someplace else So start banning that That's worthwhile It goes up every year Uh Questions for Thanks a lot. Thank you for your time. Yeah, is there anybody else here then in the microphone? All right, my name is Bruce Hellett. I have a money-losing sheep farm in East Montpelier I also have a full-time job for the USDA natural resource conservation service, but I'm speaking for myself entirely So just be aware I've learned a lot of things from my job, but this is about me so The first thing I want to just there's a couple things I want to talk about one of the things It's interesting to me. Generally, I try to follow the legislature But boy, it's gotten hard recently There's just so much stuff that comes down in the pike and it to me that's but just that by itself is not a very good sign and every day it's like And it's just really hard to keep track of the changes in regulations and you know, we as a small farm We don't have a compliance officer We don't have somebody whose job it is to make sure that we stay in compliance with regulations We can't I mean everything that happens in the farm is my job and I have a full-time job anyway, so It's pretty hard so If there's good reason for things great I want to Just quickly talk about some of these chemical bands that have been proposed and senator hardy I think what you were talking about is the framework We're making it harder for the general public to use some of these things But allowing certified applicators is a good framework for looking at some of this stuff It's like yes, there's overuse of a lot of these chemicals But outright bans glide to say for example Not only is it necessary for no-till agriculture Basically, if you ban glide to say you're banning corn growing in the state of Vermont, which You know, maybe that's what the goal is But if that's the goal then just ban corn growing in the state of Vermont because it's basically not going to happen without it It's also necessary. It's one of the most commonly used Chemicals for invasive treatment a lot of late invasive shrubs like honeysuckle and buckthorn and bittersweet and all these things They're taking over woods the Preferred method of treating these in most cases by the certified applicators. They're doing this work is to use bifid state And so that whole system basically the alternatives are much more toxic And garland is commonly used. That's much worse So anyway, just be aware of this is There's now comes they're not good from that and then neonix like is the same Neonix are major problem and they're overused Making it hard for people to use it by keeping one available for purposes The only thing I'm worried about is that If the the need as described in senator cleaneth bill I'm a little concerned that the agency that will actually have the capacity to do that Ryan can probably talk about that but The idea is good, but I don't know how that would work The main thing I want to talk about is adequate shelter for livestock So we have we're right on the main road about four miles from here I have had three complaints in the summer about inadequate livestock shelter That came through the animal control officer and the state police After the mostly I think it was from a neighbor that didn't really like that They were grazing pretty close to their house because that's where the property line is The but I don't know that for a fact Anyway, and of course their sheep in the early summer They're kind of noisy because the lambs are they're starting to wean the lambs And so they're always talking to each other and they graze all night and make a lot of noise So, you know, they probably weren't that excited about having to break near their house Many people do some of our other neighbors we use their land and graze all night and they have we talked and they're like Oh, no, we love it. We have no issues. So it depends And after the last one of these I gave the animal control officer and the state police trooper Who is this young guy about a half hour lecture on the thermal tolerance of sheep and just show the man away After their eyes got sufficiently placed over they Eventually went away and I haven't heard from them since There was a winner one that came on front porch forum when we happened to be away There was this long discussion in front porch forum about how the poor sheep were getting snowed on in the house terrible Coarse sheep are They originally are from desert areas. They have a very high Heat tolerance. Actually, it's not unlimited. You can definitely have problems, but it's pretty high and they have Really thick sweaters. So Winners, you know, when he gets really frigid, yeah, it's bad, but what they like today or It's like this is not a problem for them. So I'm a little worried that any language That was out there could be construed by the people who are worried about this kind of stuff as to requiring buildings at all times And access to buildings in the grazing system It's just not going to happen. I mean effectively what that rule would do is it would ban all Small farm management livestock and the big confinement areas would be fine. They're cows never go outside So that's not a big deal, but all these small farms like ours would not be able to run a grazing system And if you're going to put language in Saying that someone has to have a good grazing system. Okay fine. Who's going to decide that? I mean my friend Kimberly Hagen from extension who many of you may have heard from the other day She is the one who ends up answering some of these questions I'm the person from my agency who writes a lot of grazing plans. I have a good idea what a good grazing plan looks like There are people in the agency ag who have a but who is going to who's going to make this decision We have this problem internally in my agency all the time It's like who's going to decide that this is a good, you know, proper grazing system so Anyway, I'm a little worried about this language and I'm a little worried that we'll end up with a system that Will make it hard to do the kind of good regenerative agriculture management that we actually want people to be doing so The other thing I want to mention is just this whole business on feeding food waste to chickens I've heard a few stories from farmers about that And it strikes me one of the farmers told me that if the language was changed to include food wastes as feed for chickens Then this problem a lot of this problem would go away And that is they continue to do that But it's interesting to me that the legislature will put in this universal recycling law and now we're basically Getting rid of one of the major ways of getting rid of the food So Anyway, some of these we don't so questions Teared uh, you mentioned that the neighbor was complaining were they complaining for the noise or they thought that You weren't uh adequate shelter adequate shelter was the official complaint The complaint was that the sheep were out in the sun in summer on a hot day and they were would be suffering from that That was the complaint I mean a whole control office. I don't know anything about sheep. I have no idea when this is turning up Mistake police was like, we have no idea what these sheep are not I can tell you that uh in our house committee. I won't speak for the other people, but we would understand that You know, not every animal needs to be in a enclosed area. That's probably not the best for them anyway I mean like uh, of courses are used to being out and they know how to take care of themselves and If you've got this much wool on you, you're probably fine But we do we do understand that there's this the bill you guys are taking because this is the first time I've been airing this bill so we don't have it in our committee yet It's age 254 and it's in the house. Okay. Yeah, got it. We've taken quite a lot of testimony on there Yeah, you want to watch over They'll send it over to us and tell us to fix that I just had a comment Sort of a discouraging prospect to think of an animal control officer googling on your land trying to figure out what they should do but just just you know, the the the idea that there's more coming at us And as it feels like you're being barraged, I think we all feel that There's 180 legislators and they're all elected independently and We all file bills for all sorts of reasons and and you know, they're sometimes headlines Legislature considering And that really means one legislator filed a bill and no one's ever going to consider it and so And and so, you know, I've been attacked Vermont Senate doing boba No, this is my bill on something that you know in my dream world in 20 years We would get the votes to do like so I would just ask us all on the media plays their role. It's not always helpful. They they you know, rogers wants to Band cell phones for people under 21 that has nothing to do with cell phones And it has everything to do with guns and it has nothing to do with any of us other than he figured out a clever ploy, right? So I just invite everybody to Not jump on the bandwagon that we've all completely lost our minds and people filed bills for all sorts of different reasons and and it's not fair really to the public in a sense that That the media treats them all equally because there will move maybe 200 bills out of 1200 that get filed And maybe 200 will pass. Well, some nights when we go home, we think we're in a different Building than the rest of here. The things are so crazy Any anything else? I just want to add something to about the ideas of allowing the municipalities to impound livestock and I know few stories about this that I've heard of and anyway, it's the It's interesting. It's like it might be beneficial to allow it Because it's like there's certain select boards that have this as an issue But requiring the select boards might be too much Because I know some of the select boards are going to want I mean, they may want the tools to be able to manage it if there's a problem But a lot of select boards do not have the capacity the towns do not have the capacity to do this Yeah And we were just out there on Wednesday trying to Suggest other ways to do this because I quoted the adequate livestock housing bill Told them they were going to have to build buildings to And they didn't think that was a good idea. So so that's in the house upstairs. Yeah I think I think we'd better re-examine the house It was representative Ansel so we don't want to go there Thank you My name is Jake guest My wife Liz and I have Organic vegetable farm and greenhouse business for the last 40 years We have the good fortune of having just sold our farm Finally To a young couple who are also organic farmers and who are in this very exciting that they're taking over the farm Not our own children there elsewhere We moved to uh, ely, which is in tether vermont We have 24 acres there and we're going to continue farming at a much diminished level What I wanted to address today is that as you are all well aware vermont has been Uh, somebody organic, okay, vermont has been on the forefront Uh of organic agriculture from the beginning as you probably also know senator lady was the sponsor of the original organic bill and our congressional delegation Um has been really supportive of organic agriculture Organic agriculture in vermont is an important second agricultural sector Um Something is often lost in in analyzing the economics of vegetable growing Is that because it's such a labor intensive form of agriculture We all have large payrolls But that payroll those payrolls are spent locally so vegetable growing Is a real contributor economically I just also wanted to say that I represent um The past president and current board member of the vermont vegetable berry growers association I was a founder of the natural organic farmers association And currently a member of the vermont organic farmers, which we we had a meeting just yesterday um A subject which is We are the organic movement Is at currently at a very critical juncture um As organic food has been come become more and more popular Uh, as we would all expect large corporations have entered the entered the field and um There are there are Several segments of this industry which are finding ways to make short take shortcuts in sort of getting around organic standards as we understand vermont has set many uh several uh organic dairy farms and many organic vegetable farms and uh The organic standards have been threatened we feel by the allowing of hydroponic this was mentioned earlier hydroponic and container grown crops They do this on a huge scale Driscoll strawberries any any organic strawberries that you buy in the supermarket Which are from california or not or not local are grown hydroponically Likewise all all the organic tomatoes you find at this time of year Are not grown or grown hydroponically our objection uh, and i'm speaking for vermont organic farmers is that um This is only possible because The the n the nlp the national organic program And the n osb the national organic standards board has allowed hydroponic production Even though the original standards clearly state That organic agriculture is implicit and explicit in the definition of organic is that there's a contact with the living soil And i'm i was very happy to hear that the farm bureau has taken a position um to keep the soil and organic and that is There are several farms here um in vermont who are uh Who are who have set up a new? I guess we call it an add-on standard which is which is called the real organic project And i urge you to go online and look it up It started really by dav chapman who's in east edford Some may be familiar with him. He's testified. I think in various meetings Um, and we are urging just making you aware Of this issue and it affects vermont because in vermont We have we maintain a stricter standard We we have our we have standards which specifically disallow organic and container grown of vegetable production Likewise our dairy farms our organic dairy farms are are in really stressed because The allowance by the nop and nosb of large confinement animal operations huge dairies That have no access to outside pasture although it's mandated in the in the standards themselves vermont farmers are Making sure that they comply with it with the spirit and the and the word of the law In allowing their animals pasture in fact yesterday. We had a discussion about whether we've got we're going to demand 120 days or 150 days Anyway, just Anyway, I'd like to make you aware and please go online and look up the New work of the real organic project and also Be aware that your dairy farmers organic dairy farmers in vermont Are under a lot of pressure. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much to the committee members of the common Thank you Senator Pearson for the comment we try to make sure when we send our report out They were sending out pertinent information and that the stuff that's The media no, I think that that was it. There was a great comment and um, thank you to our members I think I'm really excited the people that we have to speak to you today You can see that the width and the breadth of who we represented isn't just conventional dairy farmers As most there's a lot of people think we've done a lot of different kinds of members and they're all paying attention So we will be back in march after crossover when maybe we'll have a little more pertinent things to discuss But we'd really like to thank you for your time. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you and thank you