 This is Dennis McMahon and welcome to Positively Vermont and Today we have with us Anson Tebbets the secretary of the agency of agriculture food and markets For the state of Vermont welcome mr. Secretary. Thank you. That's great to be here. Nice to be talking about agriculture that's great and today it's right in the middle of the harvest season for some and and We're going to be talking about everything agricultural in Vermont, but first tell us a little bit about yourself Well, I grew up on a dairy farm in the town of Cabot, Vermont And we had a hillside farm. We had a jersey cows. We had some sheep when I was growing up a flock of sheep we had sugaring operation your traditional dairy farm on a hillside in in Cabot and And I still live pretty close to where it all started And how did you get involved in the agriculture of the park? Well, it's always been sort of part of what I've done. I I've always been involved even though I had other jobs off the farm I was when we were milking cows. I was always milking cows with my dad even then I would go off to To work and so forth. So I was always been involved in agriculture one way or another and I've done, you know part of my world has been media and marketing with that So when Governor Scott came calling and asked me if I'd be interested in taking the position of Secretary, I said yes because it was kind of the two worlds. I've always been in Agriculture is always something I've had it interest in even when I covered it when I was at WCAX and my early careers part of my beat was covering agriculture and and So it's it's always been something I've done and and enjoy How has the transition been from journalism to it's been it's been wonderful. It's a it's a very rewarding Busy job. I haven't had really a chance to think about Covering stories or thinking about the media at all since transitioning It's met in some ways. It's much the same. There's a lot of different variety What we do at the agriculture agency in the media as you know is is something different every day and Some of the projects are a little bit longer and what we're doing, which is good but for the most part been so busy and the transition was great and Having a good time with it some challenging times, but all always having a good time doing it. That's great I'm trying to give us an outline of the scope of the agency. How big is it and what it does? Yeah, it's it's it's there's a lot of variety of what we do at the agency. Of course we have You know the biggest industry in Vermont is dairy. It's about a two billion dollar year industry in dairy with People processing milk and cheese and some of our cheeses are known around the world We know the big brands like Cabot and Jasper and we have some artisan cheese makers everything from cow's milk and sheep's milk to To goats milk and so forth, but we do other things outside of some of those commodity things We have a program called weights and measures So people are going to their gas pumps and they pump up with a gas pump Check there's a little sticker on it and the sticker will say when it's been inspected And we have inspectors that go to the to the gas pumps and making sure that the consumers are getting what they paid for We also people that check scanners inside stores with our weights and measures program So what supposed to be at the in the aisle when you buy something? The price there should match up when you get to the checkout counter So we have inspectors that do that. We have animal health We have veterinarians to make sure that our animals our livestock are not spreading diseases So there's certain rules and regulations about transporting animals. So that's part of it. We have meat inspections So both federal we do federal meat inspection and help them out with that We do local inspection so that meat that you're buying in a store is is Safe we have that going on We have a big division of water quality of farmers have a numerous Regulations that they have to comply with to manage their operations how they spread manure Where it's spread when it can be spread and make sure they're complying with something called the required Agriculture practices which are the rules and regulations Relating to making sure that we protect our water. So there's no manure runoff into our waterways So that's one thing we do. We have an entomology department and we're always tracking whether They're Invasive species you may have heard about the emerald ash borer that has arrived in Vermont our agency was involved And helping to identify and confirm that it indeed had arrived in Vermont. So we're managing that mosquitoes We'll make sure some mosquitoes because some mosquitoes can spread some very serious diseases. So they do that So there's a wider array of things We also have economic development through our agriculture development division and they're working on promoting and getting Some of our small companies to bigger markets and so forth So there's a lot of variety of what we do and we have about about 130 employees statewide That are working in the agency of agriculture. That's amazing. Tell us about Farmers assistance the farmers you have a program for that. Yes, we have a lot of we mentioned water quality A lot of our water quality Programs are centered around making sure that the manures manage correctly and it doesn't have a chance to run off into our waterways So at times farmers have to invest in some of that big infrastructure manure pits Making sure their barnyards so the manure doesn't run off. So we have cost share programs That we we help them with and they can apply for federal federal and state assistance And so some of those projects Say a farm wants to build a manure pit and some of those manure pits can range up into a half a million dollars $650,000 depending on the size So a farmer really can't afford that full cost So there are programs for the state of Vermont to invest in that and also federal programs as well What about educating the people in the industry how to farm how to just basically run their businesses Yeah, we have we have a lot of educational programs centered around mainly around The water quality division we do have some in technical assistance where we provide through the agriculture development division But for the most part where we we work with U of M extension closely They have agronomists that are on on staff and we work with them closely We work with some folks with USDA to help on technical assistance but many of our programs that can assist our farmers say they want to look into Cover crops or no-till etc to sustain the water in the soil because we're really focused on making sure that our water quality and our soil health is is healthy and We we offer technical assistance Through that as well through education. What is the state of the agriculture right now in Vermont? in terms of either the country Or even our near neighbors What is the scope of this and are there any particular problems that being faced right now? Well, I would let's let's talk about Dairy Dairy has gone undergone a very difficult time over the last five years and The farmers have not been paid an adequate price to meet their production costs And that's related because there is too much dairy across the country in the world And when there's too much dairy out there particularly fluid milk drinking milk That lowers the price to the dairy farmer It has started to go up a little bit. So there's a little bit of encouraging news going on with that But for the most part on the dairy sector it has not gone well other industries that seem to be doing okay And continue to grow our maple industry continues to grow We continue to be the number one producer of maple products in the United States And it's more than just for your pancakes now with maple You're seeing infused in and products like barbecue sauce and spirits and beer Salad dressings. So there's continues to be growth in that a lot of investment has gone on over the last Decade in maple. So that's happening another industry. That's new relatively new to Vermont It's been here for a couple years, but it's growing tremendously this year is hemp We're in the midst of harvest season with hemp It was legalized by the federal government and we've had a pilot program Vermont for the last couple of years But now it's legalized. So a lot of farmers are taking a look at that. They're growing it We have about 900 people growing hemp in the state of Vermont So that's a new industry that's happening and our food our small food processors Artisan cheese folks they continue to make inroads and You know Vermont's brand as far as quality over quantity continues to be Stellar across the United States. And what about meat? How does Vermont stand in terms of meat production and Is it a something that is marketed nationally or even regionally? Mostly our our we have a number of grass-fed beef operations that are in Vermont And they are they are making their product mainly for our robust co-op market that we have in Vermont our co-ops across the state like to see and like to support local farmers, so they're buying buying a lot of local meat and That's that's that's generally that where their audience is Folks are continuing to support our farmers because they want to know where their product is coming from how they're treating their animals How they're treating their land and so forth, and that's one avenue. I think people are supporting Particularly meat local meat through their local co-ops in some of our smaller supermarkets. That's great What about the agricultural development? How does that work in terms of the land? We seem to be having a lot of mall development and maybe some other types of housing developments How does agricultural development fit into that? Well agriculture has to be done in the in the rural areas because that's where the land is We have a number of small food companies That are making incredible products, and we try to support them through Maybe getting them to a farmers market Maybe getting them to a trade show where they can get a another buyer or a bigger buyer in front of them And we have cost-share programs to help with that But those those are those are a difficult You know it may start in someone's kitchen you have a recipe in your kitchen It's great you show it to your friends They like it and then you may want to go to a commercial kitchen and rent out some space for a couple days a week and make that product Get it to a farmers market. Maybe get it in a few stores in Vermont, and then the next level is you want to get it to Either statewide or into some of our bigger markets Vermont is blessed that we have a great agriculture roots, but we're also blessed that we're close to people who do have Enough income that can support a quality product from Vermont So we try to get our some of our products into Boston into New York into Philadelphia into Washington sort of on the east side so that's that's a big market for them and a lot of people in those regions identify With Vermont because of its commitment to its its its agriculture its land and its environment The department the agency get into things like the use of the term Vermont I know there might have been an issue of it Vermont Vermont maple syrup using that term Vermont when it's really not from Vermont Do you get into that? Yeah, we we're always looking to make sure we protect The Vermont brand and the name Usually when it gets to a point where there may be dispute or someone abusing that That would be turned over to the attorney general's office, and they'll look into it through the consumer consumer laws because we do want to make sure that that That the Vermont name is not abused in some of our products Now suppose someone is watching this and they're in college or they're Thinking about a career. How does the agency foster an interest in an agricultural career? we try to foster that through Partnerships and we always are encouraging folks if you're interested in agriculture Hook up with a Farmer maybe try it for a while Maybe spend a summer on the farm if you're into vegetables and cropping and so forth like that do that If you want to work on a dairy farm, there are numerous jobs that are available on dairy farms right now I'll try it out learn from someone who has experience and There are programs out there Either through the Vermont lands land trust land link if people are interested in actually purchasing their own farm or Taking it to the next level, but we're always encouraging either internships or Just learning from a neighboring farmer to see if it does work for you because it's something You don't want to jump into lightly Well, I see that there's a number of other projects that the states involved in your department What is the working lands project the working lands enterprise group that is a an organization where we provide assistance to say you're a cheese maker and You're at a certain level and maybe you have two or three employees and you're making a certain amount of cheese But you want to take it to the next level that may employ more people may buy more product We provide a grant program for them. So there's an independent board We manage the program through the agency they make a proposal to the board about hey I need to buy this piece of infrastructure to take it to the next level which will create jobs or provide more more stability to To their operation so they come before them they apply and then we may buy them say they need a Cream separator or they need a truck to haul their milk That particular board can provide assistance to them this year the legislature appropriated an extra half a million dollars to that program and that money is earmarked to the dairy sector or the environmental sector So that was important as people look at new ways to grow their operations. That is what that particular Enterprise board does I mean you notice you mentioned the legislature. What what types of Developments or achievements or issues has the agency dealt with in this this first half of this session Yeah, we've we've dealt with a number of Particularly issues a lot of it sent it around which is we just talked about with the Enterprise board We were working with them trying to find the necessary dollars that would be able to go to that particular Sector we write Various laws around hemp We're able to add a couple of new employees to grow the hemp program in Vermont because in the hemp program We want to have it focused much like our artisan cheese Industry and it has to be centered around safety and also on quality we also are able to add a couple of employees to support our Apriaries and our be a sector we have it's important that our bees remain healthy and flourishing And to do that we need to get people out checking on hives more making sure that Disease is not spread so we were able to get a couple of more employees to work on that So all those things are things we worked with the legislature on and of course a lot of it spent along Our budget and and how we maintain the resources we need to run the organization and support our farmers What about the relationships with other state agricultural agencies and with Congress Is there anything coming up that Concerned you in the in Congress? Well, we did get some From USDA. We have a good relationship with USDA. We we were awarded one or three around the country This is a dairy innovation Center And that it's going to provide money for us and our dairy farmers to look at new ways to Innovate maybe develop new products. Maybe change their farming habits, maybe go to Possibly a grass-based dairy all those things were very very important We we've just received word of that in the last a few weeks and that will continue to be part of what we do over the next A few years and Congress has assured us that there will be some more money available to continue to grow that Program to help our our dairy industry over the over the coming years How about community involvement? What types of programs that you have that perhaps? Town boards or civic organizations or other types of groups 4-H clubs can can get involved with? Yeah, it's very important that Agriculture get out tell the community what they're doing Over time people are not as close to where their food has is being grown and that's in Vermont as well We're still a very very rural state But there are pockets of rural areas where people are not visiting farms seeing farms We have something that the agency supports in the summertime called breakfast on the farm And that's an opportunity for the public to walk on to a dairy farm early in the morning a get a free breakfast and then see How milk is produced see how the cows are cared for see how they're fed? And there's a couple of those each summer. Those are important We have a program that we support called two plus two where it's a College program or if you spend this a scholarship program that we help support with the help of the legislature where a farmer may have a Kid that's going to college they go to VTC for two years They go to VTC for two years and they can go to University of Vermont in their agriculture program And this is a scholarship program So those are all a very important we sponsor 4-H clubs, but it's very important that we continue to Expose the public that's not involved in agriculture of what's happening. Let me ask you about some of these Issues I understand you have a problem with phosphorus and there's a Vermont phosphorus innovation challenge. What's that about? This is related to improving our water quality over time in Vermont With the help of the agency of natural resources and the agency of commerce We all got together and we just challenged companies to look about removing phosphorus Safe from manure. How could we remove some phosphorus from manure? and So that would not Necessarily make its way to a waterway now phosphorus is is very needed And it's essential for plant growth, but if there's too much in one particular area that is where the problem is So we're looking at companies are looking at It's a company called rock dust and rock dust is is comes out of a quarry and it's not really dusty It's a very small pebble, but that can absorb phosphorus. So they've been part of this phosphorus challenge We gave them some seed money to do some studies and We're continuing to monitor those. We've got stuff called biochar where that's another thing. It's a it's a wood based Product and that absorbs phosphorus. So the phosphorus doesn't have a chance chance to Leak into the waterways that is one so all these things are part of the Vermont phosphorus innovation challenge and we continue to Evaluate those and there could be some more funding coming up in the coming months for those particular projects that could be used statewide and advance those companies as well and you mentioned the bees and there's always a Great deal of information lately in national news and scientific journals about the bee population How we doing on that the bee population is always a challenge tremendous interest from our there's a a lot of bee clubs around the state of Vermont backyard beekeepers and It's very important because We've had issues with mites and disease over time But a bee can travel as much as five miles in its daily journey So if it's if it's carrying a disease it could get into another hive and cause trouble there So we're always looking to make sure that if we identify that there could be a problem in one sector That the neighboring a beekeeper knows about it and they can deal with it But there's tremendous amount of science and research going on particularly at UVM Related to the health of bees bees because they are important for our apple crop vegetable crop All of our farmers rely on bees is for pollination. That's great. Now. We're looking now at the the Middle of October, how do you project the the next season to do in terms of issues or problems? How are we doing going to be doing as we go into the winter if you can well a lot of a lot of agriculture is controlled by the by the weather and If we look back in the spring, it was very wet and then it recovered Nicely for the most part for a lot of our farmers throughout the summer Now going into you know the winter months most farmers really don't like really really cold weather because that can impact What's happening on farms? But there's some concern about you know, it's in particularly when you talk about maple We have wild fluctuations in our weather now You know the day we were recording this this broadcast. It was really having a really hard Consistent rain not a soft rain. We're having a lot of one inch two inch rain events Those are something new that farmers are coping with and one of the hopes is they're gonna have to adapt that over The time is because they're working to improve their soil health and that will act as a sponge So some of these are really strong particularly Rainy days There were been experienced that they the soil can take that and then that has a long-term impact on the health of our waterways so weather is is one of the biggest challenges that farmers face on a Daily basis and it's something that they're always watching that weather forecast to say what's next What about issues like soil erosion? Is that a problem because of the last few years anytime anytime? There's a big rain. It has a lot of impact even in non agriculture world So you know it rains goes on the roof can go under the parking lots goes into the drains has to go somewhere Goes into our treatment plants in the more urban areas You know our rural areas it goes down our back roads. It can find its way to water. So anytime There's a hard rain event it has a has an impact maybe two months three months down the road and then maybe it warms up and So we face we face water quality issues from there, but anytime you have a dramatic Especially rain event it can impact water quality months down the road we've managed to cover quite a bit and Before we conclude I'd like to give you the opportunity perhaps to address The reminders who are watching and with any special message or any special concerns you have well Thank You Dennis. It's been it's been great talking agriculture I would just encourage everyone to learn and listen engage with their farm farmer or farmer Buy as many local products as you can Particularly in milk if you look on milk if you look for the number 50 code 50 on your milk That means it's produced in Vermont and bottled in Vermont. So code 50 on your milk Shop around get out look around support your farmer in any way and learn and listen and what they're doing Most of them are absolutely needed for our communities and We're blessed to have such abundance of tremendous local products that we can eat and share here in the Green Mountain State That's great. Well. Thank you very much My special guest today has been answering tablets the secretary of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food and Markets Thank you for watching