[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},"mediaId",6099837,"mediaKeyId","2815794-bfb6c02794cdbdbfc3dc5958c7b513db","parentId",2815794,"title","Ben & Jerry's details Caring Dairy program: $40M invested, farms report measurable soil and emissions gains","audioSeconds",2640,"startMs",2306000,"endMs",4946000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2815794-bfb6c02794cdbdbfc3dc5958c7b513db&start=2306&end=4946","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2815794-bfb6c02794cdbdbfc3dc5958c7b513db/thumbnail_2306000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6099837/Vermont/Ben-Jerrys-details-Caring-Dairy-program-40M-invested-farms-report-measurable-soil-and-emissions-gains","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6099837-bee2688e2fd0d535b8ebd48abdf38ddf/orig.mp4?Expires=1770417781&Signature=d0BUvugsFJBNQoC9qTI5jEJNpImwngmw7OASEznqHmKKS5u-8k4ruSN8KKBKG1TST66UjFRmVJBONQ-TFRBWJeanFf2a5r23cyORL26UpJdpyPB3pKM1ge7TGwvV8JjT75impZTgp3r-13OLmoJfG5ZDxNoN3OkTsdr5IDjz9P6bYXyJCPhqygCxn0kKhVtIU75wPeiClHZLxflzOowFLbrDVfz2Rc7XBITc0CD~pdcJgW1zCV3ckOdwEWHayVkNY~KBEy6xtueu9WLlnuMCAP3rVIajMERsLShynI-8UIs9m3d119iyHfB-gFAgXhZYmRq7d064-bTcBpbe5EWulQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-03-29T08:17:43.27Z","article","Tom Gates, Vailes Dairy Specialist for Ben & Jerry's, told the committee that Ben & Jerry's Caring Dairy program currently works with about 48 Vermont farms (51 including participating farms in northeastern New York) and has invested \"over $40,000,000 on farms participating in Caring Dairy in the U.S.\" Gates said the program aims to strengthen farm livelihoods, improve animal care, expand regenerative practices and reduce on‑farm greenhouse gas emissions.

Gates described the program's four pillars: labor standards (Ben & Jerry's participates in the Milk with Dignity program), third‑party animal care audits (Global Animal Partnership certification), regenerative practices (cover crops, reduced tillage, crop rotation and increasing homegrown feed), and measurement and reduction of farm greenhouse gas footprints. He said about 80% of the milk volume represented in Caring Dairy lies within 30 miles of Ben & Jerry's St. Albans manufacturing plant.

Program metrics and pilots: Gates said Caring Dairy farms in the U.S. represent just over 20,000 lactating cows, roughly 25,000 acres of grass, 18,000 acres of primarily corn silage, and 16,000 acres of forest — almost 60,000 acres overall. He said recent data showed Caring Dairy farms reduced their on‑farm greenhouse gas footprint by about 13% relative to a 2015 baseline through 2022, and a Low Carbon Dairy pilot of seven Vermont farms achieved roughly a 16% reduction through 2022. Gates noted that enteric emissions and manure management are the largest sources of on‑farm emissions and described work on feed additives, manure separators, and digesters targeted to medium‑sized farms.

On labor and animal care, Gates said Ben & Jerry's was an early U.S. signatory to the Milk with Dignity program and that more than 200 farm workers on participating Vermont farms are covered by the program. He also described that over 55% of participating Vermont farms had achieved third‑party animal‑care certification and that about three‑quarters of annual corn acres in the program are planted with a cover crop, while 86% of participating acres used no‑ or minimum‑till practices.

Committee members asked technical questions about how Ben & Jerry's purchases milk components (butterfat and nonfat solids rather than whole farm milk), what happens to the water removed in separation, how feed additives work to reduce enteric emissions, and whether Ben & Jerry's production in the U.S. primarily occurs in Vermont plants. Gates answered that cream and condensed nonfat solids are purchased from balancing plants (often cooperative‑owned facilities) and that much of the separated water is repurposed at plants for non‑product uses.

Ending: Gates said the company continues to refine farm‑level interventions and hoped to incorporate successful Low Carbon Dairy pilot results into the broader Caring Dairy program in coming years. Committee members thanked Gates and asked staff to follow up on technical details and certification data for members who requested them.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Agriculture – 2025-03-28 – 1:05PM","oneSentenceSummary","Ben & Jerry's presented its Caring Dairy program to the committee, citing roughly 48 Vermont farms in the program, over $40 million invested in U.S. farms, cover‑crop and no‑till adoption, and on‑farm greenhouse gas reductions of roughly 13% (2015–2022 baseline).","taxTitle","Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Committees, Legislative , Vermont","taxId",36721,"location","Vermont","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6099842,"Bill would create Farm Security Special Fund to help Vermont farms recover from extreme weather",1724,95000,1819000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2815794-bfb6c02794cdbdbfc3dc5958c7b513db&start=95&end=1819","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2815794-bfb6c02794cdbdbfc3dc5958c7b513db/thumbnail_95000.jpg","/articles/6099842/Vermont/Bill-would-create-Farm-Security-Special-Fund-to-help-Vermont-farms-recover-from-extreme-weather","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6099842-4b95ce6ad77c003459a74ad310e8687a/orig.mp4?Expires=1770417781&Signature=Lwi~rbstGbufgD6W9fGjrMNSr17CIgkvw20eSNrNkGxjpubqlerg6b2TWgT3vGJbrXd3hLj0ujfUlurqghP1ytgeJIWhCPWtSCFzSLgoQlXqWfvXnGlE2grqyXx6cEhI8Rf61MWTn1G~iF3OffFRTZqCBEFzH6EB~7zkshR4UuiyUD7tEZe5xXQxEZAy49nWUrL-xX7kf~OjxBvnccBRvoCoEmBBXm1LxYB6ctaBeTn350GUrmUjwMTXLDTv4Qm~fH5RulHq7WVDYYDeA1KIXMMyf99KZObUU7i2cvGPc4qwPYQRWKXo0Y6lI2GucL8Svvx-zybcKIqAD~dESSR6MQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senator Joe Major, vice chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, told the Vermont House Agriculture Committee that S.60 \"is to establish the farm security special fund to provide financial relief to Vermont farmers affected by severe weather conditions.\" The bill would create a new Farm Security Special Fund at the Agency of Agriculture to award grants for uninsured or otherwise uncovered losses caused by eligible weather events.

S.60 responds to increasing extreme weather losses cited for recent years: testimony and the bill text referenced statewide farm losses of about $44.7 million in 2023 and $13.5 million in 2024. Under the bill, the fund would reimburse up to 50% of uninsured or uncovered losses, capped at $150,000 per farm per year. Eligible reimbursements listed in the bill include lost wages, destroyed crops, debt payments, replanting costs, livestock feed replacement, equipment repairs and farm road repairs. The bill would amend 6 V.S.A. chapter 207 to add a new subchapter creating and governing the fund and sets an effective date in July 2025.

Michael Grady, who presented a section‑by‑section overview, said the statute would require the secretary of agriculture to develop income‑based award criteria, ensure language accessibility, and set a streamlined application. Applications deemed administratively complete would be reviewed by a board; the review board must recommend awards by majority vote within 15 days of a complete application, and the secretary would issue awards within 15 days of a recommendation — effectively a 30‑day turnaround from a complete submission. The review board would include the secretary (or designee), the state chief recovery officer, representatives of agricultural organizations, and two farmers who have received relief funding; members would serve staggered three‑year terms.

Committee members pressed on funding and operation. The bill as described by presenters included a $7,500,000 allotment from the general fund in fiscal year 2026; committee discussion and presenters noted that the Appropriations Committee had removed that appropriation in its version. As explained in the meeting, the statute could be enacted but remain inoperable until an appropriation is provided; committee members explored options including one‑time appropriations, contingency lines, or a capitalized fund to sustain ongoing awards.

Sponsors and witnesses told the committee the fund is intended partly to reach medium and small diversified farms that lack crop insurance and to provide faster, simpler relief than available federal programs. The committee also discussed operational details such as whether the agency would create new staff positions (presenters said the agency would use existing staffing to administer the program and convene the review board), how applications would remain open if funding runs out, and the criteria that would scale awards relative to a farm’s net income.

The bill has a companion House measure, H.229, and committee members asked for a side‑by‑side comparison of differences between the house and senate versions. Committee members and witnesses named multiple sources of testimony on the bill, including UVM Extension, the Vermont Farm Bureau, the Agency of Agriculture, farmers and farm advocates.

Where the bill stands: the committee discussion recorded here did not enact a final appropriations decision. Presenters and committee members repeatedly noted that the bill language would put the program into statute but that the program would not operate until funding is appropriated in a subsequent budget action or amendment.

Ending: Committee members deferred detailed funding decisions to appropriations and to ongoing budget negotiations; they also asked the Agency of Agriculture for operational clarifications such as the board’s appointment process, whether the fund would accept other revenue sources, and how the agency would handle applications if funding were temporarily exhausted.","S.60 would create a state‑administered Farm Security Special Fund to reimburse farms for uninsured weather losses up to 50% and $150,000 per farm; bill is in statute language but currently lacks the requested $7.5 million appropriation.","actionData","errors"]

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Ben & Jerry's details Caring Dairy program: $40M invested, farms report measurable soil and emissions gains

Bill would create Farm Security Special Fund to help Vermont farms recover from extreme weather