Vermont Farm Show leaders report broad stakeholder review as board weighs whether to revive event

Teresa Snow, president of the Vermont Farm Show board, told the Legislature’s Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry Committee that the board completed a statewide stakeholder engagement process and is preparing recommendations for the full board on whether and how the Farm Show should continue.

The Farm Show board officers completed “16 virtual focus groups, five in-person gatherings and an online survey” that together included about 300 participants, Snow said. The outreach was intended to answer whether Vermont wants a Farm Show, what form it should take and what organizational structure would make it financially viable.

The Nut Graf: The Farm Show—first held in the 1930s and last staged in January 2020—has historically been funded by exhibitor fees and small state fair grants, and is incorporated as a nonprofit that cannot currently offer tax deductions for donations. That financial and governance backdrop, Snow said, prompted the board to test public and industry interest and to consider changing its corporate status, membership models, or charging admission as ways to sustain a revived event.

Snow summarized the organization’s history and recent work: the show began as a producer association meeting and trade show in Burlington, later moved to the Champlain Valley Exposition in…