Working Lands Enterprise Initiative reports $18.8M in grants, faces smaller $1M base for FY25

Allison Eastman, deputy secretary at the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, opened a briefing for a legislative committee by tracing the Working Lands Enterprise Initiative to its creation by the Vermont Legislature in 2012 under Act 142 and noting the board’s role in guiding grants anchored to both agriculture and forestry.

The Working Lands Enterprise Initiative has funded 555 projects since 2012, distributing $18,800,000 in Working Lands funds and leveraging about $30,900,000 in additional investment by grant recipients, agency staff said. Grantees reported roughly 25,000 acres benefitted and about $92,000,000 in sales generated by award recipients; staff said approximately 540 new jobs have resulted from funded projects.

"The expertise of the board, the flexible funding, and our very rigorous participatory review process are all elements of the program that I that allow us to make catalytic investments," said Elizabeth Sippel, program manager for the Working Lands Enterprise Initiative at the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets.

Why it matters: the program funds business grants, service providers and occasional larger supply‑chain projects that can be transformational for forestry and food processing infrastructure. In fiscal year 2024 the program had just over $3,000,000 to award and received more than $16,000,000 in requests, staff said; fiscal year 2025 has a base of $1,000,000, which staff and board members said restricts availability of large supply‑chain awards.

Board structure and review process

Sippel described the Working Lands Enterprise Board as a 20‑seat body…