Vermont housing board tells senators its farm programs protect land and help new farmers

BURLINGTON, Vt. — The Vermont Housing and Conservation Board told the Senate Institutions Committee on Feb. 4 that its agriculture programs are protecting farmland, lowering purchase costs for new farmers and helping draw federal grants to rural communities.

"We're here not just to talk, but also to listen to hear your concerns," said Gus Seelig, executive director of the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, at the start of the presentation. Seelig and staff described three tied programs: the conservation (development rights) program, the Farm and Forest Viability program, and the Ready (rural economic development) initiative, plus separate work on farmworker housing and water-quality grants.

Seelig said the board currently spends roughly $13 million a year on those agriculture programs and related development-rights work and that the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service matches many of the conservation purchases dollar for dollar. He and staff presented examples from across the state, including conserved farms in Newport and Whitingham, and noted that, after selling development rights, average purchase costs fell by about 60% on projects shown in the board's chart.

Liz Gleeson, program director for Farm and Forest Viability, said the viability program operates like a small-business development service for farmers and forest-based businesses. "We are, like, a small business development program," Gleeson said, adding the program works with roughly 100–150 clients a year and provides up to two years of individualized advising on topics such as bookkeeping, accessing capital and human-resources management. Gleeson said clients the program worked with accessed about $5.5 million in capital last year and that average profitability among participating businesses rose about 36% over the past three years.

Holly McClintock, who manages parts of the board's conservation and development-rights pipeline, told senators the board is handling three rounds of federal matching applications and that a pipeline includes approximately 64 possible projects over the next 18 months. She said the board and partners use conservation easements to protect riparian buffers, wetlands and other resources; the board now requires 50-foot buffers along waterways in its farm easements, McClintock said.

Seelig and staff described several targeted programs and results: - Farmworker housing: Seelig said the board and partners are addressing housing for migrant and seasonal farmworkers and that current efforts will address housing needs for "more than 250 workers," using state funds where federal funding is difficult to apply. - Small grants and water-quality work: Gleeson described a competitive but generally accessible small-grant program for farms that complete business or transfer plans; the board has made about 70 grants totaling $840,000 over several years. On water-quality grants, staff said the board awarded roughly $800,000 last year and those projects leveraged about $4.5 million in additional funding. - READY (rural economic development initiative): Seelig described READY as a program to help rural businesses and communities apply for complex federal grants. Since 2017, the board has spent about $1 million on READY and staff said the technical assistance the program provided helped draw down about $22.7 million in external grants to projects such as meat processing expansion and food-value projects.

Staff used several farm case studies to show how the programs interact. Seelig described a dairy operation that expanded after selling development rights and gaining financing flexibility; Gleeson highlighted vegetable and dairy producers that used business planning and small grants to scale up. McClintock described a conservation sale that protected wetlands and created new public trails while allowing a farmer to buy the property through a land-trust transaction.

Committee members asked about eligibility and program scale. Gleeson said the viability program focuses on commercial-scale businesses and has an eligibility threshold near $15,000 in annual sales, though staff will sometimes work with smaller operations to help them reach commercial scale. Committee members also asked about the source of water-quality grant funds; staff said the board has used a mix of state capital funds and federal matching programs, and that some recent awards were part of the state's capital budget process.

No formal votes or motions were taken during the presentation. Board staff left committee members with printed annual reports and invited further discussions about constituent needs and program improvements.

The presentation illustrated how conservation easements, targeted business advising and grant-writing support can be paired to keep farms viable, protect water resources and direct federal and philanthropic funds to rural projects, staff said.

Looking ahead, staff said they will continue to pursue federal matching funds through NRCS, support farm transfers and continue the Ready program's grant application assistance. Seelig asked senators to consider continued appropriations and to refer constituents with local needs to the board for technical help.