Farmers Watershed Alliance urges clearer guidance, funding as EPA letter could shift farm oversight to ANR

Members of the Farmers Watershed Alliance told the Senate Agriculture Committee on a meeting day not specified that an Environmental Protection Agency letter and possible changes in permitting could push more farms from the Agency of Agriculture’s oversight into the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), creating uncertainty and additional costs for Vermont farmers.

"We wanted to...start a relationship so we can have that communication back and forth as policy moves forward," said Scott Magnam, board chair of the Farmers Watershed Alliance, in opening remarks about the group’s goals and recent work on water-quality issues.

The Alliance representatives told the committee they are seeking clarity on how the EPA letter will be applied, and whether Revised Agricultural Practices (RAPs) and farm permitting will remain managed primarily through the Agency of Agriculture or move toward ANR oversight. "Tell us what RAP is. Revised agricultural practices Requires are mainly field practices. We're not sure if those would be influenced by the shift because that's the capo permitting is mainly on farmstead," Magnam said, quoting the Alliance's reading of the distinctions between field-based RAPs and farmstead permitting.

Larry Jarvis, vice chair of the Farmers Watershed Alliance and a dairy farmer from Enosburg, said farmers are already…