Farm to Plate presentation highlights food economy, land loss risk and conservation gains in Vermont

Farm to Plate Director Jake Claro told the Agriculture, Food Resiliency & Forestry committee that Vermont’s food and farming sector supports roughly 63,491 jobs — about 20.6% of total employment in the state — and that production and processing jobs alone account for about 9.2% of the state’s workforce.

The data provides a baseline for policy or budget requests the committee may receive, Jake Claro said, and can help answer “why” certain investments are important for economic development and public policy.

Farm to Plate and other presenters told the committee that local food sales are dispersed across many market channels and that beverages (primarily beer) represented about 25% of local food sales in 2017; craft beverages accounted for roughly 17% of local food‑sales growth between 2014 and 2017. Presenters said that retail channels such as co‑ops and regional grocers (Hannaford, for example) are strategic places to grow market share for local producers, while national dollar stores are generally a lower priority for current outreach.

The briefing also covered land use and production capacity. Presenters cited analysis from American Farmland Trust that, under a business‑as‑usual scenario, Vermont…