Vermont dairy producers present 2025 priorities, cite rising feed costs, floods and workforce strain

Representatives of the Vermont Dairy Producers Alliance presented the group's 2025 legislative priorities to a legislative committee (date not specified), asking lawmakers to include producers in policy development as the industry confronts higher feed costs, flood damage to cropland and persistent labor shortages.

"Fiscal responsibility, climate and environmental regulations, agricultural workforce reform, and, immigration," said Kevin Corey, director of nutrition and sales for Phoenix Feeds Nutrition, listing the executive board's headline priorities and directing committee members to a printed priorities sheet circulated to the panel. The document also highlights increased food access and energy on the reverse side.

The request for a formal role in rulemaking came repeatedly as farmers described how state policy and outside pressures affect daily operations. Amanda Saint Pierre, a Berkshire-area dairy farmer and member of the Vermont Dairy Producers Alliance and the Ag Innovation Board, told the committee, "Today, we have roughly 450 active dairy farms in our state which has fallen from 853 in 2015," citing a December 2024 report from UVM Extension as the source for those figures. She urged committee members to seek science-based, field-tested approaches that recognize modern farming practices and the industry's economic contribution.

Producers described several near-term pressures. Kevin Corey said recent USDA and private-analyst reports diverged and "it has sent feed costs, raw ingredient inputs, corn, soy ... really drastically" higher, noting freight and overseas ingredient supply affect local feed prices. Several speakers described flood losses: Tucker Purchase of Fairmont Farm and others recounted fields damaged by debris and lost acres over recent years that forced them to buy forage and adjust rations.

Farmers also highlighted investments that help resilience and reduce emissions. Shannon Hill, who identifies as executive director of the Long Island Produce Alliance and a member of 4 Hills Farms in Bristol, described installing a methane digester process that began in 2008 and came online in 2012 on her farm, and said she expects to replace aging engines and explore sending renewably produced gas into Vermont's natural-gas infrastructure. Amanda Saint Pierre said her farm is converting a new digester to pipeline-quality gas and expects it to be fully online in 2025.

Speakers pressed legislators on competitive policy differences across states. Walt Gladstone, of Newmont Farm, described state tax-credit programs elsewhere and said such incentives affect farm purchasing decisions and competitiveness for animals and inputs. Gladstone also described farm scale and operations in detail to illustrate the capital intensity of dairy production.

Producers raised regulatory-process concerns: several requested that the Agency of Agriculture and the Agency of Natural Resources include producers in discussions about where permits and regulatory authority will be housed and how new rules will be implemented, stressing that compliance often requires large infrastructure investments and that funding or phased implementation is necessary for feasibility.

Other topics included workforce and community impacts: witnesses said farms employ dozens to hundreds of workers seasonally, provide housing and purchase from many in-state vendors, and therefore circulate income in rural economies. They also discussed carbon markets and forest management as potential new revenue streams; Amanda Saint Pierre said she has been researching carbon-offset offers but that "we haven't entered into anything yet." Concerns about seeds and crop protection arose as well: Walt Gladstone warned that restrictions on neonicotinoid seed treatments could increase foliar sprays and complicate integrated pest and pollinator management.

The Alliance asked the committee to "hear us, to help us and support us," in Saint Pierre's words, and to invite dairy representatives into policy discussions before regulatory or statutory changes are finalized. Committee members asked clarifying questions about membership, farm operations, buffer strips and renewable-energy projects during the hearing. No formal votes or committee actions were recorded in the transcript provided.

The Alliance left committee members with a printed list of priorities and offered to return with more detailed, topic-specific testimony as the legislative session approaches.