Center for Agricultural Economy highlights Yellow Barn food hub, distribution and farmer support

John Ramsey, executive director of the Center for Agricultural Economy, updated a legislative committee Thursday on the Center’s newly completed Yellow Barn food hub, distribution operations and programs to help beginning and transitioning farmers access markets.

Ramsey told the committee the Yellow Barn project — a Cabot retail center paired with a 25,000-square-foot warehousing food hub completed in October — included a half-acre solar array on the roof and will route more than $20 million in food and agricultural products annually through the facility. "One of our major accomplishments this past year was the completion of the Yellow Barn project," Ramsey said, adding the solar installation was finished in late October.

The Center operates aggregation, cross-docking and last-mile services to connect small and mid-sized Vermont producers with larger distributors and institutional buyers. Ramsey said the organization worked with about 105 farms last year, moved "over $12,000,000 in products" through its operations and serves roughly 400 locations weekly, including rural stores, schools, hospitals and college cafeterias. "We go to a little over 400 locations throughout Vermont," he said.

Ramsey described the Center’s…