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Committee reviews Agency of Agriculture budget, flags priorities for Working Lands, food bank and conservation programs
Summary
The committee heard Agency of Agriculture officials review budget growth and staffing and tentatively prioritized support for Working Lands, the Vermont Food Bank, NOFA and conservation districts; staff will send a spreadsheet and the committee will confirm exact request amounts before finalizing recommendations.
A legislative committee reviewing the Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry budget heard a detailed briefing from Agency of Agriculture officials on budget trends, staffing and program requests and tentatively identified priority funding recommendations.
Nicole Dubuque, the agency’s chief operating officer, told the committee the department’s budget rose from about $24,830,000 in fiscal year 2019 to about $61,190,000 in fiscal year 2027, driven largely by federal and special funds. "We've gone from a budget of 24,830,000.00 to 61,190,000.00 over the last few years," Dubuque said, and she added the agency now relies on roughly 22% general fund support compared with about 34% in 2019.
Members said those funding shifts matter when prioritizing new state investments. Committee members tentatively agreed to place NOFA, Working Lands and the Vermont Food Bank near the top of their list. The committee…
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