Committee reviews Agency of Agriculture budget, flags priorities for Working Lands, food bank and conservation programs

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 discussed supporting the governor's recommended Working Lands base of $1,000,000 while remaining open to a one-time supplemental; advocates had requested an increase to $5,000,000. The Vermont Food Bank requested $2,000,000; committee members expressed support for that ask.

Committee members also reviewed several smaller and targeted items. The governor recommended $500,000 for a purchasing incentive for schools and level-funded farm-to-school grants; the committee noted the purchasing incentive had been oversubscribed and asked staff to confirm exact line-item figures (a transcript line referred to an increase to "$508.75" for farm-to-school grants; the committee will verify that number with agency documents). Conservation districts requested $948,200, up from a governor-recommended $612,000 in level funding.

The panel considered a larger, longer-term proposal described in the transcript as a "farmer/forestry operations security" special fund, where program materials estimated $15,600,000 based on averaged losses over three years. Members said the full amount was far beyond what the committee could deliver immediately but discussed making an initial, modest seed contribution (one member suggested $500,000 as a starter).

Agency staff also described the department's workforce and funding constraints. Amy Mercer, the agency’s financial director, said the agency has 151 total positions (about 116 permanent and 29 limited-service roles plus six exempt positions) and noted that many limited-service roles are funded by federal grants or one-time appropriations and therefore cannot be reassigned. Dubuque said the Dairy Business Innovation Center is federally funded and "serves all 11 Northeastern states," and that the six positions tied to DBIC must work solely on that federal program.

Officials described pressure on the agency’s small business office—four people manage grants, federal funds and one-time projects—and said they would request a pooled position with roughly a 70% general-fund share to strengthen financial and grants management. Dubuque explained the position-pool process and offered to provide members with a spreadsheet showing the agency’s budget and position history.

The committee paused its internal decision-making to take the agency briefing and asked staff to provide written clarifications and the spreadsheet Dubuque displayed. Members said they would finalize their list of recommended increases and any one-time contributions after reviewing those details.

The agency will send the spreadsheet to committee members and remain available for follow-up questions; the committee did not take a formal vote during this session and intends to make final recommendations after the requested clarifications are received.