Life Sciences Commons^™

An Exploratory Guide To The Work, Efficacy & Potential Of The Usda-Natural Resources Conservation Service In Vermont Through The Perspectives Of Nrcs Staff, Ellen L. Friedrich

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is the largest provider of conservation incentives payments in private agricultural working lands in the United States. This transdisciplinary and action orientated report is an exploratory guide to the work, efficacy, and potential of the USDA-NRCS in the Vermont context through the perspectives of NRCS staff. The report is built around themes identified from semi-structured interviews conducted with seven NRCS-Vermont staff members. Interviews explored a variety of different topics including natural resource & environmental concerns in Vermont, barriers to conservation and sustainable agriculture, the …

Farmer Perspectives On Administrative Burdens And Potential Compensation Structures: A Short Summary Report Of Farmer Interviews From Spring 2022. Vermont Payment For Ecosystem Services Technical Research Report # 3c, Ellen Friedrich, Nour El-Naboulsi, Alissa C. White, Heather M. Darby

UVM Extension Faculty Publications

Interviews with 35 Vermont farmers explored their perspectives on compensation associated with a soil health payment for ecosystem services (PES) program in 2022. This report summarizes thematic analysis of those interviews. Farmers’ willingness to participate in a soil health PES is linked to both the burden of enrollment paperwork and the payment level, among other factors.

If deciding whether to participate in a soil health PES program, nearly all farmers said they would weigh the time and energy put into the administrative workload against the perceived benefits and value of the program, i.e., the payment level or technical assistance provided. …

Whole Farm Net Zero: Approaches To Quantification Of Climate Regulation Ecosystem Services At The Whole Farm Scale. Vermont Payment For Ecosystem Services Technical Report #7, Christopher Bonasia, Lindsey Ruhl, Benjamin Timothy Dube, Alissa C. White, Heather M. Darby

UVM Extension Faculty Publications

In this report, approaches to the quantification of climate mitigation ecosystem services at the whole farm scale are reviewed and summarized for easy comparison. Eight quantification tools, and three case studies demonstrating possible tool applications, are summarized to fulfill the requirements of the Technical Services Contract—Task 7. Information from a combination of literature review and expert interviews served to document the inputs, outputs, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for each quantification tool. This research was conducted in service to the Vermont Soil Health and Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) Working Group (VT PES working group). It is our hope that …

Valuation Of Soil Health Ecosystem Services. Vermont Payment For Ecosystem Services Technical Research Report #5, Benjamin Timothy Dube, Alissa C. White, Taylor H. Ricketts, Heather M. Darby

UVM Extension Faculty Publications

In this report, we present estimates for ecosystem services from soil health using two approaches for four different services. One approach generates estimates based on soil-health practices, and the other approach is based on improvements in soil-health indicators. For soil- health practices, such as adopting best-management practices on annual corn, we utilize a set of off-the shelf empirical models widely used to estimate ecological functions on farm landscapes. For soil-health indicators, we make estimates by linking these tools with soil data and statistical models describing how soil-health parameters influence the interaction of soils with water and their environment. We provide …

Results Of The 2022 Vermont Farmer Conservation & Payment For Ecosystem Services Survey. Vermont Payment For Ecosystem Services Technical Research Report #3a, Alissa C. White

Reports and Policy Briefs

This survey was commissioned by the Vermont Soil Health and Payment for Ecosystem Services Working Group (VT PES Working Group) to gather farmer input on the development of payment for ecosystem services (PES) in Vermont for agriculture. In particular, the survey was intended to help set appropriate levels of compensation for participation in a soil health PES program, although additional information was gathered in the survey to inform the development of a new incentive program. The VT PES Working Group has explored the potential for a performance-based soil health PES program that would compensate farmers on the basis of environmental …

Northeastern United States Maple Syrup Production And Economics: A 2019 Survey Of Producers, Mark Cannella, Christopher Lindgren, Mark Isselhardt

UVM Extension Faculty Publications

A survey of northeastern maple syrup producers was completed to explore factors of business scale, economic viability, organic production and the outlook for the maple crop in the coming years. Results from this survey demonstrate the wide range of hobby and commercial scales present within the maple producer community across the Northeastern United States. As the U.S. domestic maple syrup crop continues to grow the influence of different scales and types of business can shape local communities, national trends and future policy. Survey results offer insight into production yields, technology adoption, economics and business performance.

School Farms And Stem: Using Institutional Resources To Promote Deeper Learning, Catherine Clare Knowlton

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

Given the structural problems in education laid bare by the recent pandemic, we as a community of educators need to re-evaluate goals for secondary science education. Specifically, classrooms and course content must evolve to become more socially responsive, inclusive, and interdisciplinary. Agricultural education is a demonstrably effective way to boost STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) comprehension as well as SEL (social-emotional learning) skills building. In this study, I use qualitative interview methods to assess current agricultural coursework at independent schools around New England. Results show intriguing themes stemming from designing and implementing farm-based courses, although there are logistical barriers …

Field Scale Soil Health Scenarios. Vermont Payment For Ecosystem Services Technical Report #2, Alissa C. White, Heather M. Darby, Lindsey C. Ruhl, Bryony Sands, Sara Ziegler,, Juan P. Alvez, Sarah Brickman

UVM Extension Faculty Publications

This report illustrates how changes in management on Vermont farms can influence soil health metrics at the field scale. We’ve used regionally relevant science-based scenarios to demonstrate how selected soil health metrics that are associated with ecosystem services could change on farms in response to management practices at the field scale. These field scale management scenarios demonstrate that many practices in use by farmers in Vermont can have positive impacts on the soil health indicators of interest to the Vermont Soil Health & Payment for Ecosystem Services Working Group. The scenarios document potential for tradeoffs among soil health properties. Specifically, …

2020 Northeast Maple Business Benchmark, Mark Cannella, Christopher Lindgren

UVM Extension Faculty Publications

The 2020 production season began just as the Covid-19 pandemic was emerging across the United States. Most states quickly enacted “essential industry” provisions that enabled agricultural and forestry operations to remain active assuming their workers were healthy and willing to report to work. Lingering policy and regulatory issues faced maple producers in the coming months as the pandemic disruptions continued. While many businesses faced short term cash flow challenges the overall maple demand rebounded and exceeded expectations for growth by the end of 2020.

The 2020 Northeast Maple Business Benchmark report documents the eight year of financial record analysis for …

Access To Culturally Appropriate Food In Chittenden County: A Program Evaluation Of The Vermont Foodbank’S Fresh Food Distribution, Caroline L. Gilman

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

The Vermont Foodbank, and community organizations statewide, have been working towards creating systems in which community members who receive produce have their cultural preferences taken into consideration. The Janet S. Munt Family Room, a non-profit organization that provides programs and services to parents and young children, is the leading distribution site for the Vermont Foodbank’s gleaning program. Every month, thousands of pounds of fresh, local vegetables are distributed at their programs. In addition to gleaned produce, the Family Room was a recipient of the Vermont Foodbank’s culturally appropriate community-supported agriculture (CSA) shares in 2021, which distributed targeted, responsive, local produce …

Social Justice And The Us Food System: A Critical Course On The Human Dimensions Of Food, Ali Brooks

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

Our world is made up of overlapping political, environmental, and economic spheres that engender social injustice and inequality. Though separate societal issues can seem divergent and unconnected, they are all linked together by one universal necessity: food. Because everyone eats, everyone is connected to—and dependent on—food and the systems that govern it. However, the impacts of our industrial food system are not felt equally among people who hold different positions of power within it.

Today’s industrial food complex operates on the capitalist principle of profit accumulation through exploitation, commodification, and extraction. This set of relations is not defined by scale …

Soil Carbon Storage And Sequestration In Vermont Agriculture, Alissa C. White, Heather M. Darby, Donald Ross

UVM Extension Faculty Publications

In 2021, The State of Soil Health (SOSH) project measured indicators of soil health on 221 farm fields across the state of Vermont through a collaborative effort among many organizations. Soil carbon stocks to 30 cm depth were assessed on 191 of those fields. In this brief we share a summary of this new soil carbon stock data alongside data from a national assessment of soil carbon stocks performed by the NRCS from 2010 and highlight its relevance to current policy conversations within the state of Vermont.

Key Ideas

• The protection of existing soil carbon stocks and support for increased …

2020 Hemp Flower Plant Spacing X Planting Date Trial, Heather Darby, John Bruce, Ivy Krezinski, Rory Malone, Sara Ziegler

Northwest Crops & Soils Program

Hemp is a non-psychoactive variety of cannabis sativa L. Hemp is a crop of historical importance in the U.S. and re-emerging worldwide as a popular crop as it is sought out as a renewable and sustainable resource for a wide variety of consumer and industrial products. Hemp that is grown for fiber, grain oil, or as an intended health supplement contains less than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). When hemp is grown to produce cannabidiol (CBD) as an intended health supplement, CBD concentrations are relatively high, with concentrations ranging between 8-15%. Hemp for CBD production is grown more intensively, similar to vegetable …

Conservation And Farm Viability On Vermont Medium And Large Farms, Mark P. Cannella, Anthony Kitsos

UVM Extension Faculty Publications

In winter 2021 a survey of Medium Farm Operations (MFO) and Large Farm Operations (LFO) was conducted in Vermont. The goal of this survey was to gather information on the economic situation across Vermont’s medium-to-larger farms, explore their adaptation to water quality regulations and to understand the next steps for farms moving forward. The survey was distributed to 143 MFO and LFO farm business owners through postal mail. Sixty-two useable surveys were analyzed resulting in a 44% response rate.

Results show that conservation practice adoption among MFO and LFO farms is high. The largest compliance factor this group of farms …

2020 Cool Season Annual Forages Trial, Heather Darby, Sara Ziegler, Ivy Krezinski, Rory Malone

Northwest Crops & Soils Program

In 2020, the University of Vermont Extension’s Northwest Crop and Soils Program evaluated the performance of cool season annual forages planted in monoculture. In the Northeast, cool season perennial grasses dominate pastures and hay meadows that farmers rely on. Often times during the fall months, the perennial pasture will decline in yield and quality. The addition of cool season annual forages into the grazing system during this time may help improve the quality and quantity of forage and potentially extend the grazing season. With the range in species available, it is important to understand the yield potential, quality, and growth …

Tile Drainage Flow Partitioning And Phosphorus Export In Vermont Usa, Ryan Ruggiero, Donald Ross, Joshua W. Faulkner

Lake Champlain Sea Grant Institute

Tile drainage (TD) has been identified as a potential non-point source of phosphorus (P) pollution and subsequent water quality issues. Three fields with TD in Vermont USA were monitored to characterize hydrology and P export. Fields were in corn silage and used minimal tillage and cover cropping practices. Preferential flow path (PFP) activity was explored by separating TD flow into flow pathway and source connectivity components using two hydrograph separation techniques, electrical conductivity end member unmixing, and hydrograph recession analysis. TD was the dominant P export pathway because of higher total discharge. Drought conditions during this study limited surface runoff, …

Seeds Of Resilience: Learning From Covid-19 To Strengthen Seed Systems In Vermont, Ali Brooks, Carina V. Isbell, Daniel Tobin Ph.D., Travis Reynolds Ph.D., Eric Bishop Von Wettberg Ph.D., David Conner Ph.D., Evie Wolfe

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Seeds are central to crop-based production systems, yet in the United States seeds have been largely overlooked in both research and local and regional food systems initiatives. This report seeks to address the gap in seed-related research by assessing current strengths and vulnerabilities of Vermont’s seed systems. In particular, the findings presented in this report illuminate how seed systems can maintain function in the face of external shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and how we can apply the lessons learned toward building resilience for an uncertain future due to factors such as climate change. Despite the turmoil caused by …

2020 Perennial Grass Variety Trial, Heather Darby, Sara Ziegler, Catherine Davidson, Ivy Krezinski, Rory Malone

Northwest Crops & Soils Program

In 2019, the University of Vermont Extension Northwest Crops and Soils Program initiated a trial evaluating forage yield and quality of an array of cool season perennial grass species and varieties planted in monocultures. The grass species selected were Kentucky bluegrass, meadow brome, meadow fescue, orchardgrass, perennial ryegrass, and timothy. The 2020 growing season was the first full season after establishment for these stands. These stands will continue to be monitored over multiple years to evaluate yield, quality, survivability, pest resistance, persistence, and other characteristics that will help identify the most suitable forage species and varieties in our region over …

The State Of Soil Health In Vermont: Summary Statistics From Vermont Agriculture In 2021, Alissa C. White, Heather M. Darby, Lindsey Ruhl, Erin Lane

UVM Extension Faculty Publications

This report shares the summary statistics of the soil health indicators evaluated in the 2021 State of Soil Health project on farms in Vermont. The aim of this report is to share the data in a simple format that can be accessed by farmers, advisors and policy makers.

The State of Soil Health in Vermont is an initiative to measure soil health and soil carbon on farms across the state of Vermont. This project is coordinated by UVM Extension and has relied on field support, in kind- donations and data sharing from partnering organizations. The project has five primary objectives: …

Adaptive Capacity And [Un]Natural Disasters: Puerto Rican Farmers’ Adaption And Food Security Outcomes After Hurricane Maria, Luis Alexis Rodriguez-Cruz

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation investigates how social and natural elements of the Puerto Rican food system intertwine in the aftermath of category four Hurricane Maria, and relate to farmers’ adaptive capacity—access to assets and resources people have to navigate the changing climate. The research utilizes a mixed-methods survey that was conducted in 2018 in collaboration with the Extension Service of the University of Puerto Rico. The three article-based chapters use survey data from 405 farmer respondents to assess adaptive capacity through three different approaches that balance individual and structural dynamics in the context of disaster, where disruptions in livelihood activities reflect vulnerability …

Hemp In The United States: An Analysis Of Policy And Consumption, Amanda Falkner

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

As highlighted by its history, the association between hemp and marijuana has proven to be a barrier to success for industrial hemp production for decades. Once a prevalent agricultural crop in the United States, prohibitive legislation discouraged its production and formally made hemp an illegal crop in 1970. Consequently, hemp and its myriad applications remained underutilized by the United States for over forty years. It wasn’t until the 2014 Farm Bill that hemp production was reintroduced as an option for farmers. This hemp hiatus has created the need for interdisciplinary research in order for the market for the crop to …

Soil Invertebrates In Agriculture: Assessing Ecosystem Services, Biodiversity Impacts, And Farmer Perceptions, Eva Kinnebrew

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Harmonizing biological diversity and crop production is a major goal towards building more sustainable food systems. Soil invertebrates are diverse and abundant organisms in agriculture, but relatively little is known about their benefits or how agricultural management impacts them. In this dissertation, I dig into the complex interactions between agricultural land use and soil invertebrate biodiversity to better inform farmer decision-making. I find that soil invertebrate communities have major potential contributions to agroecosystems (Chapter 2) and are shaped heavily by agricultural land use (Chapters 3, 4), but remain too uncertain to contribute to farmers’ management choices (Chapter 5). First, I …

Building Relationships And Resilience: Local Food Systems In Vermont And New England During The Covid-19 Pandemic And Beyond, Claire Whitehouse

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

This thesis brings together two studies of local food systems in Vermont and New England. The first study focuses on the experience of Vermont local food businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic by combining two surveys conducted in the first half of 2021: one of foodservice operations that procure food locally and one of Vermont farms that sell directly to consumers. We analyzed descriptive statistics, open responses, and conducted Kruskal-Wallis rank sum tests to assess which factors were related with business’ financial status before and since the pandemic. Pre-pandemic financial status was related with business type, whether the business went on …

Ghgs From Bmps: Examining The Factors That Mediate Soilborne Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Agricultural Best Management Practices, Sarah Brickman

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Agricultural best management practices (BMPs) promote soil health and achieve multiple positive environmental outcomes. However, practices that are intended to solve one environmental challenge may have unintended climate impacts, therefore presenting a potential tradeoff. For example, manure injection is a BMP that can reduce runoff and nitrogen loss as ammonia gas (NH3) but can increase N2O and CO2 emissions compared to manure broadcast application. This thesis explores how CO2 and N2O emissions from manure injection compare to other soil fertility practices as well as the conditions that may enhance or reduce these greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes. First, during a two-year …

Seeding Coexistence: Understanding The Potential For Seed System Pluralism Through A Mixed-Methods Research Study Of Vermont Growers, Carina Isbell

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Visions for the future of the global agri-food system are often polarizing. Facing such issues as climate change, social and political unrest, and decreasing biodiversity, communities are increasingly facing critical decisions relating to how food systems can transform to better meet the needs of society and the environment. Seeds – an often-overlooked input that, throughout history, have encapsulated agri-food system paradigms as well as hope for how they might be changed – sit at the nexus of many of these decisions. In the last half-century, increasing privatization and industrialization across the agricultural sector have profoundly transformed seed systems globally. In …

Anchoring Communities Through Crisis: Enhancing Anchor Institutions’ Roles In Local Food Systems, Naomi Cunningham

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Anchor institutions serve as economic and social anchors for the communities they are embedded within. These mission-driven institutions often leverage their purchasing power and hiring practices to support community development. Local food purchases are one crucial way institutions support local economies and contribute to the development of robust and resilient food systems. The relationships institutional buyers establish with local farmers and intermediaries frequently require more time and energy to facilitate but result in more direct, connected, and mutually beneficial relationships, which, based on the findings of this research, are a critical source of resilience.

The COVID-19 pandemic is the most …