Winding Brook Farm in Strafford came to the VFF for a Business Builder Loan to expand and modernize their sugaring operation. With the loan they will be able to expand from 1000 to 2150 taps and purchase a reverse osmosis machine. They operate a diversified family farm. Their enterprises include eggs, vegetables, meats (lamb, pork, chicken), maple syrup, and they operate a farm stay guest house.
Read MoreFinocchio is a wood-fired bakery and food producer in Marlboro, Vermont. They specialize in naturally leavened breads, bagels, focaccia, and pastries using locally grown grains and ingredients. For the past year, they have been building a bakery and wood-fired brick oven to expand Finocchio’s offerings. A New Producer Loan from the VFF will allow them to complete the build-out of the bakery space and purchase equipment.
Read MoreKnee Deep Farm in Jeffersonville, VT is a diversified farm growing Certified Organic vegetables, herbs, garlic & flowers. Shane and Eliza used their VFF Business Builder Loan to purchase a tillage tractor. This will allow them to easily move pallets and bins of winter storage crops in their dry storage room. With additional storage for their fall crops they will be able to extend the season for wholesale vegetables and expand their fall CSA program.
Read MoreSunshine Valley Berry Farm in Rochester, VT came to the Vermont Farm Fund when they needed to purchase a tractor that could run specialized attachments and a mulch spreader. Rob Meadows and Patricia Rydle raise 7 acres of blueberries and raspberries focused on Pick-Your-Own berries.
Read MoreKiss the Cow Farm is a Barnard, Vermont organic, grass-based dairy selling milk and ultra-premium ice cream from a small herd of Jersey cows. Randy and Lisa Robar came back to the VFF for a second loan to purchase a larger pasteurizer and bottler-capper so they can efficiently meet current demand for their pasteurized milk.
Read MoreShannon and George Fisher Little Lynn Farm in Danville has raised hogs for over 30 years. They raise them from piglets to slaughter and sell through Walden Local Meats. In 2021 they had the opportunity to increase production from 50 pigs a month to 100 pigs a month, but needed more land in order to set up a fully pastured meat system. They have purchased property in Danville, and received a VFF New Producer Loan to help set up the new farm with electric service, well, and pens.
Read MoreSouthshire Meats is a Vermont based vertically integrated pastured meat company. By providing animal processing, whole animal purchasing at a premium, and partnering with producers to implement holistic management, they are cultivating economic and ecological resilience in the region. In 2020 Southshire Meats opened a meat processing facility in Wilmington VT, which is also open to the community for animal processing. Their VFF loan will allow them to purchase processing equipment to increase efficiency at the facility and increase through put, as well as provide more processing capabilities for producers.
Read MoreBread & Butter Farm in Shelburne is “committed to growing food in a way that nourishes our land and sustains us as eaters.” In addition to running a diversified farm raising vegetables and animals, they have a CSA, a farm store and farm-to-table cafe on site, and also host classes, camps, their famous Burger Nights, and partner with a variety of local businesses and organizations. Bread & Butter will use their Business Builder purchase a farm truck and expand and make improvements to their septic system.
Read MoreThree Cow Creamery is a micro-dairy at the heart of a traditional small, diversified farm in Corinth, Vermont. Owner Liz Guenther hand milks between 3 and 7 cows, and makes raw milk English and French cheeses with the milk. In addition she raises her own beef, chickens, pigs and keeps a team of small draft horses. A VFF loan will help her complete a new “cheese house” which will house a cheese room, aging cellar, licensed kitchen, milk room, and classroom/tea room, where Liz plans to offer cheesemaking and cooking classes.
Read MoreSweet Roots Farm in Charlotte is a 57 acre farm growing berries, organic vegetables, flowers, herbs and additional fruits. In addition, they are developing Sweet Roots Market, which will sell produce and value added products from the farm as well as items from local artisans and producers.
Read MoreThe Wild Kid Farm is a growing goat dairy in Hyde Park, VT. Jean and Charles Pratt started raising goats in 2015 and have been slowly building their closed herd to the point where they are ready to start shipping milk. In this case, the Vermont Farm Fund was able to provide a combination loan with a $10,000 Emergency Loan to help cover losses specifically related to COVID-19 as well as a $20,000 Business Builder Loan to help them finish the construction of their milk house.
Read MoreBear Roots Farm is a certified organic diversified vegetable farm in Williamstown, VT that distributes its products through a local 250 member CSA and a farm store, The Roots Farm Market, in Middlesex, VT. They started their farm in 2014. They used their VFF Business Builder Loan to purchase a high crop tractor to improve their ability to cultivate and improve their systems and efficiencies.
Read MoreJessie and Gregory Witscher from Understory Farm came to the VFF in 2018 for their first loan. In 2020 they paid it off early and in early 2021 they moved to a new property in Bridport (the former Gleason Farm) with help from the Vermont Land Trust's Farmland Access Program. They've been busy over the past few months, moving everything from their leased farm in Sudbury to Bridport, including six greenhouses, a wash station and pack shed. With their second VFF loan they will be able to purchase a cultivating tractor and basket weeder. By upgrading their field cultivation efficiency they will be able to produce more high quality cut flowers for a competitive price, making their farm business more sustainable moving into the future.
Read MoreXR Maple Farm in Arlington used their Business Builder Loan to purchase a monitoring system for their sugaring operation which will let them keep close tabs on the vacuum lines and know how much sap is in each holding tank.
Read MoreSheep Meadow Farm in Danville, VT received a VFF Business Builder Loan to purchase and install a 6-ton bulk grain bin, which will cut the cost of feed in half. They use whole corn to finish lambs before slaughter. This year they were able to raise 170 lambs for local markets.
Read MoreBased on a farm in Albany, Vermont, Wunderkammer Biermanufaktur is a small production, artisanal brewer of mixed-culture beer that features local malt and hops as well as produce and foraged ingredients. They are building a new brewhouse in an old cheese cave and will use the loan for purchasing equipment and start-up supplies and raw materials.
Read MoreBirdhous is a “co-working landscape” inviting young and beginning farmers to its residential “Roosting” program, which offers subsidized rent, tool and infrastructure sharing, and the built-in support offered by living communally in a like-minded cohort. Their VFF Business Builder loan was used to outfit a bus into a certified food production space for pierogi-making that can also work as a catering/food truck for pop-up VT Pierogi events.
Read MoreBlack Dirt Farm is a diversified family farm in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. They collect food scraps from the community, forage hens, make compost and worm castings with the excess food and manure, and use them to nourish our soils and crops. A VFF Business Builder loan will allow them to expand their egg operation. They will use it to construct and outfit a new 30’x96’ greenhouse, to house our new flock of 1,000 birds, with an attached wash and pack house.
Read MoreAdam’s Berry Farm in Charlotte is one of the largest certified organic berry farms in Vermont. They grow organic strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries for local distribution to wholesale accounts, restaurants, breweries, CSAs, and Burlington Farmers’ Market customers. A VFF Business Builder Loan will allow them to expand their blueberry production by adding 4.5 acres of blueberries and installing new packing equipment that will increase efficiency and provide higher quality fruit.
Read MoreHappy Bird Poultry Farm in Isle La Motte raises meat chickens for sale to wholesale restaurant customers as well as local customers from their small farm store. A Business Builder Loan from the Vermont Farm Fund allowed owners Ember and Stacey Boyle to expand their barn and more than double the number of chickens they raise.
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