Stine Orchard is an apple orchard and farm market on 32 acres in Monkton. Aaron and Kathleen Stine, co-owners of Bevo Catering in Colchester, purchased the business in early 2022. Aaron approached the VFF this spring for a $30,000 Business Builder loan to expand the kitchen and storage space in the market building. This will support their growing event offerings like the popular food and live music nights they introduced in their first season.
Read MoreJune Farm is a five acre flower farm in Burlington's Intervale, co-owned by Brooke Giard and Braden Lalancette. They grow cut flowers for the wedding/events market, CSAs, Burlington farmers market, grocery stores, and florists. Imported flowers are often full of chemicals and can be poor quality, leaving a huge demand for fresh, local, organically-grown blooms. Last year June Farm doubled their acreage and plan to increase the wholesale share of the business, eventually making it their primary market. They will use their New Producer loan for investments this spring to help them scale up to meet that demand.
Read MoreMoses Kauffman is a farmer and woodworker based in Brownington. He has an active furniture-making and builder/contractor business and in the last several years has begun raising pigs on farm. Moses will use his Business Builder loan to buy additional sows and grain to build up his breeding stock. He also has plans in the coming year to start work on the construction of a sow barn.
Read MoreBirdhous is a returning Farm Fund borrower who used their first Business Builder loan to outfit a bus into a certified food production space. With strong customer demand for their pierogi product, they approach the Farm Fund for a second loan to expand production into a new leased space with new equipment, including a reach-in refrigerator and freezer. The original bus will also receive some upgrades for a new life as a mobile food truck.
Read MoreFort Waite Farm is a 5th generation Vermont dairy farm in Corinth. When severe drought conditions caused their spring-fed well to run dry, farm owners Mary and Elijah White were forced to haul water from a neighbor's pond. In urgent need of capital, they reached out to the Farm Fund for help. In less than two weeks they had the funds in hand for a combination Emergency and Business Builder loan to drill a new water source for the farm.
Read MoreLaughing Child Farm is an organic sweet potato farm in Pawlet, VT. Owned and operated by Brooke and Timothy Hughes-Muse, Laughing Child sells three different varieties of sweet potatoes directly from their farm stand and to stores throughout Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New York.
Brooke and Timothy are returning Farm Fund borrowers, receiving their first Farm Fund loan in 2018 to upgrade their packing house and sweet potato washing equipment. With demand for their product steadily growing, their latest Business Builder loan will help finance the purchase of a new delivery truck.
Read MoreHillside Homestead is a 50-cow dairy farm located in Albany, VT owned and operated by Renee and Chet Baker. With experience milking cows since 2013, the Bakers purchased a farm of their own in late 2019. Hillside Homestead is primarily a registered Holstein herd that sells milk conventionally but also operates a small farmstand that offers their own raw milk, local cheese products, maple syrup and some seasonal veggies. The Bakers will use their Business Builder loan to improve their grazing system by adding more paddocks and acres of pasture to allow them to utilize the full extent of their land more efficiently.
Read MoreBurdock Acres is a licensed farm and nursery in Hardwick, VT run by Ella & Kris Price. Once a working dairy that transitioned to beef, the family-owned operation now includes plant starts and cut flowers, and the Prices have plans to eventually add Christmas trees. With their New Producer Loan, Ella and Kris purchased a shed that they'll use for storage in the short-term, with the intent to eventually convert it into an on-farm retail space. The loan will also allow them to add power to the shed and adjacent greenhouse.
Read MoreNEK Grains is a new and upcoming business created by Shawn and Sara Gingue at the Gingue Family Farms in Waterford, VT. The business encompasses the growing, harvesting, processing and storage of wheat, barley, oats and soybeans for use in malting, baking, brewing and feed production in the region as well as custom seeding work and the sale of wheat berries and flour. NEK Grains will use their VFF Business Builder Loan to create a larger on-farm store to offer more retail products and to also house their 40" New American Stone Mill. They currently outsource all of their milling so by purchasing a mill they will be able to fill more orders, more efficiently.
Read MoreDanz Ahn Dairy is a small goat farm in Orwell, VT on 12 acres. Over 17 years, owner Juliana Danyew learned about cheese making by working in several creameries, began building a goat herd, and began collection equipment necessary for outfitting a creamery. She also built a small timber frame milk house and a creamery building. Juliana plans to use her New Producer Loan from the VFF to put up a grain bin to significantly cut grain costs, and fence another several acres to increase browse area for the goats. The loan will also be used to finance the purchase of a pasteurizer vat and bulk tank.
Read MorePitchfork Pickle makes vinegar brined and fermented vegetable pickles, krauts, kimchi and hot sauce using locally sourced Vermont produce. Owner Julia Irish worked at Pitchfork Farm and started The Pickle with Pitchfork Farm owners Eric Seitz and Rob Rock in 2019. Their goal was to use as much farm produce as possible to make seasonal, local pickles and ferments. Pitchfork Pickle will use their VFF Business Builder Loan to build out a walk-in cooler to provide cold storage for their prepared products as well as local produce waiting to be pickled.
Read MoreJanine Ndagijimana from Janine Farm in Colchester grows more than 8 acres of African eggplant, as well as other specialty vegetables like amaranth, beans, corn, pumpkin leaves, and other greens. She sells to customers all over the country, as well as the VT Food Bank. Janine's VFF Business Builder loan will help her to purchase a cooler to store vegetables and keep them fresh.
Read MoreDavid Butterfield grew up milking dairy cows, and recently switched to raising and milking goats at his farm in Irasburg, VT. He and his brother have plans to milk 300+ goats and are selling their milk to Vermont Creamery. David used a New Producer Loan from the VFF to purchase more goats to build up their herd.
Read MoreHead Over Fields in Charlotte, Vermont received a VFF New Producer Loan for improvements to their new property on Rte 7 where they have a farm store. Head Over Fields is a certified organic vegetable farm growing more than 100 varieties of vegetables, flowers and herbs. They offer a CSA, retail farm stand and sell to wholesale accounts. They'll also be a full time vendor this year at the Shelburne Farmers Market.
Read MoreGood Heart Farmstead is a VFF returning borrower and recent recipient of a Business Builder Loan to help with the purchase and setup of the new Good Heart Farm Store in Worcester, VT. The new store will be a place where customer can get local goods year-round, including vegetables, eggs, meat, dairy, maple syrup…and even lattes. It’ll be a local foods grocery open 5 days a week, open to the entire community, and a location for their CSA pick-up.
Read MoreDreamwalker Farm in Grand Isle, VT is a woman-owned business raising 3,000 laying hens, hogs, rabbits, turkeys & meat chickens. In 2020 they opened a farm store which sells their farm-raised meats and eggs, as well as other locally produced foods and crafts. A Business Builder Loan from the VFF allowed Dreamwalker Farm to purchase a walk-in cooler and an egg grader.
Read MoreChicken Wiggle Farm is a diversified farm in Chelsea, VT offering seasonal veggies and farm-raised eggs, pork, chicken, turkey, beef as well as a variety of jams, jellies, pickles and apple cider. They came to the VFF for a Business Builder loan to expand their farm store by renovating an existing building on their property, allowing them to offer a wider variety of locally grown and made goods.
Read MoreSaxton Valley Goat Farm is a new goat dairy in Irasburg, VT. With a New Producer Loan from the VFF, owner Jeremy Leather was able to invest in 200 kids to start building his milking herd. Jeremy has many years of experience in dairy farming, first with cows and is excited to switch to working with goats.
Read MoreFood Connects operates a regional food distribution hub in Brattleboro, VT. They make it easy for wholesale customers throughout New England to purchase source-identified food from a variety of regional producers, offering competitive pricing, personalized service, and products they can feel good about. A Business Builder loan from the VFF will allow Food Connects to build its inventory, increasing its purchasing from small and medium producers throughout the region.
Read MoreThe VFF was happy to be able to provide an Emergency Loan to help Sweet Sound Aquaculture recover from a recent electrical power surge that caused the loss of their shrimp crop. A high wind event in January 2022 caused unusual power surges and interruptions in electrical service that shut down the aeration systems at the farm. The result was a loss of over 600 lbs of shrimp.
Read More
