Vermont farms, like this one in
fairfield, bring “innovation,
creativity and entrepreneurship
to the table.”
see that agriculture enterprises
have a cachet now because people
understand that it’s a relevant and
important societal role, and also, it’s
a very interesting and challenging
business that enables you to be
outside too. We are attracting some
of the best and the brightest people
to agriculture, as we should because
it is dynamic, it’s rewarding, if done
right, like many other businesses,
you can make a good living at
it, and you can be a part of your
community and you can take pride
in it.
And the point is farming is
a business, and business is hard
and starting up any business is
challenging. You need capital, you
need management capability, you
need markets, you need suppliers.
You need all those things in
agriculture just like in any business.
VL: The Agency of Agriculture
has a very broad mandate, ranging
from enforcing standards to helping
market Vermont products. How
do you reconcile this role as both
regulator and promoter?
Cr: When we have an
appropriately structured regulatory
framework, the producers know
what they’re supposed to do and
how they’re supposed to do it. And
that provides the consumer with
confidence in what they’re buying,
and that increases their demand for
the products.
I see the regulatory role and
the development role as very
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