Vermont Legislature SmartTranscripts:

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: Good morning again. It's a few minutes after ten. We're going to spend some time with the Champlain Valley Farmers Coalition. They have a big night on Friday night, Dan, which some of us are going to be at. And I'm going to just let you guys take it away. The floor is yours. Great.

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: Well, thank you for the time allowing us to I'm do this Collamore, Co Chair of the Champlain Valley Farm Coalition.

[Tim Kayhart (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: Tim Kay Hart, co chair along with Brian. And

[Kate Longfield (Executive Director, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: I'm Keith Longfield. I'm the new executive director.

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: Walk along. So the coalition has been in existence now for thirteen years. And, you know, we strive to support ag, support other farmers, having sustainable farms. We've been very much in the loop for the last thirteen years. We were instrumental, we feel, in helping develop the REPs. We wanted to have a unified voice for the farmers in Addison, Chitney, Rutland County for dialysis. Steve, do you wanna talk some more about the mission?

[Tim Kayhart (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: Yeah, I can. So if I read from the paper here, right, the Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition assists all farmers in implementing innovative agricultural practices and enhance water quality, soil health, climate smart farming, and their economic resiliency in the Champlain Valley. We accomplish this through a positive unified voice that provides targeted education and outreach to farmers and the public. Advocates on behalf of farmers, environmental interests, and collaborates with community partners to achieve common goals. Since our inception, we have worked tirelessly to grow our membership, participate in difficult conversations around agriculture, water quality, soil health, and climate, and to educate each other in our communities. I don't think it's any like secret, like this group was formed after, you know, the late failed the TMDL back in 2010, I believe it was. There's a bunch of really strong family farms in Addison County in particular that are people that do the right thing. And we just felt the importance to gather momentum and to have a voice that was heard. So people, I think that the one thing I would say that was really good that came out of that is we were forced to tell our story, we're forced to educate people and open our doors and to just inform people that don't really know what happens on a farm on a day to day basis. And I think that we've accomplished that to a great degree. There's always gonna be people that don't really agree with what we do or why we do it and that's okay. That's why we live, where we are in this country. So that's basically in a nutshell why we've, you know, Brian's been on it since the beginning. I've been on it since the beginning. Brian's been the president. We've done some rearrangement of structure with the executive director position that Kate holds down now. So just kind of be focused and be a part of what happens here and stuff that we have to live by and stuff that we have to do by and make sure that we have clear, you know, even playgrounds amongst all shapes, sizes. And so we have the ability to keep farms going for generations to come because it's difficult to say it mildly. It is.

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: And your reorganization, you guys think that that's gone in a good positive way for you folks. Obviously, you know, moves are made and things are done and all of that. And they're all for reasons which we don't need to get into, but you're all happy with the way that it's going now?

[Tim Kayhart (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: Absolutely. Personally, absolutely. I can't speak for these guys too, but I think when we have our board meetings, Kate brings so much to the table, enthusiasm, wisdom, knowledge, seems to really fit well. So we're trying to maybe get hold things a little bit closer than we were trying to be. So maybe keep growing in areas that we weren't ready to grow in. That's basically without saying things, anything other than that. It's just trying to do what we do and do it well instead of trying to do too many things and not do a lot great in some areas. We're really focusing

[Kate Longfield (Executive Director, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: on our water quality program. Yeah. And that's for the program that I have been leading for the last couple years. And I would just emphasize that we are a farmer knowledge sharing network. That is, excuse me, how we, like, that's how we originated. That's what they're saying. Like, we're a unified voice, but we are more than that, more than a unified voice, we are a knowledge sharing network for farms. And I think about, we've got over 500 really active and engaged people with our newsletters, we have over 130 farms, we have new members getting added really weekly and business sponsors that are engaged. Just think about how we're partnering with every environmental and ag water quality partner across the state. We work closely with so many different groups on education events, outreach events, and just our newsletters and sharing what's happening in Vermont ag policy and just what's happening on farms, sharing good stories with farmers. When I think about those members, the 130 members, those are farmers that are really part of this and wanting to stay engaged. Our water quality program is really robust. We do technical assistance visits like UVM Extension. We meet with farmers and help them implement and expand conservation practices. We help them enroll and apply for grants, but also help farmers who are wanting to self fund conservation practices. That was one of the one pagers that I sent to Linda, that we have really spearheaded this initiative to, so when farmers are enrolled in conservation programs, conservation programs like the Agency of Ag's Farm Agronomic Practices Program. They are getting compensated for cover cropping, no till manure injection, things like that. We have really spearheaded this project of going out and meeting with farmers and recording self funded, farmer funded conservation practices. The fascinating thing about this is that if we are not recording and and databasing the all of these practices, the acres, like the actual fields and the acre corresponding acres, those practices and the corresponding nutrient reductions from those practices, cover crop, no till, you know, crop to hay, they are not being recorded for the and sent to the EPA for the Lake Champlain's TMDL, and the different TMDLs across the state. So that has been we are we are, I think, if not the leading, one of the leading organizations that is recording farmer funded practices. And I I just pulled up, you know, some of the you know, just in the just me, like, personally in running our water quality program, I've helped, just with 24 farms, I've recorded 13,000 acres of conservation practices. And if these practices aren't recorded, they aren't part of the narrative, they aren't part of the TMB. They

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: They are as part of the information.

[Kate Longfield (Executive Director, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: Aren't like it's it's effectively lost, and and this is the actual conservation work that's happening on the ground on farms. And so to lose what farmers are are self funding, all of that all of that conservation work seems wild. So, like, that's just one part of our water quality program. Like, we do so much more, but that is just one part of what we do as an organization. And and all of our like, the farmers that I meet with date, like, every day are really excited to record their self funded conservation practices. They're also excited to enroll in these different programs, but yeah, there's just a lot. There's a lot there. We do a lot.

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: So as representatives of farmers groups, 130 as you've said, and us being your representative at the State House, what would it be important that you want us to know?

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: I think as bills come through your committee, to use us as a resource. We, as Kate said, 130 plus members, we got 12 active directors. We wanna be involved. I can't stress it enough. We've come up so many times in the past to testify on different bills. We know there's bills this year that pertain to us. We really want to be at the table. We want to have a voice. We want to be able to have input and to help influence the decisions that affect us daily, as Tim said. We live this world, Tim and I both, and a couple other directors, are on the CAFO working group currently. We're meeting again tomorrow. We're gonna bring the legislative body our proposal. It's daunting, right? It's challenging topic. It is. We're really working hard diligently to try to come up with something that we feel is fair and equitable and clear. And as we all know sitting at this table, there's been some controversy between the two agencies and partners are nervous. To move everything to one house is a little unknown.

[Kate Longfield (Executive Director, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: We want clarity.

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: Yeah. Yeah. And so, but we worked on that. As I said, we we feel we were instrumental back with the RAPs. And, you know, we've made statements before on different bills in the past, and we just want to continue that. We like to come up annually each year and introduce ourselves if there's new committee members, but just to let you know

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: that we

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: wanna be a source, and we wanna be at the table. It's pretty concerning at times, and all of sudden we get bombarded with something, and by no fault of anybody, just it's tough to be firing every day and keep up the stuff. I mean, I know personally, I rely on my other constituents, like, hey, did you know this is coming up? Mean, transparency, we've got Jackie Folsom, who's we've we've put on as a a connection. You give us a weekly report of what's going on, of what's going on in the committees and where we should be paying attention. We used to have Jane Clifford. You know, you're they'll do that for us. And without lobbying, we were just we had somebody with it that is on the end that knows. And so we're proud to have Jackie do that for us. And, yeah, we just you know, we we the days of the fire were putting its head to the grindstone and not paying attention and just are gone.

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: That's a good thing.

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: We wanna be proactive and we wanna be in the discussions and the decision process,

[Kate Longfield (Executive Director, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: And us as an organization, we have a really diverse farmer membership, and I just want it, like that has changed in the last few years. We have small organic dairies. We've got big conventional dairies. We have livestock crop farms. We have apiaries and goat dairies and vegetable farms, flower farms. Beekeeping. Yeah, like a lot of, you know, some of our business sponsors are, you know, share my value, a berries.

[Sen. Robert Plunkett (Member)]: Well, can see why you hired Kate. To honor

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: that enthusiasm,

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: and he

[Kate Longfield (Executive Director, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: has to Everybody weigh who is part of this organization loves it dearly. This is a really important

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: Well, can tell you in a biased way, because if I'm allowed to do that, you have a great committee here. Continually, I get overwhelmingly impressed with the care that they provide for this Vermont farmer, and it is the Vermont farmer. From the person baking 12 loaves of bread a day, trying to figure it out, buying local sourced ingredients to the largest LFOs that you have, and then everywhere in between. I just want to run down a little bit of what we were working on in our miscellaneous bill, which is probably our largest bill, and we have a couple other things on there as well. I'm not going to dive deep into it because we just had to vote the bill out because it has to meet a deadline on a procedural vote, but then we're gonna get it back in and we're gonna just start tearing it right down to the studs. But we do have 14 things on this and then two additional ones after. So bear with me if we don't have a lot of information as hard to give with you. We have yet to start our work on a lot of it. But the first one is the Supreme Court decision on the right to farm. And what we have discovered, or we think that we have, is that more than anything the Supreme Court has said, Listen, we made a decision on the language that we saw. Change your language. So we tend to change the language of that decision to give them more to go on, and hopefully it gets us back to 100% of where we are at. So we're going to be working on that. And that's not going to go easy. They're going to be now that there's a lot of other stakeholder groups that have gotten involved with it, but that is one thing that this committee is there to tackle. We have shied away from nothing. We got Vermont Income Capital Gains and Property Transfer Tax. This section would exempt Net Farm. It's just all about how we're getting it to move the farms to the next ownership level and what we are to do with that. We're gonna a lot of tax stuff that we're gonna get into that. We got accessory on farm structure permits. We're getting you you guys are getting tackled as you're trying to diversify and bring the public in. Well, that's not a farm structure. That is a farm structure. You didn't go through Act two fifty. We're to settling. We're going try to settle some of that. Agricultural land definition, a section amends the definition of agricultural land to include a presumption that land is used for agricultural purposes if a certain amount of farm crops are donated. You've got a lot of people out there that are donating crops and they're not being allowed into either current use or anything like that. So again, protecting farmers in such a way that it's unconventional what it has been in the past, what agricultural land is and what it means and all that. Again, a lot more to talk about there. We're worried about farm kitchens. People are going to either raise their products and manufacture their products or buy their sourced products from our ingredients from local farmers. We're going to be talking about that. That gets down on the smaller scale of stuff, but very, very important because this committee believes that one thing that not everybody is going to start out as an LFO. They're gonna be like Peach Greens who started out at the end of this family driveway selling produce out of the garden, and now he's one of the largest manufacturers of organic vegetables in New England. Again, protecting the little person who that we believe is what's going to keep farming alive and well in the coming futures. New electric generation facility sightings are going to be really of on it where they're allowing these solar fields to be on Primag land and and whatnot. A lot of time to be spent there. Not in this bill but we have put peelers out that we strongly believe as a committee that you've gotta leave our prime ag lands alone. There is a lot of lands out there that can be used for solar siting or home building or anything other than ag. Historically, not every farm is the same, but probably if you have a thousand acres, you've got 300 prime ag land and maybe 700 acres of land that you're not using the way that you did in the morning. You're not pasturing cows on it, but there should be no reason why that you shouldn't turn that land into solar siding field or build housing on, but keep out of our prime ag land. We're trying to have a three hundred year view as far as, and we can see the future on that. We just look into Massachusetts and Connecticut, some parts of New York, and lower parts of New Hampshire, or in the lower parts of Vermont, and all of Vermont, what's going on with our ag land. Once it seems to be built up on, it's not ag land anymore, no matter what type of language they want to put in there. We've got some things about protected milk producers. The section would clarify that a milk producer may request a hearing regarding a dispute with a purchaser. Stuff like that, some things that have come up. Again, a lot more discussion to have and a lot more to add to it to make it really clear about what we're trying to get to. Primary school contracts, making sure that the product that you're raising is making it to getting a fair shot of getting into the local market and so stuff like that. We have some pest control compact repeal, that one's really not much to do with you guys, it's just a bold language. A manning pesticide exam requirements, a lot of you as you get going now are to be doing, you know, are doing your own pesticide controls and all that. Somewhere along the way, there's a limit about how many times you can take that exam before you're shut out for a year. So We're going to just change that around that you can take the test as many times as it takes to pass it without getting shut out. Again, I think it's just something that is important to farmers to control your own destiny just because of whatever seed law conforming to universal standards. Just again, a lot of loosey goosey going on with seeds. I don't have to say that neonics has been a big concern about that and all those listed in the neonics bill is certainly referenced in there, so a lot of seed conformity, especially as the new rules come into play. Got, VITA wants to do some different moving arounds and shifting to make themselves more efficient to ultimately allow for a cleaner process for farmers to apply for loans or shift their people, personnel around to be more responsive and also bottled down. The governor has proposed of getting rid of the fees on LFOs and MFOs, dollars 2,500 and $1,500 just for the right to farm. I think we can do that. We have a floor drain study for people producing vegetables. We have some new language coming in on current use. We've got some problems with people missing out on the violence of current use, whether it be because a farm went to an estate or they put a new building on or just maybe they just didn't get the paperwork done on a yearly basis. We're going try to clean up some of that process. We have some hemp language going in there. It's our wish that anybody that puts their hands in the soil and gets them dirty is a farmer. We're trying to make sure that we protect that person now fully understanding that once that crop's done it's going to go to a different entity that we're not going to have control of, but again protecting the Vermont farmers so that they can, no matter if they're growing carrots or hemp or cannabis, that they will have all of the abilities to look for grants, to deduct farming expenses, marketing expenses, and stuff like that. So a lot of different stuff that we're looking to do, which we'll be looking for your guys' input as well. We have been taking testimony on the neonicotinoids. Had Heather Darby in yesterday. Absolutely, positively compelling, strong testimony on looking back at those rules and laws. We're very concerned about what happens in 2029. As you can tell, Senator Plunkett, well, can't tell, but Senator Plunkett was involved with a ruling with the agency of ag that allows the law that was passed for the language to stand, that if a seed source is not viable already when that 2029 comes along that it isn't a blank permit by any way shape or form. There's a lot of stuff that goes along with it, but that you will not be shut out from growing corn with neonicotinoid coated seeds, but again, not a mandate, but that's the way that it is. We're looking at a lot of different stuff to protect the Vermont farmer, and I'm just gonna be honest. This committee's gonna get sick of hearing it. You've got a good group of people here that are watching out for your interest. Thank you.

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: Appreciate that. And I think that's where we wanna help as a group. When if you need testimony, we wanna be involved. We've got a lot of good farmers, and as Kate said, very diverse from the veggie growers to LFOs. Yeah, they would all want

[Kate Longfield (Executive Director, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: to come in.

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: Right, well we just had veggie growers in here, good barely, and some health people and all that, know, that locally grown product if we're on it's healthy or can't be healthy and how to get it to the masses of the people. We talked about a lot of that stuff. Were in a conversation the other day, this fierce group that I'm able to be around, where we told the people on the land use review board that they didn't think that maybe home kitchens ought to be in downtown areas where we'll say, we'll fight you on that, because we will, because that might be just where they have a chance to start. Just because that is a designation that you don't believe that they ought to be in, we will fight you on that. We will fight for anything that we think is going to impact farmers in any way. We're ready to go. Thank

[Sen. Robert Plunkett (Member)]: you, Mr. Chair. So Brian, good to see you. How many other coalitions are there statewide? I look at the state almost at the West East situation. You mentioned the farmers in Addison County with the TMDL. We deal with phosphorus for the most part with the headwaters of Lake Champlain. The other side's doing something with nitrogen.

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: That's nitrogen. But how many other

[Sen. Robert Plunkett (Member)]: Western side coalitions are there?

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: Well, FWA, Franklin County Watershed Alliance of St. Albans area, right? So I'd say they're the Western. And then the Vermont Dairy Producer Alliance has grown. And they're pretty much statewide. I mean, we have members of our group that are members of the BDPA, and I think you met them last week. We did. We were at the CAFO meeting. Otherwise, some of us might have gone to that too. And then, like you said, the Connecticut River Watershed, ICI, I

[Kate Longfield (Executive Director, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: can't Farmers the Rock Alliance, yeah. That's a mouthful. So

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: I think those are the four larger primary, you know, other than you've got NOFA in rural Vermont, you got Grass Farmers Association, they all have advocacy for ag, but I think as working farmers, I think those are the four major watershed group. Unfortunately, you know, the southern end of the state, I think, is is not well represented, and there are farms down there. Mean, probably more vegetable than dairy or beef, but there is.

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: I was surprised at entire Plunkett area, how many acres of agriculture that were down there.

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: Oh, yeah.

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: I was floored when I looked at the,

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: you know. Yeah. Former employer started farming with beef in South Newfane, Vermont, which is just like this, you know, but we leased land in Wilmington, you know, another 15 miles away over the mountain, but we did it for years, and yeah, until you're down there, you don't realize there is when you get over in the Bennington area. Predominantly, there's quite a bit of Aglaon and Good Lane. Well, think

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: three of us are on a set of institutions, and we were actually instrumental when we did it. We gave them the money for the veterans home, just when they had a lot of land down there, so they're starting a local farm garden where it's even bigger than that, where they're actually going to produce product and sell product and teach and incorporate.

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: Yeah, so we are- And there's strong things down there like the company co op and things like that that really support the smaller farm and ag community down there, but I don't know of a farmer led through that far south. Like I say, we have a few Rutland County. It's a farm I manage, Heffernan's Farm. We're in both Addison and Rutland County. We're in Sudbury and Orville. And we have a few others from the Pollet area members that are down Where are at Sudbury? Right on Route 30. One Beef Farm Forever.

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: Oh, yeah. So he's Rocky, you Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then it was So I worked I used to work for law's agriculture services. Was there.

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: I told you that.

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: You were a couple small dudes. Yeah. Yeah. And yeah. So I

[Tim Kayhart (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: was on the

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: phone with Brad this morning. Yeah. I'm sorry. We're four

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: miles. Yeah. Yeah. A good guy. Yeah, is. So, you know, yeah, it's, I think, to answer your question, it's primarily the four larger ones.

[Kate Longfield (Executive Director, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: We work with the Natural Resource Conservation District down in Fultonie and Meadowview, Marietta.

[Tim Kayhart (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: Oh, We turned them off too.

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: Yeah, yeah. And that brings up a good point. When we look at funding annually, we work very strongly with extension. That was years ago when Jeff Carter was there and his crew, and there was a little dip when he retired, but we're building trying to we work very closely with them, and they have Sean Lucas is the new in the Middlebury office conservationist, and he's building a team. He's gotten some funding back, and he's got two or three personnel. And this, we have been so intertwined with the extension, so when it comes to funding, we always urge funding to extension. Not just University of Vermont, because I think it goes but that and the conservation districts, Middlebury con Otter Creek Conservation District has been challenged a little bit over the years. There's new employees now. We look to grow that relationship, but we understand, you know, there was other parts of the state. Connecticut's a good example. That was remiss in Conservation District ten to fifteen years ago. So a lot of the funding went there because we had extensions so prominent in Addison County. So we've been a little remiss in it. In some of the programs that we've put out, I was on the paper performance working group as we formed that for three years, you know, and that was something that the legislature asked for. And in that, they said, oh, the Conservation Districts are gonna lead that, and I remember saying, well, great, for the areas in the state that had a strong conservation district, but at the time, ours, the Otter Creek one, which was predominantly, you know, from Rutland up to to Ferrisburg or whatever, is weak. We don't have that personnel at the time or that he's not.

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: I think you bring a very good point with that. You mentioned the gentleman that had left one organization, maybe they didn't have a strong enough succession planning to make sure that their voices got out there and told the story about what they do. I've just seen a difference in a couple years what the conservation groups have done. They've been around since 1929, very, very powerful as far as what they do, but they haven't No, not just huge, strong criticism, but I think that they really kind of lacked in telling people about what they really do, important that they are and what they can get accomplished and who they're seeing and what they're doing and telling their story a little bit. I think that they're doing a better job of that. In this building, you gotta tell your story if you think you're gonna get any money. And the better you can tell your story, the better chances that it is. Especially, I think that you can be supported in this building in a lot of different ways and not supported in a lot of different ways, but I do think the overall belief in this building is that we have to protect Vermont farmers. So your story that's told loud and clear is a very compelling thing to be said. So I think that if I was giving advice to anyone, make sure that you're out in the front and you're telling people what you're doing.

[Tim Kayhart (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: Right. You all are aware of the monument ferns thing that's coming out right now.

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: There's more

[Tim Kayhart (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: to come. So it's fantastic.

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: Yeah. No. It is.

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: It's huge. How close are you following the tiling?

[Sen. Robert Plunkett (Member)]: What's going on with the tiling?

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: Very closely. You know, I mean, It's one of those cases where we're nervous that that sets a precedence if that was to go through. It is a non point source by the EPA's standards, not considered a point source discharge. And yet, we all know there's others that wanna see it that way. And Addison County alone is the land probably that needs most of the tile drainage, even though the soils. And there's not a lot, there's not a tremendous amount, but for those farms that are able to put it in, it's a tool. It's just another tool for being successful and being sustainable. And to see it possibly being jeopardized or regulated in a different way, it's very concerning.

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: We've asked Heather Darby, who has done a lot of all that. She's come in soon and bring us up to speed on that

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: right there, we'll be aware and be following with that as well. You know, again, it's tile drainage or neonics or herbicides, these are all tools that we use daily, and it's scary as a farmer when you see different bills coming through, and I know you've got some testimony later of bill coming through on an herbicide, is whether we're using it right now or not, but to lose that, it sets a precedent. It's that much easier for the next one next year, you know? And that's where as far as we feel like we need to be at the table. If we don't speak up on behalf of ourselves, we can't rely on just Heather Derby, you know, to speak for us. Right. And I think it has more impact and resignation with the public sector if they know we're involved than if we just set you. Yeah.

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: I think, yeah, I agree with that. One thing that we've done very well on this committee is that we have kept the politics out of it and we have looked at the true science of everything. It's not an easy thing to do in this building. We can't control all that, but at least as what we are here, we are able to be the storytellers of anything that we bring out of this committee and try to hold strong with where the other pressures will come from.

[Tim Kayhart (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: Some of the discussions that are happening within that stakeholders group there that we're in, a lot of it comes back to funding at the end of the day, right? How do these things happen? And you all are aware where the milk price is right now. It's not a new phenomenon of, you know, a dip way down and we all want to be in compliance and do all these improvements that we need to do. I don't know where the money comes from. I don't think there's piles of it sitting up here and I don't think there's piles of it sitting in Washington. But somehow that needs to be a piece of the road that gets navigated going forward is how are we able to swing it all financially.

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: And there's pressures as well. I mean, was, I was tackled in the hallway today about your stakeholder group and somebody believing that the agency ought to be thrown out of it and let you guys all talk and let you and the environmentalists talk and this and that. Well, know, and I said, why would I agree with something like that? Why would we just keep everybody in the room and get the conversation going? Well, you know, I really don't feel that, you know, people really talk up when they when the agency's there. I said, Well, I just think that it's all pretty good to keep everybody in the same room, talking all at the same time, and trying to work out something. Because it's stakeholders, right? So it's stakeholders. You're gonna throw out one group because you So I just think it's important that everybody stay in that room and talk together. So yeah, I mean, again, you've pressures from the outside

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: and Right.

[Tim Kayhart (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: Nobody wants to be propped up and held up, right? And subsidized and how do we make it keep going, right? That feels yucky to everybody because we all are proud people. And so it's unfortunate that the melt pricing system isn't better, right? So we're paying a price that allows us to continue to flourish.

[Sen. Robert Plunkett (Member)]: We should infer regulations and mandates on you and not Correct.

[Tim Kayhart (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: The keeps getting raised, Steve, you know, and it keeps getting raised and it keeps getting raised and then people fall out and drop out because they can't keep stepping up. And then you get consolidation, less and less firms and we're an LFO, not because we went down the road because we wanted to be one. It's because that's the way that the road was paved for us. Right, yeah. So in order to keep being successful and to have future generations have a choice, we knew we had to grow. It's not the road for everybody. So I want the organic dude to be successful too. I want the small farm to be successful because we're all in it together for our state.

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: Well good. Were you guys able to tell us what you wanted us to hear today?

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: Yeah. Yes, sir. Absolutely. Thanks for the time. Yeah. Thanks for the time.

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: We'll see you on Friday. And

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: Yeah. Yeah. We're all

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: that. We're gonna Great. We're headed to. We were

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: unable to get we tried to get in with natural resources instead of that. But so we're just trying to go around. Like I say, it's

[Sen. Robert Plunkett (Member)]: And it's very important what you do. Bennington. The Haiti's, Haiti's Beach did not, didn't think it was worth sending a voice up here. And we realized, wow, we shoulda had voices here. Because most of time it

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: was farmers. Well, that's what I was gonna say. I mean, know, usually, you you had probably three farmers or four at this table maybe, and and yeah. Now you're no longer the area experts.

[Sen. Robert Plunkett (Member)]: It's the other people that said area experts are, no, not really. We won't get it.

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: Yeah. So yeah. We we appreciate your time and and listening, and anytime that you feel you need somebody at table from the

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: community, please reach out. We'll reach out. We're we're not shy about that.

[Tim Kayhart (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: And and

[Kate Longfield (Executive Director, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: we are really we are in touch with the other watershed groups, and we we work together a lot. We're always so, you know.

[Sen. Robert Plunkett (Member)]: Your energy would tell me yesterday.

[Brian Kemp (Co-Chair, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: You're supposed to hang out. Alright. Thank you.

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: Congratulations on your reorganization, and I'm glad it's going well for you. I I did meet with the past people here early in the summer, and I'm glad I had a chance to meet with you folks today. Super. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. You. Thank you guys for what you do. Take care.

[Kate Longfield (Executive Director, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: You won't receive anything if they if wanna

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: come or whatever.

[Kate Longfield (Executive Director, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition)]: Take a break.

[Sen. Russ Ingalls (Chair)]: Yeah. We'll take a break until you figure out what else. We're taking a break till eleven or so.