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🌘 It’s Friday, April 25. Here’s what’s on deck:
- Helping snowshoe hares adapt
- Farmers lose out on funding
- Spring skiing
But first,
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Fewer dairy farms, more dairy processors
Half of Vermont’s dairy farms have closed in the past decade – there are just under 450 today. Fifty years ago, there were nearly 4,000. Today’s farms are bigger than those of the past, but most still have under 200 cows. And they remain a huge part of the state’s economy: Vermont supplies most of the milk for New England and dairy still accounts for the majority of agricultural sales. And while the number of farms has dropped, there are far more dairy processors – businesses making cheese, caramels, yogurt and bottling milk. Other ways the state’s dairy industry has changed:
🚜 Fewer farms come with challenges: Farmers say it’s harder to find veterinarians and dealers for equipment and grain. In Bennington and Essex counties, dairy farms number in the single digits.
🥛🧀 People are consuming more dairy: American consumption is at an all-time high since the 1950s. Often that’s in the form of cheese and butter. More people are opting for whole milk. And demand for sheep and goat milk is rising. Vermont has to import most of its sheep milk from New York – there are only three sheep dairies in the state.
🧑🌾 Vermont’s dairy farms rely on migrant workers: Over 90% of farms report hiring migrant workers. And an estimated 800 or so migrant workers in Vermont make up more than half of the labor in the dairy industry, according to Vermont’s Secretary of Agriculture. Without those workers, dairy experts say there wouldn’t be enough people to milk or feed Vermont’s more than 100 thousand cows.
🚨 Safety for migrant farm workers is top of mind: That’s after eight workers at a Franklin County farm were arrested by federal agents this week and are being held at a Swanton prison. Gov. Phil Scott and other state leaders have spoken out against the arrests.
In other news
🐇 Helping snowshoe hares adapt: Less snowfall poses a problem for animals like snowshoe hare and short-tailed weasels that change their fur with the seasons to better camouflage: white in winter and brown in warmer months. Scientists are studying ways to help: introducing hares that have a mutation so they keep their brown coats year round. Others are studying how to manage forests with more shade to keep snow on the ground.
❌ Farmers lose out on funds for climate resilience: Another casualty in cuts from the Trump administration is a program that would have provided more than $500,000 for over 50 farms in the state to invest in flood mitigation, soil health, and other practices to be more resilient. The Trump administration said the program was canceled because of high administrative fees, and some projects might be able to continue.
⚡ EVs are still hot stuff: The number of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids registered in Vermont has doubled in the past two years — there are now more than 18,000 on the roads. They account for 12% of new vehicles registered in the state. And despite tariffs, experts say now is a good time to buy while federal subsidies still exist.
In your backyard
Get out there
⛷️ Final days of mushy skiing: This winter brought over 39 feet of snow to Jay Peak (some 10 feet above average) and 30 feet to Stowe. Several of the state’s biggest resorts, including Jay Peak, Stowe, Sugarbush and Killington say they’re still open.
🪻 Spring ephemerals: It’s a special time of year when spring flowers take advantage of plentiful sunlight before trees leaf out. Here are a few chances to learn about trilliums, trout lilies and bloodroot in the Burlington area:
- Join an afternoon walk in Ethan Allen Park Saturday, April 26.
- Or spend Monday evening, April 28 on a walk in Rock Point.
🐸 Search for frog eggs in vernal pools: Learn about the breeding habitat for amphibians and bugs that biologists calls “coral reefs of the forest”:
- The Vermont Center for Ecostudies is hosting a morning walk Saturday, April 26 in Woodstock.
- And Vermont Land Trust is hosting a family-friendly walk in Wells on Sunday, May 4.
🧤🗑️ Green up day is Saturday, May 3. It’s the yearly statewide effort to clean up trash along roads, with free trash bags and pick up in every community. Details for each town here. And if you can’t wait until then, Burlington is hosting a beach clean up Saturday, April 26.
Enter your email to sign up for Out There
Vermont Public's biweekly dose of all things environment.
Credits: This week’s edition was put together by Lexi Krupp with lots of help from the Vermont Public team, including graphics by Laura Nakasaka and digital support from Sophie Stephens. Editing by April McCullum.
