115 State Street
Montpelier, VT 05633-5301
Tel: (802) 828-2228
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STATE OF VERMONT
House of Representatives
  • Rep. Carolyn W. Partridge, Chair
  • Rep. Rodney Graham, Vice Chair
  • Rep. John L. Bartholomew, Clerk
  • Rep. Cynthia Browning
  • Rep. Charen Fegard
  • Rep. Terry Norris
  • Rep. John O'Brien
  • Rep. Vicki Strong

House Committee on Agriculture and Forestry

 

AGENDA

 

Room 32

January 22, 2019 - January 25, 2019

Last Updated 1/25/2019 11:15 AM

 

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

10:00 AM                   House  Floor

 

following                           Caucuses and Lunch

 

1:00 PM                   Vermont Farm Bureau

Farmer introductions

Joseph Tisbert, President, Vermont Farm Bureau

Regina Wallace

Chip Hellus, Vice President, Vermont Farm Bureau

Jennifer Lambert

Mary White

Anne Tisbert,  

Terry Gulick

Sara Griswold

Murray Thompson

Roger Osinchuk

Paul Doton

 

2:00 PM                   Wood Products

Pellets

Chris Brooks, Owner, Vermont Wood Pellet Company

 

2:30 PM                   Governor's Proposed FY2019 Budget Adjustment

Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation

Julie Moore, Secretary, Agency of Natural Resources

 

3:00 PM                   Agritourism

 

Elizabeth Kennett, Owner, Liberty Hill Farm

 

3:30 PM                   Food Systems

Andy Kehler, Owner, Jasper Hill Farm

Alyson Eastman, Deputy Secretary, Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets

Andrea Stander, Policy Consultant, Rural Vermont

 

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

9:00 AM                   Food Systems

Robin Morris, Mad River Food Hub

 

9:30 AM                   Farm to Institutions

Abbey Willard, Director, Agricultural Development Division, Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets

 

10:00 AM                   Food Systems

Vermont Farmers Food Center

Greg Cox, Owner, Boardman Hill Farm

 

10:45 AM                   Break

 

11:00 AM                   Dairy Update

Vermont Dairy Producers Alliance

Farmer introductions

Bill Rowell, Chair, Vermont Dairy Producers Alliance

 

1:00 PM                   House Floor

 

15 minutes after Floor                   Hemp

Cary Giguere, Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets

Caroline Gordon, Intern, Rural Vermont

Netaka White, Consultant

 

2:30 PM                   Ecological Services

Mike Bald, Founder and Owner, Got Weeds?

 

Thursday, January 24, 2019

9:00 AM                   Vermont Housing and Conservation Board

Gus Seelig, Executive Director, Vermont Housing & Conservation Board

Nancy Everhart, Agricultural Director, Vermont Housing & Conservation Board

Liz Gleason, Viability Program Manager, Vermont Housing and Conservation Board

 

9:30 AM                   Dairy Commission Report

Joint Hearing with Senate Agriculture Committee

Ethan Allen Room

Anson Tebbetts, Secretary, Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets

 

10:30 AM                   Farmers Watershed Alliance

Introductions

Darlene Reynolds, President, Farmers' Watershed Alliance

 

11:30 AM                   Green Mountain Dairy Farmers

Margaret Laggis, Lobbyist, Green Mountain Dairy Farmers

 

1:00 PM                   House Floor

 

2:00 PM                   Governor's 2019 FY Budget Address

House Chamber

 

3:00 PM                   Act 250 Commission Updates

Rep. Amy Sheldon, Chair, Act 250 Commission

 

Friday, January 25, 2019

9:00 AM                   Definition of Milk

 

9:30 AM                   House Floor

 

10:00 AM                   Agriculture Environmental Stewardship

Joint Hearing with House Natural Resources, Fish, and Wildlife Committee, Senate Agriculture Committee, and  Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee

Room 11

 

Anson Tebbetts, Secretary, Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets

Chuck Ross, Director, University of Vermont Extension

Jeff Carter, Agronomist/Soil Scientist, UVM Extension

Josh Faulkner, UVM Extension

Heather Darby, Agronomy Specialist, UVM Extension

Amy Richardson, Connecticut River Watershed Farmers Alliance

Scott Magnan, Franklin and Grand Isle Farmer's Watershed Alliance

Jack Lazor, Owner, Butterworks Farm

Tim Kayhart, Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition

 

1:00 PM                   Hemp Collaborative

Joint Hearing with House Commerce and Economic Development

Room 11

Brenden Beer, Owner, Kitchen Cabinet Medicinals

Dave Barash, CEO, Luce Farm

Bill Lofy, Owner, Kria Botanicals

Dan Chang, Owner, Kria Botanicals

Carl Christianson, Owner, Northeast Processing

 

ATTENTION WITNESSES- Please email handouts to the committee assistant before your scheduled meeting date and bring 8 hard copies. Please write your name, organization, date and title on each document. With few exceptions, any documents you hand out to a committee, or send to a committee assistant, are open to the public and may be posted to the committee’s webpage.

 

If you have any questions and comments, please contact

 Linda Leehman at 802-828-2233 or lleehman@leg.state.vt.us