House Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency, and Forestry

 

AGENDA

 

Room 49 and Zoom

January 19, 2026 - January 23, 2026

Last Updated 1/23/2026 9:20 AM

 

Unless otherwise noted, all meetings are livestreamed at

https://legislature.vermont.gov/committee/streaming/house-agriculture-food-resiliency-and-forestry.

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

10:00 AM                   House Floor

Followed by Caucuses

 

12:00 PM                   Lunch

 

1:00 PM                   Governor's 2027 Budget Address

Joint Assembly; House Chamber

 

2:15 PM                   Vermont Food Bank

Vermonters Feeding Vermonters

John Sayles, CEO, Vermont Foodbank

Anore Horton, Executive Director, Hunger Free Vermont

Bob Chapelle, Chappelle's Vermont Potatoes

Carrie Stahler, Senior Government Affairs Manager, Vermont Foodbank

 

3:30 PM                   Break

 

3:40 PM                   Legislative Counsel Overview

Municipal Regulation of Agriculture

Bradley Showman, Legislative Counsel, Office of Legislative Counsel

 

4:05 PM                   Adjourn

 

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

9:35 AM                   Lake Champlain's Future

2026 Action Plan of the VT Citizen's Advisory Committee on the Future of Lake Champlain

Karina Dailey, Chair, Vermont Citizens Advisory Committee

Denise Smith, Co-Chair, Vermont Citizens Advisory Committee

Alison Spasyk, Member, Vermont Citizens Advisory Committee

Breck Bowden, Vermont Citizens Advisory Committee - Zoom

Andrew Milliken, Vermont Citizens Advisory Committee

Bob Fischer, Water Facility Operator, Vermont Citizens Advisory Committee

Lori Fisher, Member, Vermont Citizens Advisory Committee - Zoom

 

10:30 AM                   Break

 

10:45 AM                   Wood Product Manufacturers report

Comments on Report

Gwynn Zakov, Lobbyist, Vermont Forest Products Association

 

11:55 AM                   Committee Introduction

RTCC Diverse Agriculture Class

 

12:25 PM                   Lunch

 

1:30 PM                   Municipal Regulation of Agriculture

Stakeholder Testimony by Vermont League of Cities and Town

Josh Hanford, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, Vermont League of Cities and Towns

Samantha Sheehan, Municipal Policy and Advocacy Specialist, Vermont League of Cities and Towns

 

2:45 PM                   Center for Agriculture and Food Entrepreneurship, VSU

1787 Butchery Updates

Glenn Evans, Executive Director, Center for Agriculture and Food Entrepreneurship, Vermont State University - Zoom

 

3:00 PM                   House Floor

 

Thursday, January 22, 2026

9:30 AM                   Municipal Regulation of Agriculture

Stakeholder Testimony

Maddie Kempner, Policy Director, NOFA-VT - Invited

Travis Longway, Farmer, Longway Farm, St Albans - Zoom

Alex Thibault, Farmer, RN Thibault Farm, Colchester

Oliver Manning, Manning Dairy LLC

Megan Rowell, Green Mountain Farm, Sheldon, VT

David Defreest, Defreest Farms, Warren, VT

Lance Wood, Woodnotch Dairy, Shoreham, VT

Kylie Quesnal Chittenden, Richville Farms, Shoreham, VT

Stephanie Pope, Iroquois Acres Farm

Ferdinand Waibel, Brouillette Farms

Jenne Hull, Riverview Farm, Franklin, VT

Bradley St. Pierre, Pleasant Valley Farm, Richford

Kevin Kouri, Director of Nutrition and Sales, Phoenix Feeds and Nutrition

Skylar Blaney, Green Mountain Farm, Sheldon, VT

Elaine Brisson, Daona Farm, Shoreham, VT

Emma Shouldice, Lobbyist, Vermont Dairy Producers Alliance

 

10:30 AM                   Break

 

10:45 AM                   Wood Product Manufacturers report

Comments on the LURB Report

Katharine Servidio, Forest Economy Program Manager, Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation

Oliver Pierson, State Forester and Director of the Forests Division, Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation

 

11:20 AM                   Break

 

11:30 AM                   Wood Product Manufacturers report

Logging Industry 2026 Priorities

Dana Doran, Executive Director, Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast

 

12:00 PM                   Lunch

 

1:00 PM                   Farm to Plate Program

Annual Presentation

Ellen Kahler, Executive Director, Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund

Jake Claro, Farm to Plate Network Director, Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund

 

2:30 PM                   Break

 

2:40 PM                   Vermont Food Bank

Vermonters Feeding Vermonters

Emilie Perry, Little Rivers Healthcare

Hillary Martin, Diggers' Mirth Collective Farm

Carrie Stahler, Senior Government Affairs Manager, Vermont Foodbank

 

3:00 PM                   House Floor

 

Friday, January 23, 2026

9:30 AM                   House Floor

 

After Floor                         Reports Repeal Survey

Committee Discussion

 

11:15 AM                   Vermont Housing and Conservation Board

VHCB Update

Gus Seelig, Executive Director, Vermont Housing & Conservation Board

Stacy Cibula, Associate Conservation Director, Vermont Housing & Conservation Board

Liz Gleason, Farm and Forest Viability Program Director, Vermont Housing & Conservation Board

 

12:00 PM                   Lunch

 

1:00 PM                   Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets

VAEL Weights and Measures Lab - background and updates

Marc Paquette, Chief, Weights and Measures, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets

 

2:30 PM                   Adjourn

 

ATTENTION WITNESSES

 

Please email handouts to the committee assistant at least 24 hours before your scheduled meeting time. With few exceptions, any documents you send to a committee assistant are open to the public and may be posted to the committee’s web page.

 

Should you require accessibility services, please click here and note that requests should be made 48 hours in advance of testimony.

 

 

 

If you have any questions or comments, please contact

 Patricia Ruddy at Patricia.Ruddy@vtleg.gov