The Declaration of Independence makes crystal clear that the Founders fought for the proposition “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed …” Having lost the 2020 election, Donald Trump became the first president in our history to oppose the peaceful transfer of power and to try, in...
“I believe in a regional food system. In a perfect system, we’d have a little bottling plant here in South County and the milk wouldn’t leave the county.”
-- Balsam Hill Farm owner Morven Allen
Stanton is not just a successful farmer. He credits his interest in serving on town boards to the model set by his parents, who have always taken into their home people who need help in various ways.
Farming in Columbia County has changed remarkably in the last 25 years. When we got started, there was just Ted Dobson, Hawthorne Valley, and us. Today? Every little town has a farmers market.”
-- Martin Stosiek of Markristo Farm
"The veterans of the 'back to the land' movement who are now in their 70s didn't even know what a business plan looked like when they started out. But younger people today have way more business acumen. We sold the idea of using climate friendly biomass fuels for heating greenhouses by demonstrating that it would help their bottom line."
-- UVM Extension Prof. Vern Grubinger
“There is a generation of young people eager to farm; however, they do not know where to turn.”
-- Lisa MacDougall of Mighty Food Farm, a 2009 Microloan recipient
