About
Community
Structure
Press
About
The Vermont Agrarian Commons is rooted in a local community coming together to support next generation farmers focused on regenerative diversified food production and sustaining community-centered farms. We are currently seeding relationships and collaborations, and seeking to cultivate farm projects that can manifest land justice and increase equity for individuals, communities, and the land.
Interactive Map of the Agrarian Commons Get the full experience on Google Earth
Land Acknowledgement
The Vermont Agrarian Commons is located on traditional and ancestral lands of a number of Indigenous peoples and nations, who have lived in relationship with these lands since time immemorial. We honor their elders, past and present. Much of this land is unceded, and in many cases, these territories were stolen, seized, or otherwise acquired through genocidal actions of the state, colonizers, and settlers.
As an organization primarily of settlers, we are committed to renewing our relationships with Indigenous peoples, and supporting Indigenous sovereignty through word and action. Please visit native-land.ca to learn the names and histories of the Wabanaki and Abenaki peoples who live here in Vermont.
Legal Statement
The Vermont Agrarian Commons is organized and shall be operated exclusively for the purpose of holding title to property, collecting income therefrom, and turning the entire amount, less expenses, to the AGRARIAN LAND TRUST within the meaning of Section 501(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”). Agrarian Land Trust, the parent corporation of Vermont Agrarian Commons, is a California nonprofit public benefit corporation exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(a) and described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Code.
Community
The Vermont Agrarian Commons is centered on furthering the Agrarian Commons model through education, collaboration, and creating farm-tenure opportunities for next generation farmers.
The Vermont Agrarian Commons has participated in presentations and outreach across the state, and has engaged with the Vermont Land Trust and the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board to support and guide the development of a local commons, or 501(c)(2) landholding entity, with the Vermont Land Trust as the parent company and Bread and Butter Farm as its first farm. This arrangement allows the Vermont Land Trust to further their mission and impact through the adoption of a commons model, enabling them to give secure tenure to farms they currently work with and on which they already hold conservation easements.
Currently, the Vermont Agrarian Commons, Agrarian Trust, and the Vermont Land Trust are collaborating on outreach, education, and support for land commoning centered on the adoption of new structures for ownership, tenure, equity, and land stewardship. This collaboration involves several educational institutions, community nonprofits, and aligned stakeholders.
Agrarian Trust and the Vermont Agrarian Commons are also engaged in dialogue with several landowners who support this movement toward commoning and are contemplating legacy land gifts, with the aim of creating farm-tenure opportunities for next generation farmers through the donation of farmland to the Vermont Agrarian Commons.
Land, History & Community
Agricultural production in what is now Vermont began more than 1,000 years ago with the Indigenous Abenaki people. The Abenaki cultivated corn, beans, squash, sunflowers, ground cherries, Jerusalem artichokes, plums, grapes, and a wide variety of tree nuts using complex agricultural systems, and they continue this legacy today. Given the harsh climates of the region and the abundance of wild food sources, the Abenaki were more primarily engaged in hunting, fishing, and foraging in reciprocal relationship with the land.
During and after the devastating genocide of Indigenous peoples throughout New England, settler colonists dramatically altered the landscape with new systems of agriculture rooted in a radically different economy and paradigm. The resilience of the Abenaki people is demonstrated by the community that continues to thrive in Vermont. There are four bands of the Abenaki in Vermont, all of which are now recognized by the state.
Over the past 200 years, Vermont has continually paved the way for new agricultural industries and then gotten pushed out of markets due to competition from larger states and other countries. This began with the sheep and wool trade that dominated the economy during the early 1800s and transitioned to a dairy marketplace around 1850, when butter production became one of the foremost markets in the state. Eventually, larger states outcompeted Vermont in butter production, and the state’s dairy industry shifted to milk, which is now following similar trends of decline due to competition from larger states and larger farms. Vermont has lost more than 357 dairy operations in the past 10 years, a reduction that accounts for over 30 percent, with the greatest impact being felt by small- and medium-size operations.
Other factors responsible for the demise of Vermont’s dairy industry include increasing farm production and processing scales nationwide, federal subsidy programs built for the largest producers and processors, and lack of access to highly subsidized grain and animal feeds produced on midwestern soils. It is also worth noting that while dairy has been the focus of Vermont agriculture since colonization, there have been many other significant crops in the region, including wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, hemp, hops, apples, and tobacco.
Over the years, the resilience of Vermont farmers has been demonstrated by a noticeable ability to adapt and take advantage of the Vermont brand and local markets. Vermont has reflected changing national trends in what farms and farmers look like, including an increase in small, diversified farms and an increase in first-generation farmers. With a wealth of resources—from advocacy to technical assistance and business planning services to a host of farmers markets, farm stands, food hubs, and other direct-to-consumer markets—Vermont has a lot to offer for its farmers.
Structure
Model
Local Agrarian Commons Board
FARMERS & STEWARDS
COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS
Molly Anderson
Hans Estrin
Alison Nihart
AGRARIAN TRUST
Fran Miller
Attorney, Vermont Law School
Ian McSweeney
FEEL FREE TO CONTACT US:
Founding Farms, Ranches, & Agricultural Organizations
Local Agrarian Commons Documents
Bylaws
Articles of Incorporation
Land Lease
PARTNERS & ALLIES
Vermont Law School
In collaboration with Agrarian Trust, the Vermont Law School helped develop an Agrarian Commons toolkit—a guide to creating an Agrarian Commons that outlines bylaws, land stewardship standards, and equitable lease-building alongside summaries of discussions with lawyers, farmers, and other practitioners who participated in creating the legal documents.
Press
