What Horizon’s exit means for Vt. farmers

The Hescocks, who milk 325 cows at their Shoreham farm, have been producing for Horizon since 1999. It’s been about a month since they received the letter, and they don’t know what their future holds, or whether they’ll be able to continue farming at all.

MIDDLEBURY — A Burlington-based solar development company has worked for more than a year to gain approval for a large-scale solar array on farmland owned by Middlebury College, which would help the college achieve its goal to be 100% renewable by 2028.Bu … (read more)

I appreciate journalism as an occupation because it provides an opportunity to dive into perspectives I wouldn’t otherwise have a reason to understand. Sources open the door and allow reporters to question personal details about their lives. As farmers ar … (read more)

This is Part III in a three-part series. Alongside pressures like falling milk prices and increasing production costs, farmers are charged with the financial, physical and emotional task of remediating Otter Creek’s water quality. What does this mean for … (read more)

About this series:   Week 1 (Sept. 5) — The Otter Creek, Vermont’s longest river, runs through the state’s most heavily cultivated land, and thereby contributes more non-point source phosphorus pollution to Lake Champlain than any other source in Vermont, … (read more)

This is Part II in a three-part series. Vermont’s Clean Water Act (2015) has established regulatory and incentive-driven programs to address the web of nuanced water quality issues in the state. Here, we’ll discuss the Clean Water Act as it applies to the … (read more)

ADDISON COUNTY — At 7:15 a.m. on May 1, a member of the Addison County River Watch Collaborative stretched a long pole with a plastic cylinder into the water of the Lemon Fair River, a tributary to the Otter Creek that runs through Orwell, Shoreham, Cornw … (read more)

This is Part I in a three-part series. The Otter Creek, Vermont’s longest river, runs through the state’s most heavily cultivated land, and thereby contributes more non-point source phosphorus pollution to Lake Champlain than any other source in Vermont, … (read more)

VERMONT — Phosphorus, an element on the periodic table like iron and gold, is an essential part of all living beings. It’s part of the structure of DNA and RNA, molecules that carry genetic instructions for all organisms, and ATP and ADP, molecules in our … (read more)