Brattleboro Reformer

BRATTLEBORO -- Former agriculture secretary Roger Allbee smiles when he talks about Vermont's farming renaissance in the last decade.

He also beams when reviewing the industry's future.

"The future has always been adding value, whether it's butter or cheese or the growth of farmers' markets. It's moving into investments and to these higher products for consumers and the growing markets in the Northeast," he said.

DOVER -- After being selected to participate in a statewide effort to increase the use of technology and online capabilities, students at Dover Elementary will be issued new computers. As part of the e-Vermont Grant, awarded to Dover by the Vermont Council on Rural Development, fourth, fifth and sixth-grade students will be presented with new Netbooks, provided by Digital Wish, the educational component of e-Vermont, and Dell.

MARLBORO -- The Marlboro Energy Committee is growing and expanding the scope of its work. Energized by the town's recent participation in the Vermont Council on Rural Development's Community Visit Program, more residents have recently joined the committee, and the first steps toward new wind, hydro-electric and solar projects are under way.

Tom Simon, chairman of the energy committee, said their are multiple ongoing efforts that focus on facilitating both individual and community-based projects.

Last year, the Legislature established the Farm to Plate (F2P) Initiative, which asked the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) to do a comprehensive inventory of the food-related assets and resources in the state including producers, processors, distribution systems, waste management, suppliers,
sales and support systems.

The question they were asked to answer is, "how can Vermont strengthen its local food system and s timulate development in the farm and food sector?"