Challenges lie ahead for Vermont, new report warns

Vermont takes pride in its dairy farms and a population that rates high in national health rankings.

And that could be a problem, the Council on the Future of Vermont warns.

The nonpartisan study group has released a new report, "Vermont in Transition: A Summary of Social, Economic and Environmental Trends," that shows the state's lack of diversity may threaten its growth.

With dairy totaling nearly 80 percent of Vermont agricultural sales, for example, "no other state has a single commodity that accounts for such a high percentage," says the report written by the Center for Social Science Research at Saint Michael's College in Colchester.