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From YouTube: Positively Vermont Interview with VT Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts - September 12, 2022
Description
Agriculture Update: Dennis McMahon speaks with Anson Tebbetts Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food and Markets.
This video belongs to http://www.cctv.org and published with permission under Creative Commons License CCTV Center for Media & Democracy Programming is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
A
My
special
guest
today
is
Anson
tebitz,
the
secretary
of
the
Vermont
agency
of
Agriculture
food
and
markets,
and
we
have
a
very
interesting
program
in
store
for
all
of
you
about
secretary
Tibbetts
and
the
work
the
Vermont
agency
is
doing
now,
post
pandemic
and
through
the
crisis
and
all
of
those
things
that
should
be
of
great
interest.
Welcome,
Mr
secretary.
B
B
Well,
thank
you.
Well,
I
grew
up
on
a
on
a
dairy
farm
in
the
town
of
cabot
traditional
dairy
farm.
We
had
milking
cows.
We
did
a
little
bit
of
maple
sugaring
at
one
point.
We
had
sheep
as
well
and
from
there
you
know,
I
went
to
I
graduated
from
Cabot
High
School
in
the
80s
and
and
went
on
to
school
in
Boston
and
actually
I
have
a
degree
in
something
something
in
your
field.
B
I
was
in
Communications,
so
I
worked
in
I
worked
in
radio
and
I
worked
in
television
along
the
way.
I
worked
at
radio
station
wdev
in
Waterbury
was
my
first
paying
job
outside
of
college
and
then
from
there
I
I
dip,
my
toe
into
television.
So
I
was
a
television
reporter
and
eventually
ended
up
as
the
news
director
at
wcx
TV
on
Joy
drive
there
in
in
Burlington
and
then
about
I.
B
B
Well,
the
the
scope
is
quite
quite
wide.
You
can
actually
think
about
it,
as
agriculture
is
going
to
touch
you
at
just
about
everything
you
do
every
day.
So,
for
example,
we
have
we
regulate
gas
pumps,
it's
something
that
folks
may
not
know,
but
if
you
next
time,
you're
pumping
up
at
the
pumps
and
you're
putting
gas
in
your
in
your
car,
look
to
the
Gas,
Pump
and
you'll
see
a
sticker
on
it
and
it
likely
will
be
inspected
by
the
agency
of
Agriculture
food
and
markets.
B
So
we
we
work
in
weights
and
measures
if
you
go
into
a
supermarket
and
we
want
to
make
sure
you
get
accurate
pricing.
So
we
may
look
at
the
pricing
to
make
sure
the
pricing
in
the
aisle
is
consistent
with
the
pricing
at
the
checkout
counter,
Deli
counters.
We
may
be
in
there
from
propane
to
gas.
We
do
that.
We
also
are
have
regulations
about
animal
animal
and
food
safety.
So
we
have
a
division
that
works
on
consumer
assurance
and
that
and
maybe
inspecting
the
milk
dairy
plants
they
may
be
inspecting
on
Farm
dairies.
B
We
do
meat
inspections
so
we'll
be
in
the
meat
plants
we'll
be
doing
that.
We
also
have
an
entomology
Department
looking
at
bugs,
so
we
have
a
number
of
things:
we're
keeping
our
eye
on
about
invasive
species.
We
also
look
at
Economic
Development,
so
we're
we're
helping
farms
and
businesses
try
to
make
sure
that
they're,
profitable
and
economically
viable.
So
we
have
support
for
that
and
we
have
a
division
that
looks
at
water
quality,
they're,
making
sure
that
we're
protecting
the
Waters
of
Vermont.
B
So
we
have
a
number
of
people
that,
whether
they
be
Engineers
or
inspectors
working
with
our
Farms
to
make
sure
they're
complying
and
supporting
the
water
qualities
of
loss,
the
state
of
Vermont.
So
it's
really
quite
a
wide-ranging
what
we
all
do
and
we
have
about
135
employees,
full-time
stationed
across
the
state
of
Vermont
in
all
sections
of
Vermont,
many
of
them
working
in
the
field,
so
they
may
not
physically
be
in
an
office
but
they're
they're
everywhere.
So
that's
just
an
overview
of
some
of
the
things
we
do.
Dennis
great.
A
Well,
this
show
is
not
only
viewed
locally,
but
it
gets
around
the
world.
In
fact,
many
contacts
I
have
in
Europe
I'd,
just
like
you
to
describe
the
picture
of
Vermont
in
terms
of
agricultural
resources,
trade
and
what
we're
known
for
or
perhaps
locally
in
the
United
States
and
in
Canada
and
around
the
world.
B
Well,
probably,
our
biggest
commodity
is
dairy,
whether
that
be
in
a
milk
cheese
butter
yogurt,
you
know
about
about
60
to
70
percent
of
our
revenues
in
agriculture
are
related
to
Dairy,
so
that
may
be
a
dairy
farm.
That's
just
producing
milk
and
just
selling
to
two
of
our
major
co-ops
one
being
agamark
and
Cabot,
with
the
Cabot
brand
or
one
maybe
DFA,
St
Albans,
and
that
milk
may
go
across
the
United
States
it
may
go
to
the
region.
So
I
would
say:
Dairy
is
probably
our
our
principal
commodity.
B
We
also
have
tremendous
influence
across
the
United
States
in
Maple.
Most
of
the
maple
about
half
of
the
maple
produced
in
the
United
States
is
coming
directly
from
the
Green
Mountains.
So
half
of
the
crop
of
the
United
States
we're
the
number
one
producer
of
pure
Vermont
maple
syrup
in
the
United
States
and
that
may
go
across
the
country
May
grow
across
the
world.
We
also
have
folks
that
are
doing
tremendous
things
in
fruits
and
vegetables,
whether
they
be
apple
orchards,
whether
they'd
be
supplying
some
of
our
institutions
with
fresh
vegetables.
B
We
have
that
and
then
we
have
a
lot
of
value
added
AG
based
companies,
whether
they'd
be
you
know,
Specialty
Foods,
whether
it
be
jams
and
preserves
that
are
relying
on
you
know
local
products
to
produce
another
product,
and
we
have
a
robust
wine,
beer
and
Spirits
industry
in
Vermont
and
some
of
those
products
are
made
from
Vermont
agriculture
products.
So
it's
really
wide-ranging
what
we
do
everything
from
honey
to
Maple,
to
America,
to
Dairy,
to
cheese,
to
Apples.
It's
all
a
wide,
ranging
across
the
state
of
Vermont.
A
B
Well
clearly,
Dennis
there
was
a
there
was
a
disruption
early
on
in
the
pandemic.
We
saw
a
tremendous
crash
in
some
of
the
some
of
the
markets
take
Dairy.
For
example,
many
of
our
cheese
makers
were
in
their
markets
were
in
restaurants,
they
might
have
been
in
institutions
and
those
were
closed
for
a
considerable
amount
of
time,
so
they
had
to
decide
what
they
were
going
to
do
to
to
pay
their
bills,
so
many
of
them
switched
to
going
online.
B
So
e-commerce
became
much
more
of
a
focus
and
continues
to
be
a
big
Focus.
So
a
tremendous
amount
of
cheese
right
now
is
being
shipped
across
the
United
States
in
the
mail
to
various
folks
directly
to
the
consumer.
Some
of
the
markets
have
come
back.
You
know
our
restaurants
have
opened
up
again,
and
some
of
our
tea
shops,
of
course,
have
opened
up
again,
so
those
markets
remain
there,
but
I
would
say
e-commerce
was
a
big
change.
B
Also,
there
was
a
tremendous
amount
of
of
milk
on
the
market
which
couldn't
reach
everywhere,
so
that
was
A
disruption
for
our
Dairy
Farmers.
Recently,
the
price
of
milk
paid
to
Farmers
has
been
has
been
good.
Historically,
it's
been
some
of
the
highest
prices.
They've
been
paid
on
the
conventional
side,
but
it's
being
offset
by
some
of
the
inflationary
problems
we've
had
over
the
last
few
months,
particularly
the
price
of
fuel
to
run
tractors
is
extremely
high.
The
transportation
that's
involved
in
moving
product
to
to
the
region
has
been
very
high.
B
The
cost
of
rain
to
feed
our
animals
is
very
high
and
also,
if
those
that
are
using
fertilizer,
those
have
been
very
high.
So
everything
from
the
pandemic
to
the
war
in
Ukraine
have
impacted
several
things
for
agriculture
across
the
region.
So
it's
it
depends
where
you're
standing.
We
did
have
a
lot
of
folks.
Return
to
shopping
at
Farm,
stands
in
farmers,
markets
and
thinking
about
maybe
more
of
a
regional
and
a
local
approach
to
their
buying
habits.
A
B
Well,
as
we
as
we
speak
here
in
mid-september,
the
apple
harvest
seems
to
be
very
strong,
I'm
hearing,
good
reports.
You
know,
there's
nothing
better
than
going
to
pick
your
own
operation
for
a
family
event,
and
we
have
a
number
of
orchards
that
are
doing
that
they're
also
producing
value-added
products
like
cider
and
also
pies
and
so
forth.
So
those
seem
to
be
going
well.
It's
been
a
it's
been
a
challenging
summer
in
some
aspects
because
of
the
weather
conditions
for
a
lot
of
our
Farmers,
it
has
been
dry.
In
some
reason.
B
It
regions,
particularly
you,
know,
the
farthest.
South,
you
go
we're
hearing
more
more
folks
in
maybe
the
Windham
Bennington
Counties
have
had
more
challenges
of
being
dry,
particularly
Addison
County,
which
is
a
very
intensive
agriculture
County.
So
it's
and
some
of
that's
impacted
some
of
the
forage
for
animals
and
other
places
have
had
just
enough
rain.
B
So
I
guess
again
it's
one
of
those
things
where
you
standing
but
I
think
for
the
most
part,
it's
been
a
challenging
summer
because
of
its
the
it's
been
dry
and
the
rain
that
we
didn't
that
we
have
received
has
come
at
a
very
a
strong.
You
know
quick
downpours
and
we
haven't
had
those
really
soaking
range
that
are
really
valuable
to
replenish
the
the
crops
and
the
gardens
and
so
forth.
A
B
Yeah,
so
the
the
governor
Scott
this
is
this
comes
out
of
the
pandemic.
You
know,
we've
been
talking
about
the
pandemic
following
the
pandemic.
It
was
really
noticed
by
a
lot
of
folks,
including
the
governor
and
and
us
at
the
agency
and
the
agency
of
Commerce
and
Community
Development,
that
agriculture
really
became
the
focus
when
people
were
shopping
and
realizing.
B
You
know
agriculture
is
pretty
damn
important
because
it's
feeding
us
so
the
governor
charged
us
with
taking
a
look
at
various
things
to
support
agriculture.
One
thing
that
we
found
is
we
need
to
work
on.
You
know,
distribution
processing,
our
infrastructure
of
our
agriculture
is
very,
very
important.
You
know
we
have
a
small
population
in
Vermont
about
660
000
folks,
so
you
know
we
we
need
this.
B
We
need
to
send
a
lot
of
our
a
lot
of
our
agriculture
products
outside
our
region
to
bigger
markets,
for
example
Boston
New,
York
Washington
Philadelphia,
but
to
do
that
you
need
a
system
in
place
where
it's
easy
to
distribute
those
products.
So
so
one
of
the
things
that
we
looked
at
is
infrastructures,
so
one
of
the
priorities
of
that
was
to
make
sure
that
we
made
investments
in
storage
and
transportation,
all
those
things
that
make
it
more
affordable
for
folks
to
get
agriculture
products
throughout
the
region.
A
B
It's
a
competitive,
Grant,
there's
an
application.
There's
a
process
to
go
through
that
in
an
independent
board.
That's
managed
by
the
agency
of
Agriculture
food
and
markets
works
on
those
grants.
That's
one
example.
We
also
recently
because
of
this
disruption
in
the
dairy
industry.
Vermont
is
host
to
the
Northeast
Dairy
business
Innovation
Center,
and
we
recently
received
a
a
infusion
of
money
to
help
with
the
dairy
industry.
In
Vermont
we
received
about
19
million
dollars
to
work
within
Vermont
and
the
region
to
support
Dairy
Farmers.
B
They
may
be
looking
at
everything
from
on-farm
practices
to
maybe
processing.
We
have
some
dollars
that
are
going
to
be
available
for
our
cheese
makers
or
our
Dairy
processors
to
make
considerable
infrastructure
improvements.
We're
also
looking
at
distributing
some
dollars
to
the
on-farm
businesses.
So
if
that
Dairy
Farmer
needs
Improvement
in
the
milk
house,
maybe
needs
a
new
bulk
tank,
more
storage,
better
efficiency
with
that
we're
going
to
have
a
granting
program
for
that,
so
it's
wide-ranging
what
we
have
for
programs.
B
We
actually,
if
folks,
wanted
to
go
to
our
our
webpage,
there's
a
calendar
of
events
there
and
on
that
calendar
it
has
the
funding
opportunities
and
it
lists
the
all
the
programs
that
we
have
that
may
benefit
agriculture.
It's
called
the
annual
calendar
of
funding
opportunities
and
it's
everything
that's
available
year
round
for
financial
assistance
for
agriculture,
community.
A
B
B
So
we
had
I
would
say
about
50
different
countries
participating
on
this
in
the
Burlington
region
and
more
than
500
participants
took
part
in
this
three-day
conference
that
was
hosted
by
Vermont
the
last
time
they
had
it
a
couple
years
ago
was
in
Italy,
and
this
is
taking
a
look
at
some
folks
that
may
want
to
bring
folks
to
their
Farm
or
their
business,
and
maybe
it's
a
farm
stay.
So
maybe
you
want
to
spend
a
couple
days
on
the
farm.
B
You've
got
a
place
to
to
sleep
there,
but
they
learn
Hands-On
what
it's
like
to
run
a
dairy
operation.
For
example,
we
have
one
in
in
Rochester
Vermont,
it's
an
agritourism
operation,
it's
a
working
dairy
farm.
They
have
a
place
where
folks
can
stay.
They
also
can
get
a
nice
breakfast
every
morning,
but
they
also
can
learn
exactly
what
it
takes
to
run.
A
dairy
operation
in
Vermont,
so
I
think
there's
been
a
trend
to
see.
B
If
that's
another
Revenue
source
for
some
of
our
agriculture,
Enterprises
and
I
think
there's
potential
growth
there,
if
the,
if
we
can
support
more
of
those
across
the
state
of
Vermont,
to
bring
more
people
looking
for
authentic
experiences
and
I,
think
that
is
been
the
trend.
Across
the
Nation
people.
Looking
for
real
experiences
that
are
meaningful.
B
A
B
You
know
we
think
about
Maple
when
Maple
is
produced
in
you
know:
February
March,
early
April,
but
we're
also
introducing
Maple
to
folks
that
may
be
visiting
Vermont
during
the
foliage
season.
So
I
think
it's
important
that
we
focus
on
Maple
being
a
year-round
product,
so
there's
places
to
visit
and
see
Maple
operations,
although
they
may
not
be
producing
Maple
at
that
time.
There's
still
a
lot
to
learn
and
it's
all
focused
on
our
foliage
season.
B
We
have
some
incredible
pick
your
own
operations,
whether
they
be
at
the
apple
orchard,
whether
it
be
you
know,
grabbing
a
pumpkin
somewhere,
so
everyone's
kind
of
cherishing
that
in
really
important
time
for
the
fall
before
we
head
into
to
Winter,
which
is
another
another
season.
But
we
have
a
little
bit
of
lull
there
during
stick
season
that
we
catch
up
on
things
before
we
head
into
the
winter
season.
A
Great
well,
let
me
ask
you
this
one
of
the
things
that
our
legislature,
of
course
concluded
its
session
and
what
what
types
of
initiatives
is
the
agency
interested
in
in
the
state
and
I
guess
now,
the
federal
level
or
what
initiatives
have
been
passed
as
a
result
of
Interest
by
the
by
the
agency
this
past
session
and
the
News
session
will
be
coming
again.
Let
us
get
a
little
bit
of
a
legislative
Outlook.
B
B
Vermont
more
people
have
come
to
Vermont
and
purchased
homes
post
pandemic
we've
seen
a
population
increase
in
Vermont
for
the
first
time
in
a
very
very
long
time,
so
that's
that's
helping
our
economy
and
in
in
some
aspects,
so
we'll
be
looking
at
more
initiatives
that
grow
our
economy.
You
know,
make
it
more
affordable
and,
of
course,
we're
always
keeping
our
eye
on
the
less
vulnerable.
So
we
have
to
make
sure
that
people
are
being
fed
and
they
have
those
folks
that
need
assistance.
B
There
we'll
be
looking
at
those
particular
projects
and
again
we're
going
to
continue
to
use
those
federal
dollars
that
have
come
to
Vermont,
to
focus
on
projects
that
are
long
term,
so
have
a
lasting
impact,
not
just
in
the
year
2022
that
are
going
to
be
with
us
for
a
long
time
and
again
that
speaks
to
working
on
our
infrastructure,
making
sure
that
our
our
Farms
have
the
proper
equipment
to
be
more
efficient,
more
affordable.
So
they
can
get
those
products
to
the
public
in
a
way
that's
affordable
and
it
may
be.
B
You
know,
water
sewer
will
be
investing
in
those
we'll
be
making
sure
that
we
continue
to
invest
in
a
broadband
and
sell
service
which
is
so
important
to
our
rural
economy.
We
need
those
things
ticking,
so
we
can
possibly
move
products
through
e-commerce
if
we
want,
we
can
communicate
together.
So
all
those
things
will
be
a
priorities
as
we
continue
to
try
to
grow
the
economy,
make
it
more
affordable
and
take
care
of
the
less
vulnerable,
excellent.
A
A
lot
of
people
will
be
watching
this
here
and
another
other
parts
of
the
country,
and
particularly
with
the
upcoming
months
and
issues
you've
mentioned
this
whole
issue
of
food
security
and
food
safety.
What
can
people
do?
How
can
people
get
more
involved
in
the
Agriculture
and
food
scene
in
Vermont
from.
B
Your
perspective,
well
I
think
it's
important
that
we
all
you
know,
take
a
pause
and
and
learn
before
you
know.
Maybe
we
react,
you
know
if
you
have
the
opportunity
to
buy
something
locally
from
a
farmer,
maybe
you're
shopping
in
a
supermarket.
You
see
there's
a
Vermont
product
there.
If
you
could
purchase
that,
if
you
have
the
means
to
do
that,
that
would
be
fantastic.
If
you
can
visit,
you
know,
Farm
stands.
Maybe
you
want
to
purchase
some
products
directly
from
that
company
online?
B
B
There's
there's
tremendous
opportunity
now
for
for
folks.
You
know
we
need.
We
need
young
minds,
young
workers,
and
that
may
be.
You
know,
working
on
a
dairy
farm
and
you're
in
charge.
You're
the
mechanic
on
a
dairy
farm
to
keep
that
equipment
rolling,
so
the
crops
can
be
harvested.
The
milking
equipment
keeps
going
so
there's
opportunities
for
that.
So
our
Regional
Technical
centers
are
valuable
with
that
we
have
some
FFA
Future
Farmers
of
America
chapters
throughout
Vermont
that
are
important.
B
B
We
have
Sterling
College
up
in
raspberry
as
well
a
smaller
institution
but
working
on
various
aspects
of
Agriculture
they're
important,
so
there's
tremendous
opportunity,
whether
it
be
you
know,
growing
a
school
garden
in
elementary
school
Farm
to
school
programs
are
very
important
to
learning
about
where
your
food
comes
from,
how
to
grow
it
and
then
through
high
school
and
right
up
through
college.
There's
a
number
of
opportunities
for
folks
to
really
be
involved
in
agriculture,
so
it
remains
viable
for
the
future.
A
Well,
that's
great!
Well!
Thank
you
very
much
and
I
want
to
have
you
back
a
lot
sooner,
maybe
in
the
next
season
to
explain
some
more
things,
that
of
interest
and
all
your
great
work
I
want
to
commend
you
and
your
employees
and
your
Agency
for
just
the
pivotal
role
that
you
have
been
playing
in
the
success
and
the
quality
of
life.