I do not believe for a second that this is all over in Vermont but I do believe that we have a huge advantage now. New Ag secretary and under secretary coming in, no funds from the Feds for at least a year, though I bet they won’t be able to apply for FY 2008 money either because they will be so far behind in the benchmarks, all that would leave me to think their only hope would be to get legislation passed.

What a good Christmas present!

Let me introduce myself. My name is Sharon Zecchinelli, I live in Franklin Country where I raise a couple of meat animals for myself and my husband every year, along with a kitchen garden and some bee hives. We are not a part of the global economy.

I am active in helping to promote local food from local non-CAFOs like small grass farms, homesteaders and hobbyists. Vermont has so much to offer in the way of local food, good quality cheeses, raw milk, pastured animals for meat and eggs, locally grown vegetables, etc. that it is a real shame the state has not done whatever it could do to support these items (for example, the idea of a mobile poultry processing unit does not make financial sense for anyone, yet the AoA continues to think about it. There are much better ways to handle poultry processing, safely on farm, that will encourage local communities to spend their food dollars more wisely, more sustainably and locally) and make strong brands for Vermont. Vermont does not solely consist of conventional dairy farms who are in desperate need to financial bolstering all the time. We ought to be using the local - non-conventional farms - as a model for what an agricultural state can achieve without government subsidies propping everything up.

Mainly, and I’m quite sure you know this already, I am active in trying to stop or refocus National Animal Identification System away from small/private farms, homesteaders, hobbyists and horse owners. I am fully educated about NAIS, have read every available document put out by USDA/APHIS/NIAA - including the New Users Guide and the Cooperative Agreement FY 2007, and attended the ID Expo in Kansas City to further my education. Mr. Allbee, there is a better way to do animal ID. Small/private farmers, homesteaders, hobbyists, horse owners already know their animals, take better care of them and feed them more appropriately than the typical CAFOs.

If NAIS is forced down the throats of said private farmers who do not have any connections to the global market, I just can’t predict the straights it will put Vermont’s economy in. People would rather quit having animals than be subject to NAIS. Misconceptions, internet rumors, etc. aside, that, Sir, is the truth. Where will the protein come from if, not when, a bio terrorism strike hits the US food market? Remember the Victory Gardens of World War II? It was local food sources that saved many communities from starvation. People who buy food from local farms are free to go to the farm, look at the farm, look at the animals directly in the eyes and can tell the safety of the food from that.

To that end, I ask that as you take on this big job as Ag Secretary you are able to separate fact from fiction (GMOs are NOT just like hybrids no matter what the Governor says) and understand that the future of Vermont’s long agricultural history depends on you. The crafters of Vermont’s Constitution did not fight those bloody fights just so that in 2007 and beyond any one who thought they’d like to farm would have to march lockstep with the business agreements the State House made behind closed doors with their friends in agribusiness.

It is curious to me that Dr. Kerry Rood is actively pursuing the CA for FY 2007, with a December 18th deadline, when Premises Registration has been taken off of the table here in Vermont. Page 12 of the CY application, second bullet point under what USDA will provide funding for suggests that data dumping from existing databases can be a way to prop up premises registrations, but the states will have to decide for themselves if the constituents will consider that voluntary. It is bits like that which further the mistrust of USDA and the Agency of Agriculture. Dr. Rood should not be applying for the funds. Vermont has every right to not participate in a mandate set out by an agency. This is where I hope you are able to disconnect yourself from the familiarity of the USDA and look to the future for the better good of Vermont’s fine agricultural citizens.

I look forward to working with you proactively on this and other issues.

Roger.Allbee@vt.usda.gov
Here is Roger Allbee’s email. I’m going to do like Sally did and send thim a howdy email of congratulations. As Sally said, “Might as well, he’s going to get to know all of us sooner or later.” Why not start off with some honey?