Farmers Jess Purks and Connor Self operate a half-acre organic vegetable and flower farm in Shrewsbury, Vermont. Now in their third growing season, Jess and Connor are building a resilient food system from the ground up, using minimal tillage, human-powered tools, and regenerative land stewardship practices that prioritize soil health and biodiversity. With support from a 2024 NOFA-VT Resilience Grant, they continue to deepen their commitment to ecological farming on a small but mighty scale. RSVP and enjoy dinner baked in NOFA-VT’s wood-fired pizza oven, followed by a farm tour. 

Come visit Corse Farm Dairy, home of “Corse’s Contented Cows” since 1868! Abbie Corse, along with her parents Leon & Linda Corse and a former Dairy Grazing Apprentice, now partner, MacKenzie Wallace, tend to a herd of 50-60 extensively grazed dairy cows and are committed to conservation and building a more sustainable food future through their farming practices. The farm has been organically certified since 2008, and the land has been a working dairy farm for over 150 years and has been farmed by six generations of the Corse family.

Get to know The Farm Between, an ecological fruit nursery and farmstand nestled along Route 15 in Jeffersonville, Vermont! Since 2023, Angus Baldwin and Holly Simpson—also the farmers behind West Farm—have been stewarding this unique farm, blending their love for food, biodiversity, and community. The Farm Between specializes in hardy fruit trees, berry bushes, and native and pollinator plants, while their year-round farm stand features fresh, organic produce from West Farm.

Farmers Gabrielle Tuite and Henry Webb grow high-quality vegetables and salad greens on their farm, with over 18,000 sq ft of protected growing space throughout their greenhouses and high tunnels. With a commitment to ecologically sound, regenerative, and innovative farming practices, Old Road Farm is a model of resilience and care for the land.

Are you interested in alternative land access and tenure, and alternative business structures? Join NOFA-VT and guest presenters from around the country and Canada for a monthly discussion exploring alternative land access models and business structures. Each month, we’ll hear from an agricultural project actively engaged in land access or land tenure outside of conventional mechanisms, with a specific focus on first-generation, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ farmers and land stewards. 

Movement health + wellness from an athletic perspective for those whose livelihoods rely on their body. Discussion of how athleticism fits into physical labor and what movement self-advocacy is.

Topics covered include:

overall health related to athlete well-being
learn tips on managing food, fluid, sleep, and stress
high use movement patterns: hinge, squat, and carries
ways to reduce occurrence of low back pain and injury