Results Based Accountability (RBA) is an
assessment method the Legislature is using to evaluate the
effectiveness of state government programs. Each House committee has
been asked to review programs under its jurisdiction based on three
questions: How much did we do? How well did we do it? Is anyone
better off? The House Natural Resources & Energy Committee had
the opportunity to hear a report of the Working Lands Enterprise
Board on its activities supporting the economy of rural Vermont.
The Board and the Working Lands
Enterprise Fund (WLEF) were established by Act 142 in 2012 for the
purpose of growing “the economies, cultures, and communities of
Vermont’s working landscape by making essential, catalytic
investments in … Vermont’s farm and forest economy.” This is
done by providing access to capital, technical assistance, and
workforce development together with policies that optimize the
agricultural and forest use of Vermont lands while protecting human,
environmental and animal health. Business grants are available for
startup and emerging working lands businesses for infrastructure,
marketing, and research and development. Service provider grants are
available for non-profit, educational, private sector groups or
partnerships that provide technical assistance to Vermont working
lands businesses.
Since Act 142 went into effect in 2012
$3.2M in Working Lands funds were distributed to 112 agricultural and
forestry projects throughout all 14 counties in Vermont. These
investments leveraged another $4.9M in matching funds resulting in
106 new jobs to date with a corresponding $12M in aggregated gross
income. As projects currently committed are completed and others
continue to grow, an additional 124 jobs are expected to be created.
The presentation of the report to our
committee included two entrepreneurs from the food industry and two
from the forest products industry who recounted how their businesses
were helped not only by grants, but by the connections made through
the Working Lands Coalition. For example, Screamin’ Ridge Farm in
Montpelier is a vertically integrated seed to plate business that
grows vegetables using sustainable practices to produce the Joe’s
Kitchen line of soup products. Two grants of $15,000 and $50,000 over
2 years helped the farm purchase equipment to boost production by
500%, hire 3 full time employees, and provide a market for locally
grown vegetables from other farms. Similarly, a timber harvester and
a timber frame manufacturer had both received equipment grants from
the WLEF. With sawmills closing throughout the northeast, the
harvester was in jeopardy of losing his business. At the same time
Winterwood Timberframes was having a hard time sourcing quality logs
for its operation. Through the Working Lands Coalition, they
connected with each other for their mutual benefit.
Two of the businesses that were helped
through the WLEF in Chittenden County include the Bread & Butter
Farm on Cheese Factory Road in Shelburne and Maple Wind Farm in
Richmond. The Bread & Butter Farm received $7250 to build a wash,
pack and processing kitchen for vegetables, and to develop on-farm
events and educational programs. Maple Wind Farm received $67,400 for
upgrades including a blast chiller for poultry, increased freezer
capacity, processing equipment, and a small retail building for their
agricultural tourism business. With the help of seed money from the
WLEF to leverage loans and by finding ways to add value to their
basic agricultural operations, these entrepreneurs were able to
expand their businesses, grow jobs, and pump more money into the
local economy. Through programs like these Vermont has developed a
strong reputation for food products, craft beer and cheese, artisanal
wood products and other products that depend on our working lands and
has made good use of taxpayer money.
I welcome your thoughts and can be
reached by phone (802-233-5238) or by email
(myantachka.dfa@gmail.com).
The Word in the House 2/15/2016 - Entrepreneurial Success from Working Lands
