Vermont Farm Bureau Unites State Agriculture Organizations

Jan 14, 2025

In October 2024, Vermont Farm Bureau hosted the Bridging the Divide conference, bringing together representatives from 16 agriculture-related groups in the state to identify shared priorities so they can better advocate for agriculture in a unified voice.

The Vermont Agency for Food and Agriculture participated in the conference as well, with state Secretary of Agriculture Anson Tebbetts kicking off the event by emphasizing how important it is that the groups work together.

The groups came prepared to discuss their perspectives on the positive aspects of Vermont agriculture, as well as where they saw challenges. In addition, they shared their own organization’s priorities for the upcoming legislative session. This laid the foundation for finding several areas of consensus.

Passage of a new, modernized farm bill was a top concern for all the groups, as was the need for the groups to work together as a coalition on issues addressed by the Legislature in Vermont, where farmers, horticulturalists, foresters and others involved in agriculture are in the minority.

The groups also committed to coming together annually to review their goals and further identify common priorities.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.