Young Farmers
Were the Losers

As a Vermont dairy farmer, I felt sad and disappointed after reading in the Sunday, Oct. 14 Rutland Herald that the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) had denied Tom Pelham a grant that would enable him to transfer his farm to Jason and Jeremy Young at an affordable price, citing a conflict of interest.

I met Tom through Vermont Land Link, in the spring of 2006, when he was considering the purchase of the farm. His dream was to purchase the farm, keep a house lot for himself, then work out a lease and purchase agreement with a beginning farmer, to help them start. I offered to go over and walk the property with him, to see if this was possible. As we talked about the economics, I was surprised at his willingness to use his own money, without expecting a return, to make sure that the lease payment was affordable for a beginning farmer. I had never met anyone more generous or sincere in their desire to help a new farmer. (Tom found the Youngs through Diane Bothfield of the Vermont Department of Agriculture, who knew the brothers were looking for a larger farm, capable of supporting them both.)

From day one, Tom recognized that selling an "option to purchase at agricultural value" (the grant funded by the VHCB) was key to making his idea work. As early as June 1, 2006, he started working with the Vermont Land Trust to bring this idea to the VHCB to see if he would qualify.

The Vermont Land Trust highly recommended this option and worked diligently on making this happen over the next four months until Tom purchased the farm. If there was a conflict of interest, why didn't the VHCB see it in the four months leading up to the sale?

Strictly from a financial point of view, being turned down by the VHCB is the best thing that could happen to Tom. Seeing that the farm is no longer affordable to a real farmer and given its proximity to Montpelier, he could resell it after a couple of years to the highest bidder and easily double his money, but that's not what Tom wants to do. How many people have you met lately, who have the means to buy a beautiful Vermont farm, and who are willing to sell it to a pair of hardworking young farmers at less than half the price it could fetch on the open market?

Because of the unfortunate decision by the VHCB, Jason and Jeremy Young are losing the best opportunity they're ever going to have to own a Vermont farm. It is our working farms and farmers that are largely responsible for making Vermont the beautiful and special place that it is today. When two promising young farmers step forward to be the next generation and we just slap them in the face, then it's the rest of us who are the biggest losers.

Mike Eastman

Addison