Did you miss us? Wondering what we’ve been up to? This past winter into spring we had the good fortune to receive a grant from a combination of sources: 1) The Intervale Center’s Beginning Farmer Coaching and Business Planning where I had the amazing support and guidance from Maggie Donin, Beginning Farmer Specialist. The work involved identifying strengths and weaknesses, setting goals and creating a vision, financial analysis, and more. Maggie worked me hard with many homework assignments and meetings and it was amazing! We learned so much and have been working on many changes to our farm as a result of it. 2) The Canaday Family Charitable Trust grant provided to Shelburne Farms and the USDA Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program, secured through the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets. Vera Simon-Nobes, the Farm-Based Education Network Coordinator and VT Farms Agritourism Project Coordinator with Shelburne Farms provided us with assistance in agritourism planning. Objectives here are to increase the number of Vermonters and tourists who value local, sustainable agriculture, cultivate relationships with Vermont farmers, and make a positive impact on Vermont’s food and farm economy. Vera provided several on-site farm visits to assess agritourism options, including farm dinners and kayak rentals. It also included expert reviews of our trees and berries. Our heartfelt thanks go out to them for all their hard work and assistance! We have learned so much through this experience! Our first goal as a result of this grant is offer our first farm to table dinner. Details coming soon!