Annual Vermont Farm Show Kicks-Off January 27

Annual Vermont Farm Show Kicks-Off January 27

A cold and snowy January can mean only one thing – it’s time for the 2015 Vermont Farm Show!  As the Champlain Valley Expo prepares to host the 83rd annual Vermont Farm Show, Tuesday January 27 through Thursday, January 29, organizers have announced an exciting line-up of exhibits and events.

This year’s show will feature more than 150 agricultural exhibits, ranging from tractors to livestock to cutting-edge equipment, as well as twelve new 2015 exhibitors, including the Vermont Beekeeping Association and the Vermont Holstein Association as well as two new companies from Canada.  Media Row is back with RadioVermont, WCAX and VPR broadcasting throughout the three day event.  For a full list of exhibitors and their respective booth numbers, visit www.vtfarmshow.com/2015-exhibitors.html

Handspun fibers, jellies, silage, pies, and many other agricultural products will be judged and on display as part of the annual product competitions. For a full list of product competitions, visit www.vtfarmshow.com/-product-contest.html

Association meetings play a big part of the Vermont Farm Show. This year’s participating associations include the VT/NH Christmas Tree, VT Beekeepers, VT Maple Sugarmakers, VT Alpaca, the blue jackets of the FFA, the VT Beef Producers, VT Organic Farmers, and VT Specialty Foods groups. For a full list of Farm Show Meetings, visit www.vtfarmshow.com/-2014-meetings.html

Local food will be the focus of Consumer Night on Wednesday evening as the Buy-Local Market and the Capital Cook-Off, both hosted by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets, take center stage in the Blue Ribbon Pavilion. The “Capital Cook-off” is an Iron Chef-type competition featuring members of the Vermont House of Representatives, Senate, and Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets. Starting at 5:30pm, cook-off teams will have sixty minutes to create a dish using Vermont products purchased at the Buy Local Market.  Meanwhile, event spectators will have time to browse and purchase a wide variety of Vermont products at the Buy-Local Market which opens at 4:00pm while waiting for the Cook-off winners to be announced at 6:55pm.

Thursday morning kicks off with a workshop on Vermont’s Dairy Industry presented by Diane Bothfeld, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, followed by the VDIA Dairy Banquet.  Alex DePillis, also from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, will be offering an “Energy on the Farm” workshop that same afternoon.

Once again, the Healthy Farmers-Healthy Farms Booth at the show will offer free health screenings and more. FREE health screenings and information are available, including:

• Total Cholesterol
• Blood Pressure screening
• Blood Glucose monitoring
• Body-Mass Index information
• DermaScan screening for sun damage
• Hearing information
• Smoothie Bike- pedal the bike to run the blender making yogurt smoothies
• Nutritional information
• Farm First information
• Free massage!

Organizers are again proud to partner with the Vermont FoodBank – so even though admission to the Farm Show is free, they are asking all those attending to donate a canned or boxed good to the greeters as you walk in the front door of the Miller Building. 

Vermonters of all ages are encouraged to come out to the Champlain Expo and visit Vermont’s largest Agricultural Showcase! There’s something for everyone.

For more information, visit www.vtfarmshow.com