Deadline for $5,000 Farmer Award Extended: This year’s award will recognize Covid-19 response and community engagement

Media contact: 

Abby White, abby@vlt.org or (802) 793-7282

Deadline for $5,000 Farmer Award Extended: This year’s award will recognize Covid-19 response and community engagement

Montpelier, VT — The deadline for the Eric Rozendaal Memorial Award has been extended, the Vermont Land Trust Announced today. The $5,000 award is granted each year to a farmer who exemplifies service to community and innovation in honor of Eric Rozendaal who passed away in 2018. This year’s prize will seek to recognize a farmer who has been serving people most affected by the pandemic.

“Vermont’s farming community has stepped up to serve their communities this year,” said Nick Richardson, President and CEO of the Vermont Land Trust. “The award committee wants to honor and recognize these special efforts.”

The original deadline of June 30 has been extended to September 18, to give more farmers across the state the chance to apply. Applicants should be residents of Vermont, actively working on or managing a commercial farm operation in the state, and have not received the award in the past. The winning farmer can apply the $5,000 towards efforts related to serving the community.

The award will be announced in the fall. Details regarding the award and application can be found at www.vlt.org/eric.

The Eric Rozendaal Award was created to honor the life and legacy of Eric as a thoughtful and enterprising farmer who built community with those around him. The first Eric Rozendaal Memorial Award was given in 2019 to Corie Pierce of Bread & Butter Farm in Shelburne and South Burlington. The award will be given annually, until 2029.

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About the Vermont Land Trust

The Vermont Land Trust is a statewide, member-supported, nonprofit land conservation organization. Since 1977, the Vermont Land Trust has protected 2,000 parcels of land covering nearly 600,000 acres. This includes more than 900 working farms and farmland parcels, hundreds of thousands of acres of productive forestland, and numerous parcels of community lands. For more information or to become a member, visit vlt.org.