Vermont

Vt. fruit growers brace for devastating losses from spring frost

Published

1 year ago

June 23, 2023

Vt. fruit growers brace for devastating losses from spring frost

WILLISTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont is expected to lose millions of dollars from an early-season freeze. It comes as the governor this week asked federal agriculture officials for a disaster declaration to pave the way for anticipated financial assistance.

“There should be fruitlets at each of these spurs — there’s no fruit,” explained Terence Bradshaw, director of the UVM Horticulture Research and Education Center in South Burlington. He says May’s freeze is the worst he’s ever seen. “I wouldn’t say it’s as complete as we thought but it’s still, I would say, at the very serious to potentially catastrophic level, especially for some of the orchards that may have zero.”

The hard frost took a bite out of the crop at Adams Apple Orchard in Williston. “Unfortunately, we feel like we’ve lost well over 85% of our crop this year,” said owner Scott Adams.

And that means pick-your-own won’t be happening this fall. “It will be over $100,000 worth of income that we normally would get during the fall season,” Adams said.

And it’s not just trees. The grape vines at Shelburne Vineyards were also damaged. “It’s kind of like a slow-moving train wreck,” said the vineyard’s Eleanor Leger. She says they lost roughly 50% of their grapes. “It damages the vines. We lose fruit that fruit, then we can’t make it into wine, which means we don’t have wine about a year from now.”

Right now there’s very little relief for growers. Most are relying on crop insurance, which won’t cover anything close to their losses. “It’s not really designed for this region-wide loss that we saw, nor for farms that have either a value-added product where that $0.50 or $1 apple turns into a $10 bottle of cider,” Bradshaw said. He estimates Vermont’s apple industry alone will take a $10 million hit, and that grapes could tally around $1 million in losses. “To put that in perspective, the total Vermont apple industry is about $20 million depending upon what parts of cider and other components you include in there, so that’s a 50% loss in value. I would say in the grape industry, maybe a third.”

Leger says they will get by buying grapes from Canadian growers. “People who are going to really be impacted are the people who work in production. We’re not going to be able to use them as much and they depend on that for their families,” she said.

Adams says they’re relying on apples from orchards that weren’t hit as hard and events like food truck days to bring in foot traffic. “We hope that people will continue to come out in the fall season and support not only our business but other apple orchards that were affected as well,” he said.

Bradshaw says the orchards hit hardest are the ones on the edge of or outside the Champlain Valley.

Vermont

Woman charged with trying to smuggle $40K worth of turtles across Vermont lake to Quebec | CBC News

Published

4 hours ago

July 2, 2024

Press Room

Woman charged with trying to smuggle $40K worth of turtles across Vermont lake to Quebec | CBC News

A woman from China has been arrested at a Vermont lake bordering Quebec for trying to smuggle 29 eastern box turtles, a protected species, into Canada by kayak, according to border patrol agents.

Wan Yee Ng was arrested on the morning of June 28 at an Airbnb in Canaan, Vt., as she was about to get into an inflatable kayak with a duffle bag on Lake Wallace, according to an agent’s affidavit filed in U.S. federal court. United States Customs and Border Protection agents had been notified by Royal Canadian Mounted Police that two other people, including a man who was believed to be her husband, had started to paddle an inflatable watercraft from the Canadian side of the lake toward the United States, according to an agent’s affidavit.

The agents searched her heavy duffle bag and found 29 live eastern box turtles individually wrapped in socks, the affidavit states. Eastern box turtles are known to be sold on the Chinese black market for about $1,400 each, according to the affidavit.

Ng is charged with attempting to export the turtles from the U.S., in violation of the Endangered Species Act. A federal judge on Friday ordered that she remain detained. The federal public defender’s office, which is representing her, declined to comment.

Border patrol agents first spotted Ng at the Airbnb rental in May when they noticed a vehicle with Ontario plates travelling on a Vermont road in Canaan in an area used by smugglers, they said. Lake Wallace has been used for human and narcotic smuggling, the affidavit states. The vehicle had entered the U.S. in Alburgh, Vt., agents said.

Ng was admitted to the United States in May on a visitor visa with an intended destination of Fort Lee, N.J., the affidavit states. Border patrol agents learned on June 18 that she had again entered the U.S. in Buffalo in a vehicle with a Quebec plate and was expected to arrive at the same Airbnb on Lake Wallace in Vermont on June 25, the affidavit states. They then started to surveil the property.

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Vermont

The Magnificent 7: Must See, Must Do, July 3-9

Published

11 hours ago

July 2, 2024

Press Room

The Magnificent 7: Must See, Must Do, July 3-9

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Courtesy Of Phil Bobrow
Fourth of July Parade and Festivities

Marching Orders

Thursday 4

The town of Warren steps lively at its singular 4th of July Parade and Festivities. The procession of quirky floats and merry musicians is followed by hot dogs, a street dance and a unique get-to-know-your-neighbors scheme: Pay $1 for a numbered “Buddy Badge,” then find the other person in the crowd with the same number and you’ll both win a prize.

Truth to Power

Friday 5

click to enlarge Reading Frederick Douglass - COURTESY

Courtesy
Reading Frederick Douglass

Rokeby Museum in Ferrisburgh marks Independence Day with its annual Reading Frederick Douglass event. Audience members take part by reading portions of the abolitionist, orator and statesman’s famous address “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” Douglass first gave the powerful speech on July 5, 1852, as the keynote at an event commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Come Together

Saturday 6

click to enlarge Bondeko - COURTESY

Bondeko bring a multicultural mélange to the Next Stage Arts Bandwagon Summer Series in Putney. The musicians in the Portland, Maine-based outfit span generations and originally hail from Albania, Guinea, Paris and Austin, Texas, creating a sound that’s an unlikely — and unforgettable — collaboration.

Into the Woods

Saturday 6

click to enlarge Ellen "LN" Bethea - COURTESY OF CATHERINE ARANDA-LEARNED

Courtesy Of Catherine Aranda-learned
Ellen “LN” Bethea

Vermont Humanities marks two anniversaries — its own 50th and the 100th of Vermont State Parks — with its Words in the Woods series. In the second of five gatherings, listeners soak in the natural beauty at Kill Kare State Park in St. Albans as spoken word poet Ellen “LN” Bethea (pictured) shares her work. Stay and enjoy the day at the park afterward: Entrance fees are covered for participants.

Swan Song

Sunday 7

click to enlarge Cynthia Huard - COURTESY

The Rochester Chamber Music Society salutes one of its own at the Federated Church of Rochester when pianist Cynthia Huard plays her final concert, a coda to her 30 years as the group’s artistic director. She’s joined by cellist Ani Kalayjian and violinists Adda Kridler and Mary Rowell in a bittersweet program that includes works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Gabriel Fauré and native Vermonter Nico Muhly.

Fête the Farm

Wednesday 10

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Pizza social at Miller Farm in Vernon - COURTESY

Courtesy
Pizza social at Miller Farm in Vernon

Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont hosts a Pizza Social at Miller Farm in Vernon, part of a summerlong series highlighting historic farms and hardworking farmers around the state. Foodies enjoy wood-fired pizza and soft-serve ice cream made from Miller Farm milk before a hayride and farm tour. Catch upcoming installments of the series in Middletown Springs, Shoreham, Johnson, East Hardwick and North Thetford.

Paint the Town

Ongoing

click to enlarge "Carnival at Royalton, VT" by Cecil C. Bell - COURTESY

Courtesy
“Carnival at Royalton, VT” by Cecil C. Bell

If you missed last summer’s attendance-record-breaking exhibitions of “For the Love of Vermont: The Lyman Orton Collection,” here’s another chance. The Vermont Historical Society presents a reprise showing at the Vermont History Museum in Montpelier. The selection of 20th-century works by Vermont artists is a love letter to the Green Mountain State.

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Vermont

Health officials warn of possible measles exposure in Upper Valley

Published

19 hours ago

July 1, 2024

Press Room

Health officials warn of possible measles exposure in Upper Valley

State health officials are investigating a possible measles exposure in the Upper Valley.

Vermont and New Hampshire health officials say there are currently no confirmed cases of the measles in either state.

But New Hampshire’s public health division is looking into a report of an international traveler contracting measles shortly after visiting the town of Hanover.

Officials say the traveler could have been potentially infectious while in various public places June 20-22, including Dartmouth College’s campus. The list of locations released by the health department is below:

June 20-22: Dartmouth College campus, Hanover
June 20-22: The Hanover Inn, 2 E Wheelock St., Hanover
June 20, 3 p.m.: Hanover Scoops, 57 S Main St., Hanover
June 20-22: Lou’s Restaurant and Bakery, 30 S Main St., Hanover (one meal, unknown date and time)
June 22: Dartmouth Coach Bus from Hanover to Boston Logan Airport (unknown time)

For people who were in the area on those days, and who aren’t vaccinated or haven’t previously had the measles, officials recommend monitoring for symptoms.
Those include high fever, cough, runny nose, and watery eyes several days before developing a body rash.

Officials ask that people who do feel sick to call their provider before getting treatment to help prevent possible spread of the virus.

Experts say the measles is a preventable disease, and that the vaccine for it is safe and effective.

Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message.

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