PAWLET, Vt. (AP) - The largest sweet potato farm in Vermont has received some much-needed assistance.
The Laughing Child Farm in Pawlet received a $20,000 grant from the Working Lands Enterprise Initiative. The money will go toward constructing a new $107,000 barn, The Rutland Herald reported (https://bit.ly/1LiTUQU ).
“I can hardly believe it myself,” farm owner Tim Hughes-Muse said.
A date for breaking ground hasn’t been set, but Hughes-Muse hopes to have this year’s crop stored in the new facility.
“We want to set the example of safe storage and safe working conditions,” he said this week.
Hughes-Muse said his farm harvested more than 40 tons of sweet potatoes last year. The harvested sweet potatoes are cured, which extends the life of the potato and increases culinary quality.
The farm sells the organically raised sweet potatoes as far south as New York City and as far north as Burlington.
Hughes-Muse and his wife purchased the farm in January 2014. He said they are currently working out of a more than 100-year-old dairy barn on the property.
More than $1 million in grants were awarded to 36 recipients from the state-run Working Lands Enterprise Initiative.
Officials said the grant money will be used to increase the amount of local food available by supporting development and preparing producers to meet market demands.
“These grants fund critical leverage points in the supply chain,” said Chuck Ross, secretary of agriculture. “They remove pinch points and open up commerce so that the economy can grow.”
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Information from: Rutland Herald, https://www.rutlandherald.com/
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