View Comments
Nearly half of Vermont dairy farms have 500 or more cows today, compared to nearly half having fewer than 100 cows 40 years ago, according to a report from the state auditor.
Doug Hoffer said he investigated trends in Vermont dairy farming to serve as a resource for State policymakers, program managers, and the public as they consider the future of dairy in Vermont and what role public funds should play.
Even though Vermont has far fewer dairy farms than it did 40-plus years ago, and fewer cows, milk production is up significantly because of new technologies and farming practices:
Vermont produced 2.73 billion pounds of milk from 711 farms in 2017, compared to 1.92 billion pounds of milk from 4,017 farms in 1969.
The federal government is expected to reverse its decision to shut down Vermont s EB-5 foreign investor program, giving hope to hundreds of investors in the fraudulent Jay Peak project that they will still be able to get the green cards they sought in return for pouring money into the ski resort.
The EB-5 program gives foreign nationals a pathway to citizenship in return for investing $500,000 in development projects in economically disadvantaged regions of the country like the Northeast Kingdom, where Jay Peak is located.
One of the biggest frauds in the history of the EB-5 program was carried out at Jay Peak by Ariel Quiros and his partner Bill Stenger. Quiros pled guilty to several federal criminal charges, admitted that he used EB-5 funds to pay personal expenses, and that he misled investors in a Ponzi-like scheme. In April 2016, a federal court appointed a receiver, Michael Goldberg, to manage Jay Peak. Goldberg plans to sell the resort to recoup a portion of investors money
Scavenger hunt: Learn about the architecture in St Albans and BTV burlingtonfreepress.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from burlingtonfreepress.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
UPS has committed to buying 10 electric aircraft from Burlington-based Beta Technologies, beginning in 2024, with an option to buy an additional 150 of the ground-breaking aircraft.
Founded in 2017, and headquartered at Burlington International Airport in South Burlington, Beta Technologies is pioneering electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Beta s aircraft has four fixed vertical lift propellers and one pusher propeller for forward flight. It can charge in an hour or less.
The deal with UPS marks a watershed moment in the young company s life. We re combining simple, elegant design and advanced technology to create a reliable aircraft with zero operational emissions that will revolutionize how cargo moves, said Kyle Clark, Beta founder and chief executive officer, in a news release.
The deadline for submitting your comments on the survey is now April 14. .
.
The new survey by the FAA has shown significantly higher levels of annoyance among people living near airports than previous data indicated.
The Neighborhood Assessment Survey showed that between 60% and 71% of people were highly annoyed by noise exposure of 65 DB, compared to only 12.3% of people, according to 1992 data.
The survey found similar dramatic increases in the percentages of people highly annoyed by airport noise at lower levels as well, down to 50 DB.
As the Burlington Free Press reported in 2019, with a background noise of 65 decibels, two people standing three feet apart would be unable to hear each other without shouting.