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David Zuckerman has beaten
the odds in a number of ways. He’s a successful politician
unaffiliated with either major party who has gained reelection
to Vermont’s legislature five times running not by currying
favor, but by holding fast to his convictions. And, side by
side with his wife Rachel Nevitt, he’s making a pretty
good go of it as a small farmer in Burlington.
The son of a Boston doctor, Zuckerman got the bug for farming
early on in the family’s huge suburban garden and during
summer vacations spent in the Shenandoah Valley of rural Virginia.
Just a year after his 1993 graduation from the University
of Vermont, Zuckerman narrowly lost his first bid for public
office running as a Progressive candidate for the state legislature.
He was elected to Vermont’s House of Representatives
in 1996 and has repeated that success every two years since.
After five years working on other area farms, Zuckerman and
his wife took the plunge and joined the Intervale
Farm Program (see
related story), farming 2 1/2 acres there in their first
year. Six years later, they’ve got 15 NOFA-certified
acres—with 9 to 10 under production each season and
the balance in cover crops—growing 40 diverse crops
and serving 145 CSA members. David and Rachel sell some bedding
plants in the early season (including through Gardener’s
Supply Co.), wholesale to a few restaurants and health food
stores, set up weekly at the Burlington Farmers’ Market,
and host a pick-your-own organic strawberry operation during
peak season. Rachel, a potter, spinner, and natural dyer,
augments their farm income as does David with his modest paycheck
from the state. Despite the outside income and a frugal lifestyle,
the couple still lacks health insurance. “We’re
at an age where we have to make the decision: Is the risk
worth the health insurance?” says Zuckerman. Paying
themselves and their employees a livable wage is a critical
goal in the couple’s quest toward true sustainability.
A fresh start
Besides offering new farmers access to prime farmland not
much more than a stones’ throw from market, a pool of
farming equipment and other necessary inputs such as an endless
supply of quality compost, says Zuckerman, Intervale’s
incubator program offers something perhaps even more valuable—a
community of caring and capable peers and mentors.
“You’ve got this agrarian community of like-minded
folks to bounce questions off, sharing equipment, teaching you
how to use it…[talking] about pests and diseases and cover
crops…how to grow and how to market. The networking is
extremely valuable.” The Intervale program allows new
farmers to invest three or five years of time to see if farming
is really for them without having to try to buy land or go into
debt, Zuckerman says. Now considered an “enterprise farmer,”
Zuckerman says his costs to Intervale—for perks that include
greenhouse and cooler space as well as equipment and land—currently
account for about 20 percent of his operating costs.
Despite all the support, one still needs some capital to
make a go of it at Intervale, Zuckerman says. “But the
capital to start here is not even 10 cents on the dollar compared
to what you would need on your own.
“When I tell folks around the state what I pay per
acre here [$120 annually], it is higher than rural areas but
it’s within the same range,” he says, reiterating
that the advantage of this particular farmland is being so
close to market. “This land is not developable; it’s
not competing with the market pressure that other [agricultural]
land is.” (Most of the acreage at Intervale is considered
wetlands.)
In Burlington—a town known for its relatively “crunchy
granola” population, including University of Vermont
students—willing employees aren’t too difficult
to find, Zuckerman says. Quality ones, however, are another
story. With more than 100 job inquiries a year, Zuckerman
(who admits to being a tough boss) says he learned early on
that a lofty desire to work on an organic farm seldom translates
to competence in the field. “This is our business,”
he says. “I’m just not going to deal with you
if you think all organic farming is about is chilling and
picking a flower.”
Zuckerman recalls with a slight smirk that he’s even
scared off a few well-meaning friends who came down to Intervale
to lend a hand. “It’s hard work out here; it’s
cold, it’s hot, it’s buggy, it’s cold, it’s
hot, it’s buggy—and that’s just within one
hour.
“The return for the work is irrational in our society…but
that’s farming.”
Bordering a city does present its challenges. Animal damage
is “more of the two-legged variety,” Zuckerman
quips, adding that hand tools left out overnight often disappear
with more frequency than crops. “I know people come
out here and graze the berries,” he says, adding that
the benefits of farming in an urban area still far outweigh
the inconveniences.
Sharing resources with other farmers offers some challenges,
too, but they are mostly worked out smoothly among friends,
says Zuckerman. For instance, he says, as an enterprise farmer
he’s not allowed to request equipment more than 24 hours
in advance, while incubator farmers have a week. This is supposed
to reflect a greater ability on the part of more experienced
farmers to adjust quickly and plan ahead (though Zuckerman
says he sometimes thinks the arrangement should be the other
way around). Also, equipment used by several farmers is bound
to break down more often, he says.
On the other hand, Zuckerman says, it would be a long time
before he’d ever be able to purchase 35 hp, 50 hp, and
75 hp tractors on his own—currently, he uses all of
these. “Certain implements get a little bit tight…some
farms own their own tractors or other pieces of equipment…Is
this world perfect? No it’s not…Sometimes elbows
get rubbed, but that’s pretty rare. Most of the time
we just talk things out, work things out.” (Zuckerman
says he’s considering going in on a second-hand tractor
with a neighboring collective farm.)
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"Is this world perfect? No it’s
not…Sometimes elbows get rubbed, but that’s
pretty rare. Most of the time we just talk things out,
work things out." |
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What’s the next logical infrastructure step for Intervale?
“Dry storage, I would say. Another farmer might say
something different.”
Zuckerman’s other hat that has him stumping as a politician
gives him a leg up when it comes to effectively marketing
his business. “Farmers are typically insular and introverted
types,” he says, recalling how he aggressively canvassed
neighborhood businesses with fliers announcing his new CSA
and how he continues to benefit from working the press. Being
a state representative also adds to the visibility factor.
And being an organic farmer informs his effectiveness, and
focus, in the state legislature.
Zuckerman has served on both the House Agriculture Committee
and the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee. He led
the way passing legislation that requires all genetically
modified seed sold in Vermont to be labeled as such, and he
continues to work tirelessly to close loopholes in that landmark
law.
For David Zuckerman, being a successful farmer and being
an effective elected official are all about building relationships.
“One of the reasons I still farm is that 90 percent
of our food is direct to consumer,” he says. “We
can educate people about farming…and make people understand
agriculture. Overall, I would say that we have pretty educated
consumers.” 
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