The Farm and Agricultural Resource Management Stewards (F.A.R.M.S.) program is offered cooperatively by Vermont Technical College (VTC) and the University of Vermont (UVM). F.A.R.M.S. students make a seamless transition from an Associate's Degree in dairy farm management at VTC to earning a Bachelor of Science degree at UVM through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Full-tuition scholarships are available to Vermont students in F.A.R.M.S. The program is seeking to ensure that there are motivated, highly trained young people to enter agricultural and agribusiness careers in the state.

Goal of the FARMS 2+2 Program

To prepare professional farm managers/owners for Vermont and the Northeast.

• All students first earn an Associates Degree in Dairy Management, Agricultural Business Management or Landscape Design from Vermont Technical College.

• The focus of the program has been on dairy farm management and is now including those interested in the horticulture and landscape business as well. The Bachelors of Science Degree at the University of Vermont can be in : Animal Sciences, Plant and Soil Sciences or in Entrepeneurship. All programs are in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

• For Vermont Residents, there are full-tuition scholarships available that can cover up to all four years. Scholarships are primarily funded by the Vermont legislature with some industry scholarships as well. Awards are made to strong academic high school students who desire a bachelors degree and intend to farm in Vermont.

• Recipients of the FARMS Scholarships must maintain a 3.0 Grade Point Average throughout the four years of college and they must finish their degree program within five years of first being admitted. Funding is normally available for up to 10 students at both Vermont Technical College and at the University of Vermont each year, for a yearly total of twenty students.

• Core competencies learned in the FARMS Program include:

1) Advanced Business planning/ decision making

2) Solid Communication skills as applied to personnel management (both written and oral).

3) Emphasis on systems analysis for problem solving.

4) Use of industry mentors in the final two years and formal visits to 50 Northeast farms over the course of the four year curriculum.

5) A full semester spent in Advanced Farm Management at Miner Institute in West Chazy, New York that includes experience in applied agricultural research design and analysis as well as a 2:1 faculty student ratio, frequent field trips and numerous internationally recognized speakers.

It is noted that students in the F.A.R.M.S. program are advised that this program is not appropriate as a preparation for graduate studies.

Click here to go to Vermont F.A.R.M.S. webpage