Small Vermont Farms Could Be Driven Out by New Regulations, Farmers Say

Land-reform rules mean rural dwellers who want to develop their property will have to pay for permits, lawyers, and studies that many can’t afford.

Farmers Neil and Ahn Ryan take a break on a four-wheeler at MacIsaac Highland Cattle farm in Corinth, Vt. Courtesy of Neil Ryan

Farmers who have worked for decades in Vermont say environmental policies are threatening to make farming impossible.

Neil Ryan is a third-generation cattle farmer living in Corinth. Since 1981, his family has raised beef cattle, dairy goats, and Christmas trees, and produced maple syrup on farms in Starksboro, Roxbury, and Corinth.