Vermont Technical College and the Vermont State Colleges on Thursday celebrated an unusual and significant donation: a 348-acre farm which includes an operational, 40-stall dairy business.
The farm, on Turnpike Road in Norwich, also includes three residential buildings and multiple barns.
Patricia Coates, spokeswoman for the state colleges, said Thursday that the $1.5 million in-kind donation was made this spring by Andrew Sigler, a former member of the Dartmouth College Board of Trustees and former longtime CEO of Champion International Corp., a paper company.
A laboratory and test kitchen will be built on the farm to help students learn about other agricultural production processes, including cheese making, and there are expansion plans for other farm applications as well.
VTC plans to work with the Vermont Institute for Applied Agriculture to offer future programs at the farm on enterprises such as yogurt-making and distilled-spirit manufacturing.
The college already has received federal funding for a dairy laboratory and has an arrangement with a cheese maker in the Upper Valley to launch that piece of the project, according to a press release.
Day camps for students and after-school programs are also envisioned for the property.
The prepared statement from the college said the current dairy operations, which are in Randolph Center, would be relocated to the new Norwich location.
“This move will provide students with a more immersive educational experience and provide them with cutting-edge equipment and facilities,” the statement said.
Dan Smith, president of VTC, said the donation will enable Vermont Tech to provide students with an intensive residential agricultural experience “that’s second to none.”
“Not only will this allow students to experience a fully operational dairy farm, it will also allow Vermont Tech to expand and diversify our educational offerings,” Smith said.
A specialized dairy farm program that will host students at the farm will now be concentrated into one, intensive semester-long experience, the release said. Twelve students will live and work at the site, spending their 16-week term operating the Norwich farm in close connection with faculty. They will learn about farm operations, conduct laboratory exercises, and take part in classroom study.
