POULTNEY— Teams of farmers from all over Vermont will come together Wednesday, Aug. 2 at Cerridwen Farms on the Green Mountain College campus in Poultney to compete in a wide range of events designed to challenge farmers’ field skills at the third annual Farmer Olympics, hosted by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT). Spectators are also welcome to come and enjoy the games.
“The On-Farm Olympics are a great opportunity for farmers and farmworkers to strut their stuff, and have a little competitive fun mid-season,” said Enid Wonnacott, NOFA-VT’s executive director. “Farm work requires a diversity of skills, and they will be comically showcased at the event.”
Farmers will congregate to race each other in skill-testing events such as blind seeding and box building relay, single strand fence setting, row cover race, and the classic farmer relay.
“We’ve been training for years and years,” said farmer Suzanne Long at least year’s games, “but we didn’t know what we were training for.”
The registration rules dictate that teams must have four to five people to enter, and each team member must be a part of the farm crew or staff of an agricultural organization or business. Several farms may partner to create a joint team.
The NOFA Vermont Farmer Olympics events will take place from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., followed by delicious wood-fired pizza cooked in the NOFA-VT mobile oven, the award ceremony, and other forms of celebration deemed appropriate at the time.
