As of May 2026, Champlain Housing Trust has approved a total of $4.3 million for its Farmworker Housing Program, a program which started as a pilot in 2022 in partnership with University of Vermont Extension, and with funding from the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB). The program includes loans for both repair of existing housing as well as for the replacement of housing that is beyond repair or not suitable for habitation. The program operates statewide.
Bill Suhr and Andrea Scott, who own and operate Champlain Orchards in Shoreham, Vermont, were among the first farmers approved for a repair loan to upgrade plumbing and electrical systems and improve fire safety in housing designated for their orchard workers. The house, built in 1890, houses up to 10 workers and now has air conditioning and energy-efficient heat and hot water that make living conditions for their team much more comfortable. Renovations are underway in a second unit, which also benefited from the upgraded electrical systems, to remodel the kitchen, bathroom and add bedrooms – potentially for as many as 20 orchard workers.
“The re-investment happening at farms through this program is exciting and critical,” says Bill. “Housing has been our biggest obstacle to employing locally.”
Both repair and replacement versions of the program are structured as no interest, deferred, and forgivable loans to ensure that the farmers keep the housing available for workers on their farms.
To date, a total of 74 projects improving living conditions for 283 farmworkers have been completed or are in development through repairing existing buildings. An additional 15 projects improving housing for 78 farmworkers have been completed or are in progress in the replacement housing program.
These improved housing projects span 12 counties in Vermont, with funding coming from State General Funds allocated to VHCB by the Vermont Legislature, which has prioritized housing for a variety of people in need across the state.
“Ensuring safe and adequate housing for farmworkers is essential for their well-being and for the vitality of Vermont’s ag economy,” said Gus Seelig, executive director of VHCB. “Our Board is pleased to support these programs, and we’re grateful to our good partners at CHT for their efforts to continue this important work.”
This program grew out of a 2021 report completed for VHCB that identified the need for improvements to the housing of farmworkers. The report estimated that 2,000 farmworkers lived on farms with substandard housing.
Given the success of the program, and with more funding from the State and VHCB, CHT estimates requests expected through 2027 will serve an additional 28 – 30 projects, improving housing for 75 – 100 additional farmworkers.
To learn more about this program, visit https://www.getahome.org/vermont-farmworker-housing-repair-loan-program/