High Tech Research and Development

Value Added and Organic Agriculture

• Small Scale Enterprises that have Matured
  • Ben and Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream
  • Cabot Cheese
  • Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
• Emerging New Companies
  • Lake Champlain and Birnn Chocolates
  • Magic Hat, Otter Creek and Long Trail beers
  • Boyden Valley and Shelburne Vineyards wine produces
  • Sunshine and Vermont Vodka
• Food Processing:
  • 456 businesses
  • Employing over 4000 people
  • Total wages of $152 million. 
  • Growth of 8.4% from 2007 to 2010

Agricultural Technology Transfer Examples

• Methane Bio-Digester
  • Biomass (manure, weeds) that is converted to power
• Electro-Cell Technology
  • Removes Odors from Manure
• Bovine Mastitis Research
  • Uses transgenesis as a means to improving the mastitis resistance of animals

Environmental Sustainability  & Alternative Energy

• Technology Leader
  • NRG Systems – wind monitoring devices
  • All Earth Renewables – solar tracker panels
  • Burlington Electric Dept. – distributed energy wood biomass
  • Smart Grid Deployment in City
  • Vermont Energy Investment Corp – energy efficiency
• Business incentives encourage Vermont businesses to focus on sustainable industries.
  • Sector has grown faster than the National average. 
  • 4 % of Workforce involved in a Environmental Enterprises
  • Renewable energy sector: grew 2000% percent in 10 years. 

High Tech Media Convergence

• High Tech Media Convergence: (culture, creativity, new media)
  • Example of how Vermont adapts to emerging markets.
  • Champlain College has emerged as a national leader:
  • digital forensics/ information security and gaming (programming, art and animation and game design).
• Media is Developed:
• concept – writing – design – programming – financing --marketing
• Touches all Elements of Society:
• Entertainment industry – games 
• Social Causes – smoking cessation and violence against women
• Environmental problems – mercury toxicity and wetland protection