PLAINFIELD, Vt. – Peter Colman Started his company Vermont Salumi about a year and-a-half ago. Salumi is an Italian umbrella term for dry-cured meats, anything he says that is sort of salty and porky.
"Yes so right now we have been pretty much been doing sausage, but I think the dried, cured meats is really an untapped market. I kind of look at it as the way our artisan cheese industry was 20 years ago," Colman said.
Turns out he is right. A new study commissioned by the Vermont Farm Viability Program, Vermont Agricultural Innovation Center and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board confirmed there is strong local, regional and national market demand for Vermont produced dry-cured meats.
This study can now be used by small producers as part of their business plans. "It confirms that if you look in the right places and you think about what markets that you want to sell to and whether or not it's economically viable for you to produce and sell into those markets and still make money. It's a really good tool in your toolbox of marketing skills," said Liz Gleason with the Vermont Farm Viability Program.
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