Vermont Pay for Performance Program (VPFP)

The Vermont Pay for Performance Program (VPFP), from the Water Quality Division of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM), provides performance-based payments to Vermont farmers for reducing phosphorus (P) losses from their agricultural fields. While most current conservation programs only pay cost-share for practice implementation, VPFP also pays for the outcomes of practices: it recognizes that conservation practices generate value to the public and directly compensates farms for that value. This approach also allows the program to target water quality resources toward the highest-impact farms and fields with respect to reducing Vermont's phosphorus losses.

Farmers use FarmPREP, a web-application tool that integrates farm management data, agronomic and hydrologic science, and numerical modeling to evaluate reductions in P losses across their farm operation.

In Phase 1: Planning, regardless of their P-reductions, participants are eligible for a Data Entry Payment of $50 per field (up to $3,000) to compensate them for the time to work with a technical-assistance provider to enter their management data into FarmPREP. They are also eligible for a Practice Payment up to $10,000 (at the same rate as the Farm Agronomic Practices program). In Phase 2: Implementation, participants remain eligible for a Data Entry Payment and Practice Payment and additionally are paid for an average lbs. P Loss/ac between 0.0 and 2.0.

To be eligible for the VPFP program, farms must:

• Be a Farm as defined in the Required Agricultural Practices (RAPs), operating within Vermont

• Manage crop, hay or pasture land in Vermont

• At the time of application, have an updated Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) for the year of enrollment

Dual-enrollment limitations apply: farms currently enrolled in FAP, EQIP, CSP, RCPP or any other payment program for certain practices may apply but waive the right to receive a Practice Payment in Year 1 (receiving only the Data Entry Payment of $50/field up to $3,000 for the first year). VPFP is a competitive program; ranking prioritizes farms that keep their Nutrient Management Plan, soil tests, and manure tests up to date, have high rates of conservation practice installation, are located in areas with the highest TMDL-required phosphorus reductions, and meet the criteria for Historically Underserved Producers, among other factors.

Phase 1 (Planning) payments: a Data Entry Payment of $50 per field (up to $3,000) plus a Practice Payment up to $10,000 (at the Farm Agronomic Practices rate). Phase 2 (Implementation) adds outcome-based payments for an average phosphorus-loss reduction of 0.0 to 2.0 lbs P/acre. Farms enrolled for planning in 2026 that meet eligibility criteria move into Phase 2: Implementation starting in 2027.

The 2026 application for Phase 1: Planning closed at 11:59 PM on Wednesday, July 15, 2026; accepted farms were notified by August 31, 2026. Applications for new applicants to Phase 1: Planning reopen in January 2027. Apply online through the Agency's AccessGov portal. Questions: AGR.WQVPFP@vermont.gov.