Updated from yesterday’s edition with response by Gray

By Guy Page

Government records concerning Four Corners Farm in Newbury, where Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Molly Gray was raised and which remains operated by her family, document state and federal investigations into housing provided to migrant farmworkers, according to a statement issued today by the campaign to re-elect incumbent John Rodgers.

VDC has contacted the Gray campaign for comment, and will publish any response as soon as it is received. Files sent by the Rodgers campaign can be accessed here. The complaint is reminiscent of a 2022 Vermont GOP campaign ad reporting alleged complaints by workers at a farm operated by incumbent Progressive/Democrat David Zuckerman. The Hinesburg fruit and vegetable farmer won that election, but then lost to Rodgers in 2024. 

Gray is the current front-runner in the lieutenant governor race, leading Rodgers in two separate, recent polls. Elected lieutenant governor in 2020, she is trying to get her old job back after a failed 2022 run for Congress. Rodgers, who is a state-permitted cannabis farmer, recently agreed to pay a fine after state officials said a small part of his operation was growing cannabis without a permit. 

The records, sent Tuesday afternoon to media by the Rodgers campaign, describe an August 2024 visit in which H-2A migrant workers directed Vermont labor officials to their housing. A later Vermont Agency of Agriculture investigation identified a series of problems, including livestock kept directly below a kitchen area used by workers, inadequate insulation, heating concerns, damaged screening and flooring, and a privy within 100 feet of living and food-preparation areas.

The records also describe concerns about a basement shower used by workers. A Vermont Department of Labor official characterized the shower area as unlit and unventilated and said it lacked privacy.

According to a timeline in the records, the case was referred to the Vermont Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or VOSHA, in August 2024. The federal Wage and Hour Division subsequently took up the case and conducted an onsite investigation in October. VOSHA conducted its own onsite inspection in November and issued a citation Dec. 3.

Housing issues continued into 2025, according to the records. A Jan. 22 inspection by the Vermont Division of Fire Safety did not grant occupancy for H-2A worker housing and identified deficiencies involving fire separation, plumbing, heating and bathroom requirements. State officials said outstanding issues would have to be corrected before the housing could be approved for occupancy.

The records do not establish that Gray was personally responsible for managing the farm or its worker housing, or that she knew of the conditions identified by inspectors.

Four Corners Farm has long been part of Gray’s political biography. Gray says she grew up on the vegetable and dairy farm in South Newbury, which is still operated by her family. Her campaign website lists her rural Vermont upbringing as central to her priorities.

Gray, a former lieutenant governor, is challenging Republican Lt. Gov. John Rodgers in the Nov. 3 election. She won the Democratic nomination in August with 57.2% of the vote.

Gray’s campaign also emphasizes immigrant rights and humane treatment. Her campaign materials say she learned growing up that everyone has a right to live with dignity and have basic needs met.

Rodgers seized on the farm records to question whether Gray knew about the migrant housing conditions.

“I’ve been willing to stand up to President Trump and his administration when I believe their policies go too far, including when it comes to the treatment of immigrants,” Rodgers said. “My opponent has made dignity, humane treatment and meeting immigrants’ basic needs a centerpiece of her campaign, but these records raise legitimate questions about whether those same standards were being met for migrant workers at the family farm she regularly touts as part of her own story.”

Rodgers said voters deserve to know when Gray learned about the conditions and whether she took any action after learning of them.

Gray was raised at Four Corners Farm and has repeatedly cited the farm in campaigns for public office. In a 2021 interview, she said both of her brothers helped run the farm with their families and described it as “a special place to me.”

UPDATE: the Gray campaign emailed the following statement to VDC this morning:

“My brothers and family are like thousands of Vermonters who work the land, sell produce, ship milk and try to provide food for our communities. Our family farms are what make Vermont special and for John Rodgers to attack them shows more about him than anyone else.

“Like many Vermont farmers, my family has worked to adapt to strict federal and state regulation when it comes to farm worker housing. With state cooperation and guidance, they were able to successfully bring worker housing on an over 200 year old farm into compliance with new Vermont rental code standards. They care deeply about the rights, safety and well-being of their employees, whom they rely on to keep the farm going.

“I’m going to continue to run a positive, issue-focused campaign focused on the needs of Vermonters. I encourage John Rodgers to do the same in the final days of his campaign.”