Opinion: More support needed for local farms

Daniel Innis, Ph.D. lives in Bradford and is a professor of Advertising and Hospitality Administration at UNH. He’s a former NH State Senator and an aspiring farmer.

Just lately President Joe Biden advised People to count on “actual meals shortages” this summer time. In the meantime, household farms are feeling huge financial pressures because of the elevated price of gas, fertilizer and different provides. New Hampshire has a robust agricultural historical past, and agriculture stays an vital a part of our state’s financial system. That historical past ought to be revered and preserved, and the household farms that stay should be appreciated and supported for what they do, together with feeding the nation.

In 2022, most farms in New Hampshire are comparatively small at simply 30-40 acres. Almost 4,100 farms throughout our state produce a variety of farm merchandise, together with milk, vegetables and fruit, meat, eggs, pumpkins and Christmas timber. Nonetheless, most farms in New Hampshire don’t produce sufficient earnings to help a household. This doesn’t bode nicely for New Hampshire farming, and it’s why it’s so vital that we help our native farms.

An article within the Harmony Monitor pointed to the truth that 67% of New Hampshire’s farms have annual gross sales of lower than $10,000. Sadly, most farms in New Hampshire make their gross sales to farm stands and neighborhood markets and to not bigger grocery shops. It’s no shock that within the final ten years New Hampshire has witnessed a ten% decline in acreage devoted to farming and simply 425,000 of our state’s 6 million acres are devoted to farming.

Over the past yr, I’ve been working with my accomplice to revive and restart Battles Farm in Bradford, New Hampshire. A previously productive farm, Battles Farm fell into disrepair on account of inadequate revenues and a resultant incapacity to fulfill bills. The 1800-era barn was nearing collapse, together with an unstable basis with vital wooden rot and sagging beams (two of that are King’s Pine beams, from Bradford).

Work on the farm started final April, beginning with the restoration of the barn’s basis. The barn was jacked up, new footings had been poured, help beams changed, and the barn was lowered again into place. Subsequent up was new flooring, the substitute of a complete exterior wall, new flooring, roof repairs, and substitute siding. The preliminary undertaking will wind down quickly, and extra work will probably be achieved as time and sources allow.

Past the barn, two pastures will obtain new fencing in preparation for the return of dairy cattle, goats and lamb. A hen coop will probably be constructed within the subsequent month in preparation for the arrival of 300 chickens in mid-Could. Lastly, the outdated farmhouse was unsalvageable and was changed with a brand new farmhouse that matches the design of the barn and respects the fashion and character of the home it changed.

It’s possible you’ll marvel why we took on such a undertaking. Farms in New Hampshire are a hardscrabble enterprise. Earning money is hard. And but I’ve all the time liked farms and farming, and there’s a vital farming historical past in my household, as lately as my paternal grandfather. Rising up across the farm, listening to my great-grandfather (additionally Daniel Innis) speak about how he did issues, and observing the enterprise aspect of farming taught me a larger respect for what farmers do, and to grasp how vital they’re to our financial system. It’s why Battles Farm is turning into Path’s Finish Farm, the title of my nice grandfather’s farm.

Our goal is to revive the farm and make it higher than ever. An vital a part of our mission is and will probably be preserving New Hampshire’s farming heritage and introducing our farm to the neighborhood. Farms are a constructive drive in our communities and our purpose is to additional the understanding of farms and farming.

Path’s Finish is a small effort to protect and broaden New Hampshire farming. It’s a labor of affection, and I’m completely satisfied to be doing one thing to assist stem the decline of farming in New England. Farms protect open house, and the silos, barns and houses are part of our heritage, our historical past and the panorama round us. Small farms are part of what makes New Hampshire so distinctive.

We’ve heard quite a bit recently about our failures in home oil manufacturing and the impact it has had on fuel costs. The identical factor will occur to groceries if we don’t help native farming. This week, go go to a farm retailer and purchase native. Yow will discover them everywhere in the state. I promise you that the merchandise that you simply purchase will probably be brisker and tastier than something that may discover on the grocery retailer.