February 8, 2011 by Debra.

The New Hampshire Institute of Agiculture and Forestry (NHIAF) has stepped in to help Tuttle Farm in Dover create a vision for its future and find a successor:

The owners of America’s oldest family farm have asked the New Hampshire Institute of Agriculture and Forestry (NHIAF) to assist them in outlining a strategy and identifying a successor for the farm’s “next 375 years of growth” according to Lucy Tuttle, who along with brother Bill operates the Tuttle Farm and Red Barn retail store.

Tuttle Farm on Dover Point Road raised national attention recently when the property was placed on the market by the Tuttle family. The farm was noted in nationwide media as an example of an overall decline of family farming, an end to the normal succession of farms from one generation to the next, and the inability of family farms to compete with large agribusiness.

However, according to Suzanne Brown, Executive Director of NHIAF, “What we see is actually a strong resurgence in farming, with established farmers looking at new methods of passing on their farms and new farmers eager to meet the rapidly-increasing demand for local food. With double-digit growth in the organic sector and the huge success of farmers’ markets, we are more than optimistic.”

Accordingly, NHIAF is assisting the Tuttle family and their broker with finding a purchaser that will keep their farm in productive agriculture and serve the Seacoast community. Bill Tuttle, 11th generation owner said, “Inasmuch as we are ready to sell the farm, we want to find the right buyer who will honor its history and the 379 years of stewardship that has marked our family’s work and dedication here.”

“Ideally the next owner of the Tuttle Farm will help us transform this national landmark into a agricultural center that enables our organization to train new farmers, diversify the on-site retail center with more locally grown and value-added products, and establish community services like local deliveries and a community kitchen,” said Brown. “It’s important for our country to see the evolution of the oldest farm in America as the torch is passed to an inspired new generation of farmers and other food providers.”

For more information, please visit www.nhiaf.org. Stay tuned for more about an upcoming TuttleFest in March!

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January 23, 2011 by Debra.

Based in Craftsbury, VT, fellow farmer Pete Johnson of Pete’s Greens lost his barn to a devastating fire last week. From the farm’s account of the fire, “The barn was the heart of the farm.”  The building and all its contents were destroyed, resulting in a loss of farming and processing equipment, as well as all of their harvested crops and frozen meats. It’s urgent that they begin to rebuild immediately with the hope of having a structure by March or April — in time for washing and storing vegetables they’d already begun planting.

Donors from all over New England have now come together to help Pete’s Greens rebuild, resulting in an amazing array of items up for bid at the on-line auction, Bid for the Barn! Items are up for bid now, with the auction lasting one week and ending Sunday, January 30. With 16 different categories — from Cabin & Farm Dinners to Outdoor Adventures, and Fine Arts & Crafts to Overnight Escapes, just to name a few — there’s sure to be something that strikes your fancy.

In the category of Farm & Local Foodstuffs, New Roots Farm in Newmarket, NH, has their own offering up for auction and promises to throw in a special extra if a Seacoaster wins the bid!

Pasture Raised Heritage Meat Package

A selection of pasture-raised heritage breed meats from New Roots Farm’s Certified Organic pasture. The selection will include applewood smoked bacon, gourmet “whole hog” sausage, a pork tenderloin along with a 100% grass-fed boneless lamb shoulder and two 100% grass-fed beef tenderloin steaks. Click here to bid!

To view other items up for auction, please visit Bid for the Barn >

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January 13, 2011 by Debra.

From Meadow’s Mirth Farm, news about the fire that destroyed the barn at Pete’s Greens in Vermont. Pete’s Greens has played a critical role in helping to rebuild our regional food system, serving as a model and training ground for many area farmers. The losses are significant, not only in dollars but also in the care and labor this represents. If you would like to make a donation to Pete’s Greens Farm Fund, click here — every little bit will help!

Fire Destroys Barn

Jan 12, 2011

Early on January 12, just after our delivery truck headed out on the road with the week’s CSA share deliveries, Pete noticed that the barn was on fire. The barn is a total loss taking with it all our stored crops, our meats, our coolers, and vegetable cleaning and processing equipment. Many have expressed an interest in helping. Please visit the Fire page for more info.

For more information and how to donate to Pete’s Green Farm Fund, go to www.petesgreens.com.

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December 30, 2010 by Debra.

From the York County Farmers’ Network:

Please join us as we restart the York County Farmers’ Network monthly winter breakfast meetings (at a new location). Dates for the winter are as follows:

 

• Tuesday, Jan 4, 8:00 am

 

• Tuesday, Feb. 8, 8:00 am

 

• Tuesday, Mar. 8, 8:00 am

 

Mark your calendar!

 

The meetings have been well attended and a wonderful farmer-to-farmer networking opportunity over the past few years. The purpose of these meetings is to socialize, enjoy breakfast together, informally share ideas and discuss what you want to see happen with the York County Farmers’ Network activities in 2011.

This year we will be meeting and eating at Pat’s Pizza — new breakfast menu! — in Sanford. 

Directions to Pat’s Pizza: Pat’s Pizza is located at 505 Main St. (Route 109) in Sanford, between Marc Motors and Renaissance Cards, approx. across from the Center for Shopping (Shaw’s Plaza) shopping center. Phone: 207-324-7500.

For more information, please contact Becky Gowdy at rebecca.gowdy@maine.edu or visit www.ycfn.org.

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December 6, 2010 by Sara Zoe.

From the most recent edition of the Rye Eats Local Newsletter comes an update on the Goss Farm work:

The Local Food movement is alive and well in Rye.  We have successful summer and winter farmers’ markets, a school community garden at the Rye Junior High, and now we have the Goss Farm restoration to add to the resurgent agricultural movement in Rye. 

For more than two years a task force of the Rye Energy Committee has been meeting with hopes of establishing a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in Rye.  With the town’s purchase of the Goss property, land has finally been made available.

 

As many of you know, the Goss Farm was purchased with Rye Conservation Commission funds with a matching grant from the NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) which is part of the United States Department of Agriculture. The grant stipulates that the land be used for agricultural purposes.

 

Recently, the Rye Energy task force known as the Goss Farm Task Force was moved under the umbrella of the Rye Conservation Commission to streamline efforts on the Goss property.

 

This fall, the Rockingham County Conservation District was awarded additional funds from the NH State Conservation Committee (Moose Plate) Grants to amend the soils on the Goss property and to control invasive species, a critical first step in getting the land ready for farming.  Work is also needed on the barn and the Conservation Commission is pursuing funding for that purpose.

 

It is our hope to have a CSA up and running on the Goss property by spring of 2012.  The CSA will start small, with approximately two acres under cultivation.  We welcome input from the community on how a CSA might best suit the needs of the residents of Rye.

 

We are currently searching for a farmer/manager for the CSA. We are also looking for reasonably priced rental property in Rye where the farmer could live.  If you have any questions or know of a farmer or rental property in town please contact Mimi White @ 964-6586, mimiwhite@earthlink.net. 

 

The CSA is one component of what will happen on the farm.  The Goss property is also being considered as a site for community gardens, a farm stand, a restored apple orchard, blueberry bushes and other community agricultural activities.

 

Sally King, Annette Lee, Mel Low, Roger Philbrick, Tracy Ritzo, Mimi White, Steve White and Brandon Smith advisor, the Goss Farm Task Force.

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November 29, 2010 by Kate.

Field to Fork Farm (Chester, NH) is selling some of their laying hens.  Here’s a message from the farmers:

Our ISA Brown laying hens were raised on our farm from chicks and now range on our organic fields and are fed only organic grain. These hens are great layers and are now 9 months old and will lay until next summer. This will be the only time we sell hens this year so please act now if you are interested. $12 Call: 603 548 4331  Please visit www.fieldtoforkfarm.com for more information about our farm.

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July 15, 2010 by Heather.

In the June issue of Amber Waves, Timothy Wojan and Dayton Lambert wrote about the findings of a recent USDA Economic Research Service-supported study, which found that “about half of all farm input and equipment expenditures were made locally in 2004.”

The study analyzed the location of the farms, rural or nonrural, and the potential impact on local economics. Although the study found that where the farm was made a big difference, these authors concluded that “roughly half of all farm purchases were made locally.”

Read the entire article at http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/June10/Findings/FarmExpenditures.htm.

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July 6, 2010 by Sara Zoe.

NASAP Famers visit Meadow’s Mirth Farm

Reprinted with permission. Learn more about the fantastic programs of the New American Sustainable Agriculture Project, Cultivating Community, Somali Bantu Community Association of New Hampshire, and Meadow’s Mirth Farm on their websites!

On Saturday, May 22nd, one Iraqi and 14 Bhutanese refugees from Manchester visited Meadow’s Mirth Farm in Stratham, NH to meet young farmers Josh and Jean Jennings and learn about organic vegetable production.  Unprompted, and immediately upon stepping off the bus, the group noticed the field of greens and began hand weeding the rows.

The Bhutanese will quickly tell you that they are farmers and are excited to be starting new lives here in New Hampshire.

Meadow’s Mirth Farm is a certified organic farm that Josh and Jean have been running since 2004.
They’ve been successfully growing alongside Berry Hill Farm in Stratham and offer a wide array of unique herbs, vegetables, flowers and delicious berries.  Jean Jennings could only smile as she came to greet her guests and found them pulling weeds.

After introductions, Jean brought the group down to the lower field to show them recently transplanted onions and explain their method of planting.   The plastic used is made from a corn starch raw material and is 100% compostable and biodegradable.  Similar to the straw mulch seen in the garlic rows to the right, the plastic is used as a mulch to minimize weed competition and helps the soil retain heat and moisture.

The group is part of the New American Sustainable Agriculture Project (NASAP), first initiated in Maine by the Portland-based non-profit Cultivating Community.  In New Hampshire, NASAP has been administered by the Somali Bantu Community Association of New Hampshire (SBCA-NH) since 2008 with a growing number of refugees and immigrants from Manchester excited at the opportunity to grow food again.

Over flats of onions, Jean then discussed how to gently remove the onions from the trays and trim the tops and roots before planting.  Each tray can have hundreds of onions and when started in a greenhouse in early spring, you ensure a hearty harvest.

Known as “pyaj” in their native language of Nepali, the group was eager to help get the onions in.  The trimming helps strengthen the stems and roots and helps force a new layer of growth on the bulb.  You then simply make a tiny whole in the soil below the plastic and plant the bulbs an inch or so deep.  Josh and Jean run a tubing under the plastic known as “T-tape” that drips water into the soil when turned on and the result will be thousands of delicous organic onions at harvest.

All of the vegetables grown at Meadow’s Mirth Farm are planted and harvested by hand at the
peak of ripeness and sold fresh and delicous at various farmer’s markets, through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares and at their farmstand in Stratham, NH.

Before Jean let the group help out with some planting she explained their method of laying the plastic.  It can be done by hand by simply digging a shallow trench alongside the rows.  You rake or hoe soil away from the row to get the trench and as you begin to roll down the plastic you cover up the edges of plastic in the trench on both sides with the soil you’ve pulled away from the row.

Jean explains that with a tractor the process can be a bit faster.  Set to the width of the plastic, two discs turn the soil on the edge of the rows as the tractor is driven forward and the plastic unrolls.  Then two other discs follow the plastic and turn the soil back over the edges of plastic, making the process much faster.  Josh and Jean also are able to simultaneously lay their drip irrigation tubing under the plastic as the tractor moves up the row.

After the tractor discussion, the group went to  work planting onions.  With fourteen people planting beside Jean, her farmworker Bridget, the Nepali translator Radhika and Agricultural Coordinator for
Southern New Hampshire Services, Ken Dearborn, the planting went quickly and was full of laughter, pleasant chit chat and occasional song sung in Nepali by one or more of Jean’s guests. With most of the group planting and a few others pulling onions from flats and trimming, the work went quickly.  In no time at all, the group had planted more than two full rows of onions by hand and took a break for lunch that Jean genoursly provided consisting of fresh salad from the farm, a heap load of rice and black beans and four cheese pizzas.  Afterwards the group accompanied Jean on a short farm tour to learn about the rest of the farm.

This season, Meadows Mirth Farm has two new high tunnels.  Jean first lead the group to the back of the first high tunnel and made sure to point out more than just the tomatoes growing in straw mulch inside.  This tunnel has 8 wheels with cranks to jack the entire structure off the ground.  “It’s mobile,” she said to the Nepali interpreter. As the group gathered around the back of the high tunnel, Jean explained that the waist high lush growth was a cover crop known as Vetch.  Vetch is planted intentionally and is also known as a “green manure” because of the nutrients it provides to the soil simply by being grown.  Many New England farmers have come to know the benefits of vetch in crop rotation because of its ability to provide a substantial amount of nitrogen into the soil to benefit certain crops planted afterwards. “This is why the tunnel is mobile,” Jean explained, “tomatoes are growing in the tunnel now, but later we will mow and harrow in this vetch and roll the entire structure over the new area to make use of the new nutrients. As a green manure, the vetch helps minimize inputs and need for additional fertilizers not produced on the farm.  Because of its heavy spring and summer growth, almost no weeds will grow up among the stand of vetch and it also prevents any soil erosion from the open field.

Everyone had a great time visiting Meadow’s Mirth Farm and learned a great deal about how
Josh and Jean operate a successful organic farm.  Before the group returned to Manchester, Josh and Jean brought two bags of fresh greens from their farm to give to the group as well as three trays of onions for the group to plant in their gardens this season.  NASAP farmers would like to thank Meadow’s Mirth Farm for a great day and the Derryfield School for allowing use of their small bus to make the trip possible.

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July 5, 2010 by Heather.

This summer, the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire (NOFA-NH) will be holding the 2010 Summer Organic Garden & Farm Tours series. There will be six tours throughout the summer, the first tour taking place on July 15 and the last of the season on August 31. The tours are $10 for NOFA members and $15 for nonmembers, while children under 18 are free. Preregistration is requested but not required.  

Tours include Two Dreamer’s Homestead, Canterbury; Tracie’s Community Farm, Fitzwilliam; Sawyer Park, Kensington; Blue Ox Farm, Enfield; Bible Hill Farm, Bradford; and Tuckaway Farm, Lee. Each tour has a different focus.

To read about the tours, find out about the potluck dinners to follow the tours, and for more information in general, please go to the NOFA-NH website or see the 2010 Summer Organic Garden & Farm Tour flyer.

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July 2, 2010 by Heather.

At the Porstmouth Farmers’ Market tomorrow New Roots Farmwill have its pasture-raised, heritage breed sausages available for the 4th of July holiday. New Roots is also introducing its nitrate/nitrite free smoked kielbasa, frankfurters, and mini-bratwursts, alongside the perennial all-natural favorites that include chorizo, fresh kielbasa, Italian sausages, breakfast sausages, and more.

For more information about New Roots Farm and its offerings, don’t forget to visit the website, www.newrootsfarm.com!

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