In recent years in NH, the bigger farms have gone away while many smaller farms have popped up around the Granite State by people looking to connect with the land. For a view on what farming is like as a profession, read this story in Cosmopolitan from a longtime female farmer.
The value of NH’s agricultural industry is approximately $850 million. This includes $479 million in direct sales of agricultural and other horticultural products and services and $372 million in direct spending by agriculture related tourists (fairs, scenic travel, etc), according to the NH Farm Bureau. For many Granite Staters,early fall is a peak time to visit farms for produce, fruit and activities such as corn mazes and hay rides.
Some 4,200 individual operations qualify as commercial farms in NH, managing 470,000 acres including crop, pasture, maple and Christmas tree production, conservation and other agricultural uses. The state’s farms produce a wide variety of conventional bulk commodity crops, with milk and apples being the most significant. New Hampshire farms produce many specialty and horticultural crops for markets both within and beyond the state.
Current Issue - May 2024