How you gonna keep 'em down on the farm? How about tax breaks? Or getting rid of laws that make it harder to do business as a farmer? Or perhaps a "Made in New Hampshire" logo?

These are among the suggestions of the Farm Viability Committee, a group of state lawmakers charged with finding ways to keep farming alive in New Hampshire.

Established during the last legislative session, the committee recently released a report after nearly a year of speaking with farmers around the state and gathering data. The report identifies obstacles which may be making it harder for New Hampshire farmers to stay in business.

It's important to overcome these obstacles, because agriculture plays an important part in the state's economy, committee members said.

"Farming is travel and tourism, it's food production, it's jobs,"said Democratic Rep. Derek Owens of Hopkinton, a committee member and farmer.

In 2002 - the last year for which statistics are available - New Hampshire farms did $145 million in business, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And because farmers reinvest in their farms, the capital tends to stay here.

"Every dollar spent on local agricultural products circulates in our economy," said Juli Brusell of the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension. "It can circulate up to seven times. It strengthens our economy."

The Farm Viability Committee got its start from a group of legislators - Owen among them -concerned that farming is losing its hold in New Hampshire.

There's plenty to evidence to back up their concern. In 1945 there were 19,000 farms in the state and close to 2 million acres of farm land. These days, there are 3,400 farms and 430,000 acres.

In the past few years, the numbers have held steady, although they don't tell the whole story because the USDA has changed its criteria for what counts as a farm. These days small farms, fewer than 10 acres, are counted alongside the big ones. Because of this, it's impossible to tell by looking at the numbers that certain types of farms, such as dairy, have been decreasing drastically in recent years.

The decrease comes mainly from unfair competition with farmers around the country and around the globe, according to Owen.

Farms in the Southwest and California get subsidized water from the government, enabling them to grow larger, giving them a better economy of scale, and produce goods more cheaply.

Other countries, particularly in Europe, provide huge subsidies to their farms.

The committee hasn't suggested subsidies. But it did conclude that New Hampshire farms need help to survive, according to Republican Rep. Burton Williams of Bristol, who chaired the committee.

"It's important that we all take an interest in this," Williams said.

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