In 2008 when the financial crisis hit and the dairy industry buckled, my parents faced a decision that no family wants to face: how do you hold onto land that’s been in your family since 1907?
The answer came through a conservation easement — a voluntary agreement where we would give up development rights in exchange for compensation. We would keep ownership but ensure that the land would only be used for farming, forestry and trails indefinitely. Because part of the purchase price would come from town funds, Hopkinton residents got to vote whether to approve the easement.
Over two years, we worked with the town of Hopkinton, Five Rivers Conservation Trust, private donors, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and the state of New Hampshire, to raise the funds and educate neighbors on the benefits of a conservation easement.
In December 2009, the town held a special meeting to vote on whether to invest in the easement. It was the largest town meeting in Hopkinton history. More than two-thirds of voters said yes. Bohanan Farm’s fields and forests, nestled between three rivers in central New Hampshire, are now permanently protected as open space, the trails accessible to the public forever.
That vote was about more than one farm. It was a community saying: this land matters, and we’re going to fight to keep it.
The easement process was the first time I really felt the responsibility for sustaining the land and the business my family had managed for over 100 years, with the goal of keeping it productive for the next five generations.
We turned our farm from a wholesale-focused business into one that focused on retailing our milk directly to customers to make the farm more financially sustainable, and to provide a living for four families. We also continued our dedication to sustaining and improving our farm and forest land so that they will continue to be productive into the future.
For decades, we’ve worked with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to build and refine our conservation practices at Bohanan Farm. In recent years, they have supported us in trying and implementing new conservation practices like planting winter cover crops and no-till planting, which have improved our soil, decreased fuel expenses and reduced runoff into the rivers that surround us.
None of this happens automatically. Cover cropping on a dairy farm requires figuring out how new practices interact with your forage system, your manure management, your equipment and your cropping calendar. The conservation service’s Conservation Technical Assistance staff are invaluable resources for helping work through those details. They sit down with you, look at your specific fields and help you design something that will actually work for your operation.
We have spent years experimenting with seeding methods, mixes and termination approaches for winter covers — broadcasting seed by tractor and helicopter — with our local conservation service soil conservationist refining our approach along the way. The service’s staff also help us fit new practices into grant programs, making otherwise cost-prohibitive changes possible.
Almost 10 years ago, we worked with the conservation service to retrofit our corn planter so that we could plant without first tilling the soil. Since then, we have no-tilled all our corn and we can see the changes to our soils. They are more able to retain water in droughty years and less likely to have pooling and surface runoff in wet years. Without Conservation Technical Assistance staff, we would not have had the same access to know-how or funds to institute no-till on our farm.
Since early 2025, Natural Resources Conservation Service has lost more than 2,600 field employees. The administration’s proposed budget would cut discretionary Conservation Technical Assistance funding to zero. Farmers in New Hampshire and across the country are already being told they may wait 18 months to get a conservation plan approved. For an operation making decisions on seasonal cycles, that’s a vital missed opportunity that doesn’t come back.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year continued long-term funding authority for USDA’s major conservation programs. That commitment is right and it is necessary. But conservation funding without the people to deploy it is an empty promise to the farms and communities depending on it.
The support our family has experienced from our community for the last two decades has shown me that people care about farmland, about open space, clean rivers and knowing that the land around them isn’t going to be paved over. Farmers make the daily decisions that keep that land healthy. But we need partners to help us do it right.
We need robust investment in Conservation Techincal Assistance and we need to ensure Natural Resources Conservation Service staffing is restored to meet the moment. The farms are ready to do the work. We need the people on the ground to help us get it done.
Si Robertson and his family own and operate Bohanan Farm and Contoocook Creamery in Contoocook.