Daniel Innis, Ph.D. lives in Bradford and is a professor of Marketing and Hospitality Management at UNH. He is a former NH State Senator and an aspiring farmer.
Recently President Joe Biden told Americans to expect “real food shortages” this summer. Meanwhile, family farms are feeling enormous economic pressures due to the increased cost of fuel, fertilizer and other supplies. New Hampshire has a strong agricultural history, and agriculture remains an important part of our state’s economy. That history should be respected and preserved, and the family farms that remain must be appreciated and supported for what they do, including feeding the nation.
In 2022, most farms in New Hampshire are relatively small at just 30-40 acres. Nearly 4,100 farms across our state produce a wide range of farm products, including milk, fruits and vegetables, meat, eggs, pumpkins and Christmas trees. However, most farms in New Hampshire do not produce enough income to support a family. This does not bode well for New Hampshire farming, and it is why it is so important that we support our local farms.
An article in the Concord Monitor pointed to the fact that 67% of New Hampshire’s farms have annual sales of less than $10,000. Unfortunately, most farms in New Hampshire make their sales to farm stands and community markets and not to larger grocery stores. It is no surprise that in the last ten years New Hampshire has witnessed a 10% decline in acreage dedicated to farming and just 425,000 of our state’s 6 million acres are dedicated to farming.
Over the last year, I have been working with my partner to restore and restart Battles Farm in Bradford, New Hampshire. A formerly productive farm, Battles Farm fell into disrepair due to insufficient revenues and a resultant inability to meet expenses. The 1800-era barn was nearing collapse, including an unstable foundation with significant wood rot and sagging beams (two of which are King’s Pine beams, from Bradford).
Work on the farm began last April, starting with the restoration of the barn’s foundation. The barn was jacked up, new footings were poured, support beams replaced, and the barn was lowered back into place. Next up was new flooring, the replacement of an entire exterior wall, new floors, roof repairs, and replacement siding. The initial project will wind down soon, and more work will be done as time and resources permit.
Beyond the barn, two pastures will receive new fencing in preparation for the return of dairy cattle, goats and lamb. A chicken coop will be constructed in the next month in preparation for the arrival of 300 chickens in mid-May. Finally, the old farmhouse was unsalvageable and was replaced with a new farmhouse that matches the design of the barn and respects the style and character of the house it replaced.
You may wonder why we took on such a project. Farms in New Hampshire are a hardscrabble business. Making money is tough. And yet I have always loved farms and farming, and there is a significant farming history in my family, as recently as my paternal grandfather. Growing up around the farm, listening to my great-grandfather (also Daniel Innis) talk about how he did things, and observing the business side of farming taught me a greater respect for what farmers do, and to understand how important they are to our economy. It is why Battles Farm is becoming Trail’s End Farm, the name of my great grandfather’s farm.
Our objective is to restore the farm and make it better than ever. An important part of our mission is and will be preserving New Hampshire’s farming heritage and introducing our farm to the community. Farms are a positive force in our communities and our goal is to further the understanding of farms and farming.
Trail’s End is a small effort to preserve and expand New Hampshire farming. It is a labor of love, and I am happy to be doing something to help stem the decline of farming in New England. Farms preserve open space, and the silos, barns and homes are a part of our heritage, our history and the landscape around us. Small farms are a part of what makes New Hampshire so unique.
We’ve heard a lot lately about our failures in domestic oil production and the effect it has had on gas prices. The same thing will happen to groceries if we don’t support local farming. This week, go visit a farm store and buy local. You can find them all over the state. I promise you that the products that you buy will be fresher and tastier than anything that can find at the grocery store.