Business of Agriculture: Outsourcing keeps farms running efficiently
Time was when Upper Valley farmers had to be able to handle just about every task related to their operation themselves — from repairing equipment to trimming animals’ hooves to fetching inputs like grain and bedding. But today it’s a different story as services and supplies come to the farm on wheels and outsourcing of more and more traditional farm tasks becomes the rule. It’s not always cheaper in the short run, but calling on...
Business of Agriculture: Programs and politics in the promotion of agricultural products
It’s an axiom of agriculture as old as the hills: 50 percent of farming is producing the commodity, the other 50 percent is marketing the product at a price that makes enough money to sustain the farm enterprise. While the issues of contemporary production agriculture tend to get most of the media and political attention — think water-quality regulations, animal welfare, pesticide hazards — there’s a vast parallel universe of...
The Business of Agriculture: Plant businesses big and small are firing up for the growing season
Setting out petunias in the flower beds and starting tomato and pepper plants in the vegetable garden may seem a long way off here in February, but in New Hampshire and Vermont greenhouse operations, the spring season already is well underway. Propane-fired heaters are roaring, seeds are being placed in growing media and tiny seedlings of some species already are emerging as growers prepare for the sales rush that will begin as soon...
Business of Agriculture: Money Grows on Christmas Trees — Slowly
If there’s one piece of New Hampshire and Vermont agriculture that stands out for stability and profitability in recent years it’s the Christmas tree sector, and this year the mojo continues with solid demand on the wholesale side and expectations for continued strong consumer interest on the retail “choose and cut” side of the trade. But if there’s any worry that a lot of new production suddenly will appear to capture what seems like...
The Business of Agriculture: Farmers Market Phenomenon Is Here to Stay
Over the past decade or so, agricultural leaders in both Vermont and New Hampshire have been effusively lauding the expansion in numbers of farms and the increase in volume of commodities moving into market channels within the states. Major drivers in both statistical areas have been the growth in the number of local farmers markets and of farm enterprises adopting the community supported agriculture, or CSA, model for connecting with...
The Business of Agriculture: Upper Valley Farmers Fight the Battle of Bedstraw
What kudzu is to south Georgia — ubiquitous, fast-growing, invasive — smooth bedstraw has become to the fields, meadows, pastures and other open lands of the Upper Valley region. And the summer of 2015 is proving to be the worst year yet with the aggressive weed, as farmers, property managers and agronomists try to figure out ways to beat the pest back, usually with only marginal success. Smooth bedstraw especially loves roadsides,...
The Business of Agriculture: Turning to Native Pollinators
While scientists, farmers, environmentalists and politicians in Washington wrangle over what’s happening to the nation’s honeybee population and who is to blame for its problems, a growing movement is afoot in New Hampshire and Vermont to look to the diverse array of native insects to accomplish the vital task of pollinating fruit and vegetable crops. Just about everybody agrees that honeybees — a species that originated in Europe —...
