9781611687842
Distributed for University Press of New England
New Hampshire Women Farmers
Pioneers of the Local Food Movement
New Hampshire ranks third nationally in the percentage of principal farm operators who are women, and these women are transforming what it means both to be a farmer and to run a successful farm. Through informative prose and striking photographs, Helen Brody and Leslie Tuttle show how women in the Granite State are revitalizing farming by creating value-added products and developing new and vital markets for their locally grown food. Such innovations keep farms profitable and relevant, even as they work to protect the open land we all value. Expanding their roles to include accountant, sales expert, and educator, the state’s women farmers occupy the forefront of national farm-to-community outreach, increasing public awareness of healthy foods and attracting travelers to New Hampshire’s bounty. New Hampshire Women Farmers makes an excellent gift for anyone interested in the new directions that will sustain family farms in the twenty-first century.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Lorraine Stuart Merrill • Introduction: Women Pioneers in the Granite State • WOMEN: THE FACE OF THE FARM • Farm Marketers: Center Stage • Suzanne LeBlanc, Autumn Harvest Farm & Quilt Studio, Grafton • Louisa Spencer, Poverty Lane Orchards & Farnum Hill Ciders, Lebanon • Kate Donald, Stout Oak Farm, Brentwood • Promoting Heritage Breeds and Heirloom Produce • Keira Farmer, Yankee Farmer’s Market, Warner • Carole Soule, Miles Smith Farm, Loudon • Encouraging Year-Round Buying of Local Food • Donna Sprague, Huntoon Farm, Danbury • Donna Abair, Hazzard Acres Farm, Springfield • WOMEN: CATALYSTS FOR FARM GROWTH • Creating Imaginative Visitor Attractions • Nancy Franklin, Riverview Farm, Plainfield • Martina Howe, Beans & Greens Farm, Gilford • Focusing on a Single Traditional Farm Product • Heidi Bundy, Tomapo Farm, Lebanon • Sarah Costa, Manning Hill Farm, Winchester • Educating Children, Adults, and Politicians • Padi Anderson, F/V Rimrack and Granite State Fish, Rye Harbor State Marina • Diane Souther, Apple Hill Farm, Concord • Building Tourism: Farm Days, Fairs, and Food Trails • Walpole Valley Farms and the Inn at Valley Farms, Walpole • Cornish Agricultural Fair, Cornish • New Hampshire Sheep & Wool Festival, Deerfield • New Hampshire’s Wine, Cheese & Chocolate Trails • New Hampshire’s Ice Cream Trail • WOMEN: LAND PRESERVATIONISTS, WORKING FARMLAND • Keeping Family Land Productive • Mary Jones, Patridge Farm, North Haverhill • Kris Mossey, McLeod Bros. Orchards, Milford • Building Food Self-Sufficiency • Tracie Loock, Tracie’s Community Farm, Fitzwilliam • Elaine Haynes, Haynes Homestead, Colebrook • WOMEN: OFF-THE-FARM SUPPORT • Agricultural Marketing for State Government • Gail McWilliam Jellie, Director of Agricultural Development, New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food • Educational Efforts • Schools • Stacey Purslow, Farm to School Program Coordinator, Sustainability Institute, University of New Hampshire • Business • Mary Ann Kristiansen, Executive Director, Hannah Grimes Center for Entrepreneurship • Retail • Rosemary Fifield, Director of Education and Member Services, Hanover Consumer Cooperative Society • Agriculture • Amy Ouellette, Program Team Leader, University of New Hampshire, Cooperative Extension • Farm Interest Groups • Naomi Scanlon, President, Associated Women of the New Hampshire Farm Bureau Federation • Janet Wilkinson, Executive Director, Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire (NOFA-NH) • Farm Product Distribution • Julie Moran, President and Manager, North Country Farmers Co-op • Regional Support • Sara Zoë Patterson, Coordinator and Board Chair, Seacoast Eat Local • Acknowledgments and Notes • Farm Resource List