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About
The New Hampshire Agrarian Commons is a collaboration of diversified organic farms focused on regenerative land stewardship, soil building, food production for regional markets, and food access and land connections that are supported and engaged by the community.
Interactive Map of the Agrarian Commons Get the full experience on Google Earth
Land Acknowledgement
The New Hampshire Agrarian Commons is located on traditional and ancestral lands of the Passamaquoddy, Pennacook, and other Wabanaki and Abenaki peoples who live here in New Hampshire. These Indigenous peoples and nations have lived in relationship with these lands since time immemorial. We honor their elders, past and present. Much of this land is unceded, and in many cases, these territories were stolen, seized, or otherwise acquired through genocidal actions of the state, colonizers, and settlers. As an organization primarily of settlers, we are committed to renewing our relationships with Indigenous peoples, and supporting Indigenous sovereignty through word and action. Please visit native-land.ca to learn the names and histories of Native land.
Legal Statement
The New Hampshire Agrarian Commons is organized and shall be operated exclusively for the purpose of holding title to property, collecting income therefrom, and turning the entire amount, less expenses, to the AGRARIAN LAND TRUST within the meaning of Section 501(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”). Agrarian Land Trust, the parent corporation of New Hampshire Agrarian Commons, is a California nonprofit public benefit corporation exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(a) and described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Code.
Community
The New Hampshire Agrarian Commons is working to preserve the agrarian landscape while making organic agriculture a viable profession for the next generation. Through holding, preserving, and giving farmers equitable access to whole farms through 99-year leases, we can collectively help ensure equitable tenure and support for next generation farmers who are focused on sustaining community-centered farms and regenerative, diversified food production.
The three founding farms of the New Hampshire Agrarian Commons are Brookford Farm and Normanton Farms. The Commons is being developed with investment and engagement from donors and members of the local community who value healthy food production and want to help the Commons address the financial challenges of farming in a region where farm income does not match the costs of farming.
Land, History & Community
New Hampshire has a long and varied history of agricultural production, beginning more than 3,000 years ago with the Indigenous Abenaki and Pennacook peoples who cultivated corn, beans, squash, and tobacco. From the 1600s onward, farmers of European descent typically established small subsistence farms alongside commercial sheep and dairy operations as well as orchards.
By the 1930s, approximately half of the state was held as farm or pasture land. By 1990, acreage in agriculture had dropped by 85 percent from where it was in 1900 (from 3,250,000 to 480,000 acres). During the same period, as thousands of farms were abandoned, forested land increased from 22 percent of all land to 87 percent.
Despite this, New Hampshire has seen significant regrowth of farming in recent years. New Hampshire and is home to about 60 farmers’ markets—or roughly 1 farmers’ market for every 22,600 people. By 2007, the state ranked first in the nation for direct sales between farms and consumers. Steady population growth combined with increased demand for local, organic produce represents a unique opportunity to revitalize New Hampshire’s agricultural sector and connect a new generation to the land.
Structure
Model
Local Agrarian Commons Board
FARMERS & STEWARDS
Luke Mahoney
Brookford Farm
Steve Normanton
Normanton Farm
COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS
Jeremy Lougee
Conservation Project Manager at Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire
Monica Rico
Wood Thrush Farm and Kearsarge Food Hub
Charlene Anderson
Community Loan Fund
Deb Abrahams-Dematte
Anthroposophical Society in America and Monadnock Community Land Trust
Ellie Brown
John Carol
Andal Sundaramurthy
AGRARIAN TRUST
Ian McSweeney
Amy Manzelli, Attorney
BCM Environmental & Land Law PLLC
FEEL FREE TO CONTACT US:
Founding Farms, Ranches, & Agricultural Organizations
Brookford Farm
Year Established: 2007
Farm Size: 620 acres
Employees: 10
Farm Practices: Organic, non-GMO, biodynamic
Products: Vegetables, fermented vegetables, grass-fed raw milk, cheeses and cultures, beef, lamb, pork, poultry, and eggs
Website: www.brookfordfarm.com
Normanton Farms
Year Established: 2009
Farm Size: 63 acres
Employees: 6
Farm Practices: Organic, soil-building practices for past three decades
Products: Beef, pork, lamb, and poultry
Website: www.stevenormanton.com
Local Agrarian Commons Documents
PARTNERS & ALLIES
MONADNOCK COMMUNITY LAND TRUST
NEW HAMPSHIRE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
NEW HAMPSHIRE COMMUNITY LOAN FUND
PATAGONIA
STONYFIELD ORGANIC
WILLIAM H. DONNER FOUNDATION, INC.
Learn
New Hampshire has approximately 425,400 acres of farmland and 4,100 farms. Much of the state’s prime farming soil is located in southern New Hampshire, where the majority of the population lives and where the greatest threat of development pressure looms. Moreover, the costs of electricity, property taxes, and insurance in New Hampshire rank among the highest in the nation—for a 100-acre farm in southern New Hampshire, those costs alone often exceed farm income.
From 2012 to 2017, more than 42,539 acres of land in New Hampshire were converted from farms to other uses. However, the number of farms increased by 24 percent between 2002 and 2007 and again by 5 percent between 2007 and 2012. In a trend that stands out from the rest of the nation, the state’s share of farms has declined only slightly since then.
Statewide Facts
430,000
AMOUNT OF FARMLAND
7,858
ACRES FARMED ORGANICALLY
4,100
TOTAL NUMBER OF FARMS
103
AVERAGE ACREAGE PER FARM
7,198
# OF FARM OPERATORS/PRODUCERS
7,195
PREVIOUS # OF FARM OPERATORS/PRODUCERS
57.5
AVERAGE AGE OF FARMER
21.7
# AVERAGE YEARS ON FARM
2,207
BEGINNER FARMERS
71% earn >$10,000/yr
FARM INCOME
$5,231/acre
AVERAGE FARM REAL ESTATE VALUE
FARMER DEMOGRAPHICS
Female farmers: 3,277
Male farmers: 3,921
White farmers: 7,072
Farmers of color: 140
American Indian or Alaska Native farmers: 13
Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish-origin farmers: 68
Black farmers: 38
Asian farmers: 14
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander farmers: 0
TOP AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS BY SALES
- Nursery, greenhouse, floriculture, and sod
- Milk from Cows
- Vegetables, melons, potatoes, and sweet potatoes
- Other field crops and hay
- Fruits, tree nuts, and berries
- Cattle and calves
- Maple syrup
- Poultry and eggs
- Aquaculture
- Corn
Additional Facts and Resources
Farmland protected through state-level purchases of agricultural conservation easements, as of 2018: 12,350 acres, accounting for roughly 3 percent of the state’s total farmland.
Food Insecurity & Hunger
According to a 2017 study, one in nine New Hampshire residents are food insecure. Approximately 12 percent of children are living in food-insecure environments. Nearly 6 percent of seniors are food insecure in New Hampshire.
Resources on New Hampshire Agriculture
- New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food, Agricultural Development Publications
- Ken Meter, Crossroads Resource Center, Great Falls Region (Vermont and New Hampshire) Local Farm & Food Economy, report, 2010
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