Supporting Future & Beginning Farmers
2025 NH Food and Agriculture Strategic Plan
The Supporting Future & Beginning Farmers brief explores the programs, policies, and other efforts that support and encourage future and beginning farmers in New Hampshire. The Issue brief is one of 27 briefs created as part of the NH Food and Agriculture Strategic Plan.
What's at Stake?
New Hampshire’s agricultural future hinges on the success of its next generation of farmers. With aging farm owners and farmland under production decreasing, the need to support future and beginning farmers is urgent. Without robust policies and programs, the state risks losing its agricultural heritage, local food systems, and the economic benefits linked to farming. Access to affordable land, resources, and training are essential for ensuring farm viability. Advocates, legislators, and funders must act now to create pathways for future and beginning farmers, ensuring sustainable food production, and resilient communities. Failing to invest in them could mean a decline in the state’s agricultural industry, continued farmland loss, and long-term food insecurity.
Current Conditions
New Hampshire’s agricultural landscape is at a critical juncture, as the farming population ages and barriers to entry for new farmers increase. The average New Hampshire farmer is 591, and much of the state’s farmland is at risk of transitioning without guaranteed successors. Beginning farmers— those operating for 10 years or less2— face significant challenges, including high land prices, limited access to capital, and steep learning curves. Currently, 45% of the state’s new farmers have been farming for five years or less and the average entry age for new farmers is continuing to rise1.
Additionally, systemic issues including affordable housing, healthcare, and regulations further complicate farm viability, factors that traditional agricultural education programs focused solely on knowledge development, fail to address3. While New Hampshire’s small, diversified farms are well positioned to serve local markets, they face challenges in accessing competitive markets and scaling up. Concerns of discrimination also discourage many queer and BIPOC farmers from starting farms, particularly when they lack an established community, further limiting the pool of new and beginning farmers. The state’s agricultural viability depends on the continued development of programs to address these needs, with an eye to equity, particularly for underrepresented and low-income groups.
Challenges
> High real estate prices make it difficult for beginning farmers to secure affordable farmland.
> Small farms struggle to compete in large markets due to volume requirements and resource restraints. Often, they are also unable to maintain sufficient sales through direct-to-consumer markets.
> New and beginning farmers often lack the business management skills needed to manage debt responsibly, calculate production costs, maintain effective record-keeping systems, and thoroughly evaluate business opportunities.
> Hiring and managing labor presents significant challenges for new farmers. Many lack the necessary management skills, creating obstacles to farm expansion and diversification. Additionally, rising labor costs often outpace food prices, making it difficult to balance fair wages for workers with consumer price expectations.
Opportunities
> Investing in existing training programs and mentorship initiatives will help guide new farmers through the complex realities of farm management and sustainability.
> Town- and county-owned agricultural land provides a unique opportunity to serve as incubator farmland for new and beginning farmers.
> Platforms like the NH Food Alliance’s grants web page provides critical information to farmers and service providers about funding opportunities and can be further publicized and expanded upon to identify funding gaps
Recommendations
Organizations working on this issue
Authors
Lead Author
William Hastings, Field Specialist, Production Agriculture, UNH Extension
Contributing Authors
Andy Pressman, Agriculture Program Director, National Center for Appropriate Technology
Jonathan Hayden, Co-owner, Winter Street Farm
Kendall Kunelius, Field Specialist, Agricultural Business Management, UNH Extension
Nikki Kolb, Operations Director, Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire (NOFA-NH)
This brief was developed through a participatory process led by the NH Food Alliance, a program of the University of New Hampshire. The brief content is comprised of the opinions, perspectives, and information gathered by the authors and participants, and does not necessarily represent those of the NH Department of Agriculture, Markets, and Food or the NH Food Alliance.
Head to the NH Food and Agriculture Strategic Plan main page to read more briefs, browse recommendations and learn how the strategic plan was created.
References
1 United States Department of Agriculture. 2022 Census of Agriculture Highlights: Farm demographics. National Agricultural Statistics Service. Nass.usda.gov. Published 2022. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2022/
2 United States Department of Agriculture. How to Start a Farm: Beginning Farmers and Ranchers. Farmers.gov. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://www.farmers.gov/your-business/beginning-farmers
3 Calo, A. How knowledge deficit interventions fail to resolve beginning farmer challenges. Berkeley Food Institute. Food.berkeley.edu. Published 2017. https://food.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2017_Calo_How-knowledge-deficit-interventions-fail-to-resolve-beginning-farmer-challenges.pdf
