Expand opportunities for business education and support for new and beginning farmers

Recommendation Status: In Progress

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Recommendation: Expand opportunities for business education and support for new and beginning farmers:

  • Through groups, such as the New Hampshire Ag Financiers, expand training and technical assistance opportunities.
  • Assist growers in calculating healthy debt management, making informed decisions based on costs of production, building and strengthening financial and production record-keeping systems, and modeling proposed enterprises and marketing channels.
  • Conduct a comprehensive and regularly updated analysis of grants available to farms and food businesses to help producers access capital and identify gaps where funding and financing are limited.

Current work happening on this recommendation:

  • American Farmland Trust's Buy‑Protect‑Sell Plus (BPS+) Pilot in New Hampshire directly advances this recommendation by:
    • Combining land acquisition, permanent conservation, and transfer to farmers 
      Integrating affordability and long‑term stewardship into land protection
    • The NH pilot is intentionally designed to interface with regional land access networks, aligning with NHFA’s systems‑level approach.
    • This effort involves forging new partnerships with land trusts and local partners to identify opportunities to secure threatened farmland, protect it, and transition it to a next generation of farmers. This may include identifying new sources of funding for conservation and access projects.
      • How can you learn more and get involved? Reach out the Jamie Pottern, Senior New England Program Manager, jpottern@farmland.org
         

Craving context? This recommendation is included in the Supporting Future & Beginning Farmers brief, part of the NH Food and Agriculture Strategic Plan.

Read the Supporting Future & Beginning Farmers brief here

 

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