From the Station Director
Pushing the frontiers of innovation can come from realizing a unique solution to a pesky problem; from years of research that lead to a groundbreaking discovery; or, among many other paths, bringing together scientists who have vastly different expertise. This summer, the NHAES piloted the Collaborative Research Enhancement and Team Exploration (CREATE) program, designed to spark interdisciplinary collaborations that are inspired by and help overcome challenges in New Hampshire’s agricultural, food, and natural resources sectors.

I am excited to share four projects that began under the CREATE program, representing researchers from six departments across three colleges at UNH. One set of scientists will work to develop on-the-go soil sensors that can be placed in different parts of an agricultural field and continuously measure and report carbon and nitrogen levels without the need to collect and submit soil samples to an assessment lab. Another team will also develop sensors, but will deploy these sensors into Great Bay oyster farms to monitor and help predict what factors affect oyster product conditions.

A third project will consider the extent to which PFAS deposition from precipitation affects New Hampshire watersheds and different land types, including agricultural land. The fourth project will consider how differences in forest land management and wildlife biodiversity in New Hampshire forests impact perceptions of recreational hikers and determine whether these are factors in the psychological benefits from forest recreation.

Over the next several years, I will be excited to see the results of these innovative projects and their impacts on bettering the lives of the many diverse communities in New Hampshire!

Director, NH Agricultural Experiment Station
Latest NHAES News

NHAES scientists are helping identify what forage crops could be grown to supplement traditional forages during three annual seasonal ‘slumps,’ when plant growth is lowest. These forage ‘slumps’ can impact dairy and livestock production–and threaten livelihoods–by making it more difficult and expensive to feed grazing animals. Read more.

NHAES research technician Renee Goyette spent years running her own farm and selling produce at local farmers’ markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operations, and restaurants before she began working at UNH with the late UNH researcher and cucurbits breeder Brent Loy. At her farm in Newmarket, she grew and handled distribution of certified-organic vegetables, herbs and seedlings. When she began working at UNH in 2015, it was as a 10-hour-a-week role that eventually grew into a benefited position. Following Brent’s passing in 2020, she kept the cucurbit breeding program going, including continuing the two plantings per year. Read more.

While earning two degrees from the UNH Thompson School of Applied Science, Peter Davis ’16 worked as a student employee for UNH Farm Services. He graduated in 2016 with associate degrees in civil technology: construction management concentration and applied business management and afterwards joined Farm Services full-time as a lead farm worker under the previous manager of farm services, John Palmer. When Pete heard that his mentor was retiring, he jumped at the chance to apply to the role. Now, nearly two years in, he oversees two team members and the management of close to 300 acres of property. Read more.

Congratulations to Stuart Grandy, a Station scientist and professor of natural resources and the environment, for being named to Clarivate’s list of Highly Cited Researchers in 2022. The list recognizes those researchers whose cited papers rank in the top 1 percent by citations for a field or fields and publication in the Web of Science citation database. Grandy was named to the list in the “Cross-Field” category. You can find the complete list online.

The Fairchild Lab at UNH promotes sustainable, environmentally friendly methods by using a biological control (lumpfish) instead of a physiological control (chemotherapeutics) to curb sea lice infestation. This research is helping to facilitate development of the first commercial U.S. lumpfish hatchery, which greatly increases the chances of expanding salmonid ocean farms in Maine and New Hampshire, leading to greater volume and a higher economic yield of locally and sustainably grown seafood in New England. With more salmonid farms in use, the U.S. seafood deficit could decrease if domestic salmonid production increases and foreign imports of farm raised salmonids decrease. Read more about the research taking place at the Fairchild Lab at UNH.
More Station News & Notes
New blog post: USDA to invest $300 million, supporting farmers and producers to transition to organic production. Station scientist Analena Bruce was quoted in a recent blog article on farms transitioning to organic production following an announcement by the USDA. Read more.

Upcoming COLSA Seminar Series
  • The agriculture, nutrition, and food systems (ANFS) department at UNH has launched its 2022 Fall Seminar series, with a number of NHAES scientists presenting their work. You can find an event listing online.
  • On Dec. 7, Station scientist Andre Brito will discuss "The multi-faceted effects of supplementing a dairy cow's diet with seaweed" as part of the agriculture, nutrition, and food systems' fall seminar series. Don't miss it!
  • The molecular, cellular and biomedical sciences department at UNH is hosting a distinguished guest speaker series this fall. You can find an event listing online.
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