NHFB is a grassroots, nonpartisan membership-based organization.

That means that ag policy decisions, ag community, and agricultural advocacy in your county (and in NH) begins with YOU!!!

Your one stop shop for events, workshops, and resources for

New Hampshire's farmers, landowners, and supporters!

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• Oct 20 Cut Flower Growers' Conference
• Oct 20 Pesticide Practices
• Oct 20 Direct Marketing Heritage Meat
• Oct 20 Rockingham County Annual Meeting
• Oct 21 Merrimack County Annual Meeting
• Oct 24 UNH Equine Open Barn and Pumpkins
• Oct 29 Connecting Local Producers to School Districts
• Oct 29 The Christmas Tree Business
• Nov 5 Coffee & Conversation-Agroforestry
• Nov 12-14 Tri-State Annual Meeting
• Dec 10 NHFB Holiday Open House!!
• Dec 15 New England Vegetable and Fruit Conference
• Newsworthy Announcements & Helpful Resources.

Be sure to download all the pictures for complete list of activities & info!

SHOP NH's Producers & Farm Classifieds! Click on the tiles below..

It is ANNUAL MEETING Season and YOUR voice matters!!

Check out the county schedule and be sure to contact the office if you don't know who your county president is. 603.224.0334

County Annual Meeting Dates - Support your agriculture. Attend your county's annual meeting!

• Hillsborough County: Date to be determined
• Merrimack County: Wednesday, October 21, at Dell-Lea in Chichester. Prime rib dinner at 6:00 p.m. Entertainment: Rebecca Rule, storyteller, MCFB Registration LINK
• Rockingham County: Tuesday, October 20, at J&F Farms. Social hour at 6:00 with the business meeting and dinner at 7:00.

Comply Before You Apply

Rules and Best Practices for Safe Pesticide Application in New Hampshire: A Webinar Discussion Series

This monthly webinar series takes a practical look at the rules and responsibilities you encounter in your day-to-day work as a pesticide applicator. Each session brings together UNH Extension educators and staff from the NH DAMF, Division of Pesticide Control to help you learn about applicable regulations, common mistakes and practical strategies you can use to avoid problems in the field.

Join us for a lively discussion the third Tuesday of each month (October to March) from 9:00am - 10:00am. A Zoom link is provided upon registration.

Earn 1 pesticide recertification credit per webinar session.

October Webinar | Super-Vison: Developing a clear view of the rules and responsibilities of holding a supervisory commercial pesticide applicator license.

October 20 | 9:00 - 10:00am

Online Only 

Cost:  

• Non-credit seeking participant: Free
• 1 pesticide recertification credit: $10.00 per session

Please reach out to Amy Papineau (Amy.Papineau@unh.edu or (603) 862-7143) with any questions. 

If you need an accommodation to participate in our programming, please contact Amy Papineau (Amy.Papineau@unh.edu or (603) 862-7143) prior to the event. Given ample time, we will make any reasonable effort to meet your needs, including language access services if requested, which will be provided free of charge.

2026 Cut Flower Growers’ Conference

October 20, 2026 | 8:30am - 4:30pm

Puritan Conference Center

Manchester, NH 

Cost: $75, including lunch and morning refreshments 

Designed for current commercial cut flower growers of all levels, the conference will feature practical production and business education including interactive demonstrations, grower panels and discussions, and plenty of opportunities to connect with other flower farmers.

Last year’s conference filled quickly, so growers are encouraged to register early!

Direct Marketing Heritage Meat

Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026 | 2 p.m. EDT

Learn how to market your heritage meat directly to consumers by highlighting breed uniqueness, quality, flavor, and the story behind your farm. This free webinar will cover practical strategies for positioning your meat as a premium, value-added product, reaching the right customers and increasing the value of every sale.

PRESENTERS:

• Sarah Cornelisse is a senior extension program specialist at Penn State University in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education. Working broadly in the areas of farm and agricultural entrepreneurship, marketing, and business management, Sarah has expertise in direct marketing, agricultural and value-added dairy entrepreneurship, agritourism, online marketing and sales, social media, budgeting, and planning and decision making.

• Rick Kralj is the food safety and quality extension educator with Penn State extension. His expertise is in food safety & nutrition. He is a lead instructor for FSMA Produce Safety Alliance and FSPCA Human Foods- Preventative Controls.

Don't miss this great opportunity. The webinar is free, but pre-registration is required.

REGISTER TODAY!!

You're invited!

Equine Facility Open Barn and Pumpkin Breeding Program Decoration Day

Join us on Saturday, October 24, from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at the UNH Equine Facility for the 2026 Open Barn and Pumpkin Breeding Program showcases!

Visitors will have an opportunity to chat with students, staff, and faculty, meet the horses in the UNH equine herd, learn about the equine programs at UNH, and see riding demonstrations.

You'll also be able to decorate and bring home one of the pumpkins that were grown this year as part of the UNH Cucurbit Breeding Program—the longest pumpkin breeding program in the United States that has launched over 100 new varieties over the past 70 years.

Location: UNH Equine Facility Parking: Mast Road gravel parking lot. Navigate to 278 Mast Road, Durham, NH or use this Google Maps link.

Schedule of events: 

10:00 am – 3:00 pm: Open barn to meet the horses, students, and faculty and staff.

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Pumpkin decoration table

1:00 pm – 1:20 pm: Therapeutic riding demonstration

1:30 pm – 1:50 pm: Dressage team demonstration

2:00 pm – 2:20 pm: Intercollegiate Horse Show Association demonstration 

2:30 pm – 3:00 pm: Q&A with the riders

We hope to see you there!

The Christmas Trees Business: Grading Trees, Harvesting & Marketing

October 29, 2026 | 3:00 - 5:00pm

South Farm – 575 Profile Rd - Bethlehem, NH

Presented by long-time Christmas tree grower Nigel Manley, with assistance from Jim Frohn, UNH Cooperative Extension Forester for Grafton County. Topics will include grading trees, inventory control, the challenges of managing CYO and wholesale from the same fields. Plus harvesting methods, baling, transport, wreaths and other value-added products.

Feel free to ask lots of questions and we’ll all learn from each other!

Registration deadline is Wednesday, October 28. 

To register, go to https://unh.how/Trees-1026

A fee of $30 is charged to cover costs. A limited number of scholarships are available to individuals unable to pay.

With any questions, please contact Jim Frohn, jim.frohn@unh.edu, 603-787-6944. 

New England Vegetable and Fruit Conference

December 15, 2026 - December 17, 2026 

DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown 

700 Elm Street, Manchester, NH 

Join hundreds of fellow farmers for three days of learning, networking, and innovation featuring 31 educational sessions, daily farmer-to-farmer discussions, a research poster session, and more than 130 trade show exhibitors.

Register by November 30 to take advantage of early bird rates.  Pre-registration fee: $130 per person, $100 additional attendee if registering at the same time as a group; $60 for students (high school or college). Students must show a valid student ID when picking up their registration packet. 

Deadline: Pre-registration must be completed by November 30, 2026. After this date, the fee increases to $165 ($70 for students, $135 for each additional). Late (after 12/11) or walk-in registration is $180. 

For more details, including online and downloadable registration materials, visit our New England Vegetable and Fruit Conference webpage. 

Sponsors: The event is Sponsored by the New England Vegetable & Berry Growers’ Association and the Massachusetts Fruit Growers’ Association in conjunction with the Universities of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, as well as Cornell University, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. 

Does your business have ties agriculture or a connection to NH's rural landscape?

Check out our upcoming magazine themes to see where your business can shine!

• Fall- Whinny & Wine--showcasing the amazing equine and wine industries in NH.
• Winter- Farming on the Fringe--stretching our traditional idea of farming.
• Spring- What "Cents" Does It Make -- the cost of farming and how to make a go of it.

Call the office at 603.224.1934 or check out tinyurl.com/NHFB-Ads to find out more.

We can't wait to hear from you!

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Announces Streamlined Statewide Approach for Addressing Common Raven Conflicts

New approach gives states a more efficient pathway to address conflicts with federally protected common ravens | Sep 14, 2026

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced a streamlined statewide permitting approach for state wildlife and agriculture agencies seeking authorization to address conflicts involving common ravens. Building on a successful pilot for black vultures, the Service is providing a more efficient pathway for managing these conflicts while maintaining appropriate federal oversight.

Common ravens are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, but when non-lethal measures are insufficient, the Service may authorize limited lethal take. This includes addressing impacts to sensitive species such as greater sage-grouse and to agricultural operations such as livestock. This new approach will allow a state agency to obtain a statewide depredation permit and issue subpermits to eligible landowners or other parties, streamlining access to permits. 

“This new approach reduces unnecessary federal administrative burden while giving states greater flexibility to address wildlife conflict,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik. “State and local wildlife managers, working with landowners and ranchers, understand the challenges on the ground and are well positioned to address conflicts with ravens in their communities.”

Eligible state entities may obtain statewide depredation permits to support:

• Better coordination with state wildlife agencies through a single, statewide framework for addressing eligible raven conflicts.
• Reduce repetitive requests and administrative burden when similar conflicts occur across multiple locations.
• Provide greater efficiency and flexibility in responding to conflicts while ensuring authorized take remains appropriate and sustainable.

The Service has worked with partners in recent years to identify solutions for raven conflicts across several Western states, including through the raven working group reconvened earlier this year and ongoing discussions with the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. The statewide permitting approach provides another tool for states to address common raven conflicts while maintaining federal protections for this species.

More information on common raven conflict management is available on FWS.gov.

Farm Labor Policy in Transition: Updates on SAWA, H-2A and AEWR

This month's Knowledge Exchange Partner article explores how proposed H-2A reforms and recent wage-rate changes could affect Northeast agricultural employers, including workforce access, labor costs, program flexibility and compliance—and what these evolving policies may mean for the future of farm labor.

Read More

Organic Support Hour

Every Wednesday at 1PM

Interested in Organic Farming?

Are you curious about what it takes to grow under organic regulations? Want to better understand the organic standards or how your current practices might align?

Join our weekly online gathering for an open discussion and Q&A session! 

https://www.nofanh.org/events/septembersupporthour

Organic Technical Assistance

Get organic technical assistance to help with certification, developing your organic system plan, recordkeeping, preparation for your inspection, how to meet the organic regulations, and much more!

https://www.nofanh.org/technical-assistance

Join NHFB/NHAITC's Friendly Farmer Program!!!

We know there are educators out there looking to enrich their students with authentic ag experiences, as well as farmers interested in cultivating the next generation farmer. The difficulty is matching educator wishes with farmers, friendly farmers, looking to provide those experiences.

Would you be interested in taking your knowledge and agricultural experience to a classroom? Maybe you'd like to host an onsite visit, share your farm, barn, or market storefront?

The Friendly Farmer program is a way to connect farmers and ag leaders with classrooms and schools to offer authentic ag experiences. Help us grow together!

A partnership between NH Ag in the Classroom & NHFB.



Sign up today!!

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