Lorraine Merrill, New Hampshire's new commissioner of agriculture, made two stops this week to learn more about UNH Cooperative Extension. Her first visit was Tuesday night at Rockingham County, where over 80 residents of the county learned more about agriculture.

Her next stop Wednesday was to Taylor Hall on the UNH campus, where she learned more about Cooperative Extension's efforts from me as well as from our program leaders, and about the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture from Dean Tom Brady.

Those present at the Rockingham County event included growers, legislators, former and current Rockingham County Advisory council members, and Future Farmers of America students and their vocational teachers from Coe Brown Academy.

The Rockingham event began with a segment featuring locally-grown products such as fresh apples, maple syrup and fruit punch made with local strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. Refreshments were prepared by Associate Prof. Gino Alibrio, Kelly Matteson and their students from the UNH Thompson School of Applied Science, Restaurants and Food Services Management Programs.

Merrill spoke about how the face of agriculture continues to evolve, how farms continue to be a vital part of our communities, and how growers are selling through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), where community members buy a share of the farm produce harvest as well as many other agricultural products.

Merrill further discussed how growers and farmers have a valuable role in educating the population about agriculture and how growers could become more involved in their town as part of an agricultural commission.

Phil Auger, Land and Water Conservation Extension Educator, facilitated a forum following Merrill's remarks. Those in attendance voiced their concerns about current use assessments, the direct sale of milk, land conservation related to farmland and how conservation funds could be used to save farms, if conservation funds can be used for alternative energy, and agriculture education at the university level.

Shown in the photo above is NH Dept. of Agriculture Commissioner Lorraine Merrill addressing the group at Rockingham County.