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Lambs and ewes at Ramblin' Vewe Farm in Gilford, NH greeting visitors during NH Maple Weekend.
What is needed to strengthen the viability of New Hampshire’s farms and food systems in today’s modern world? This is one of the big, timely questions spurring the development of the NH Food and Agriculture Strategic Plan. Led by the NH Food Alliance, a statewide network based at the University of New Hampshire, the plan includes over 140 recommendations that address 27 agriculture and food-related topics through Product, Market, and Issue briefs. UNH Extension specialists participated in the creation of the plan across a variety of topic areas.
Jada Lindblom from Extension’s Community and Economic Development team served as lead author of the Agritourism brief, working with Extension’s Gail McWilliam Jellie, Meghan Kelley and Hannah Bendroth from Coppal House Farm in Lee, and NH Food Alliance project coordinators. Prior collaborations with agritourism specialists from other states’ Extension programs helped Jada home in on key agritourism industry issues, while the team’s statewide knowledge ensured that the brief reflected New Hampshire’s specific context, challenges, and opportunities.
As part of the launch of the Strategic Plan, the Food Alliance is planning to focus this year’s NH Food System Statewide Gathering around the recommendations proposed in the plan. The event will be Wednesday, May 21st at Sanborn Mills Farm in Loudon. Are you a farmer, agritourism operator, food purveyor, agriculture-related nonprofit, or other stakeholder invested in the future of farms and food production in New Hampshire? Please consider registering for this event to join the conversation and help ensure a strong future for food and agriculture in New Hampshire.
To register for the gathering: https://www.nhfoodalliance.org/get-involved/join-network/nh-food-system-statewide-gathering
