NEW HAMPSHIRE NEWS 



Farm and Forest 



The 14th Annual Farm and Forest 

 Exposition, held in IVlanchester on 

 February 7-8, was notable for its 

 crowds ("one of the best attended 

 we've had"), live music ("a first"), 

 and the unveiling of a new, state- 

 wide effort to bring New Hamp- 

 shire-made products and services 

 under a single, themed identity. 



Entitled "New Hampshire Sto- 

 ries," the campaign will focus on the 

 image and characteristics of each 

 New Hampshire producer or ser- 

 vice-provider that participates, the 

 stories they have to tell, and the 

 overall story of the many attributes 

 of the state of New Hampshire. A 



variety of tags, labels, and other 

 promotional materials will be made 

 available. 



A 29-member development com- 

 mittee (which included Gary Mat- 

 teson, New England Anemones; Ag- 

 riculture Commissioner Steve Tay- 

 lor, and Gail McWilliam, Division of 

 Agricultural Development) repre- 

 sented a broad spectrum of the 

 economy and saw enormous value 

 in developing a common identity 

 for not only New Hampshire's food 

 and gift products, but its arts, tech- 

 nology, and service sectors as well. 



Businesses in the pilot program 

 include The Balsams Grand Resort 

 Hotel, Dixville Notch; Chuck Roast 

 Equipment (Conway), and Hetnar 



Orchards (Epping). According to 

 members of the coalition, the group 

 is creating a private, non-profit or- 

 ganization to administer the pro- 

 gram and to have it fully opera- 

 tional by the Governor's Conference 

 on Tourism in May. 



For information, write New 

 Hampshire Stories, Inc., PO Box 

 3214, Manchester, NH 03105-3214; 

 the phone number is 1-888-647-8674. 



Customer Surveys 



After last year's successful pilot pro- 

 gram, the customer survey program 

 developed by Dave Seavey, Mer- 

 rimack County Extension, will con- 

 tinue this year. This May and lune. 



Progress Report on Exempting Temporary Greenhouses from Taxation 



In January, our proposed bill (72:12-d Exemption), which would exempt temporary greenhouses from 

 taxation, went before the Committee on Local and Regulated Tax Revenues. The hearing was well-at- 

 tended by members of the NHPGA and other agricultural groups supporting the bill. Typically, with over 

 1,000 proposed bills and many committee hearings at this time of year in Concord, little time is give to 

 each hearing. This one lasted about an hour, indicating that this is an important issue to our legislature. 

 The only opposition from outside groups was from the Municipal Association, which represents the inter- 

 ests of local municipalities. (They are always opposed to Concord mandating tax cuts/breaks.) 



The bill went to a subcommittee headed by Representative Richard Noyes of Salem. Members of the 

 subcommittee are Lauren Carney (Hancock), Betsy Coes (Newfields), David Flanders (Exeter), Linda Fos- 

 ter (Mont Vernon), and Marian Lovejoy (Raymond). After three subcommittee hearings, it was decided 

 that the bill needed to be studied further to clarify the content and intent of the proposed legislation. 

 Therefore the subcommittee voted for "re -referral," which means the bill is going to be studied over the 

 summer and fall and, if passed in the subcommittee and in the Local and Regulated Revenues Commit- 

 tee, would be voted on next year. 



Presently, the hurdle we are facing is to reach an agreement on a definition of "temporary greenhouse 

 structure." Fortunately, we've had a great deal of help from Dave Seavey of Cooperative Extension, 

 Brenda Clemens of Farm Bureau, the Department of Agriculture, and members of the NHPGA. We are try- 

 ing to emphasize that these temporary greenhouses are demountable, personal property and are not per- 

 manent in any way. 



Presently, Representative Noyes fully supports the bill; Representative Foster is "on the fence," but 

 leaning against the bill, and Representative Coes is against the bill. The other subcommittee members 

 were not at the meetings. We need to educate these people and stress the value of our industry. If we 

 do not have a bill that clearly accomplishes our goals, we will discontinue the bill in subcommittee. If the 

 subcommittee hearings result in success, our bill will go to the main committee for review before going 

 to the House of Representatives for a vote. 



Right now is the leg work, but the real work will come when the bill reaches the floor. That's when 

 we'll need you to make a phone call to your local representatives to put pressure on them to vote for 

 this bill. At least ten states have a law that exempts temporary greenhouses from taxation and other 

 states are in the process of passing bills similar to ours. In order for New Hampshire growers and farmers 

 to stay competitive with the rest of the country, we need this legislation passed! 



For more information, please contact Bob Rimol at 603-425-6563. 



THE PLANTSMAN 



