A LOOK AT AGRICULTURE "NORTH OF THE NOTCHES" 



INTERVALES, 



CURRENT USE, 

 SPI... 



Steve Turaj 



"h is impossible, in a brief article, to give all that may be of interest, concerning 



the Agricultural resources, Mechanical advantages, and present advancements in the science of 



farming, that are now developed in Coos County. 



It is certain, however, that no county in the State of New Hampshire 



possesses greater facilities in soil, in location and m all that makes 



an Agricultural district conspicuous than Coos. Her broad intervales, her sloping hillsides, 



her rich meadows, all give her an advantage over most other localities, for growing most of the 



grains and grasses, and for grazing purposes." 



So began James Beckett "a gentleman of Lancaster" 

 in a letter to the NH State Agricultural Society 

 reporting on Coos County — Its Agriculture, Manu- 

 factures. Resources. The year was 1858, no local ag- 

 ricultural society chapter yet existed and Coos was 

 "but little known to many farmers of this state." 



Asked to describe agriculture 'North of the 

 Notches,' 1 can easily relate to Mr. Beckett's 

 dilemma. Although Coos is visited by thousands 

 during the year, I believe many think of it only as 

 a region of heavily forested woodlands, mountains, 

 and lakes. There is no denying that wood and pa- 

 per manufacturing is the dominant industry in 

 Coos. Of the county's approximately 1,180,000 

 acres, well over 90% is forested land. The forests 

 provide thousands of jobs in mill working and 

 timber harvesting, while multiple use management 

 of these woodlands contributes significantly to the 

 region's outdoor recreation and tourism industry. 



My interest here, however, is in the remaining 

 land — that used for agricultural enterprises. 1 tend 

 to think of it as the more intensively managed land 

 resource, which creates the open vistas which give 

 Coos County its unique appeal. 



Many of these 'true open spaces' are largely un- 

 seen until you leave such well travelled highways 

 as Routes 2 &. 3 to discover our intervales — those 

 low flat lands found between mountains, rivers and 

 streams. Here a wide variety of agricultural prod- 

 ucts: hay, corn, potatoes, fruits and vegetables, are 

 grown. The 1987 (most recent) Census of Agricul- 

 ture identified a total of 141 crop farms in Coos. 

 Although less in number than many New Hamp- 

 shire counties, the majority farmed substantially 

 more acreage, generally in the 260 to 1000 acre 

 ranL'c. In fact, for total cropland acreage Coos 



ranks 3rd statewide, closely following Merrimack, 

 with Grafton in the lead. 



Dairying is especially suited to our long, frigid 

 winters and often rugged terrain. This, because as 

 with most livestock industries, we are able to con- 

 vert land unsuitable for other uses into high value 

 animal protein. It certainly exemplifies "value- 

 added" products: 



GRASS &. LEGUMES = MILK &. MEAT. 



Perhaps another value added function we tend to 

 overlook is 



GRASS & LEGUMES = 



OPEN SPACES, FIELDS & SCENIC VISTAS = 



TOURISM & OUTDOOR RECREATION $S. 



Not surprisingly, the Connecticut River Valley and 

 its tributaries are where most of the county's dozens 

 of dairy farms are located. It is on these dairy farms 

 where the hiehest market value of agricultural pro- 

 ducts sold is realized. Turning again to the 1987 

 Census of Aericulture, we find $6,381,000 of dairy 

 products beir.^ sold, with additional dairy-related 

 income derived from the sale of calves, cull cows, 

 and surplus forage crops. 



All NH farming has changed since Beckett's day, 

 when a dechamg sheep industry was just beginning 

 to give way to a developing dairy business. In com- 

 petition with north-central and western states, of- 

 ten with more farm land, labor and a longer grow- 

 mg season, Coos and NH farmers have had to be- 

 come more efr'icient and capital intensive. Besides 

 being milk r::^ducer5, mechanics, and carpenters 

 they've had :o become financial and personnel 

 managers a? well. With currently low milk prices 

 ($12.86 for ". .\"^ pounds of milk was the 'averagt' 



June/July 1992 13 



