Vegetable farm in need of land

Farming Experience

Farming experience

6-10 years of experience

Type of farming experience

Worked on a farm
Agricultural degree
Farm management experience
Farm business ownership

Description of farming experience

My partner and I both earned a degree in Sustainable Food and Farming from the Stockbridge School of Agriculture at UMass Amherst. We have worked on many different farms across the country and abroad and now own and operate a one acre no till vegetable farm in Lisbon, New Hampshire. During our two seasons in production, we have built a strong local following by selling at three farmers markets, multiple local restaurants and retail stores, and a small CSA. We implement sustainable and highly intensive management practices that allow us to efficiently produce a large amount of food on just one acre. We grow using two passive solar heated high tunnels, one wood fire heated propagation greenhouse, and no gasoline powered equipment in any of our fields.

Name of your farming operation or where you are currently farming

Rocky Branch Farm

Links to farm business website, social media, etc.

https://rockybranchproduce.com/

Farming Plans

State(s) of interest

Maine
New Hampshire
Vermont

Location details

We would like to be close to Littleton, NH so we can access our current markets.

Minimum acreage desired

3

Arrangements desired

Purchase or own
Lease
Lease-to-own

Arrangement description

Mostly, we are just looking for secure access to land, in whatever form that may come. We are at a critical time in our development and need to make large investment in irrigation and other infrastructure without fear of losing access to land. We would love to grow small fruit and potentially orchard crops but cannot plant perennials on our current leased land.

Planned farming practices

Not certified, but follow organic practices
Sustainable/regenerative

Farming practices description

We implement no till no spray practices and use only organic soil amendments as we believe this is the most sustainable way to produce food.

Planned farming enterprises

Cut flowers
Perennials
Vegetables

Farming enterprises description

We are a two-person farm at the moment but hope to expand to 1.5-2.5 acres in production with at least one part time employee.

Infrastructure needed

Housing
Drilled well

Description of infrastructure needed

We need approximately 3 flat sunny acres of land and access to water for irrigation. We own all other farm infrastructure we need, but access to a barn or outbuilding would be a huge help for curing onions, winter squash, garlic, etc. Access to affordable housing would be ideal, but we could potentially envision other scenarios.

Business planning description

We own a fully operational farm business and would be happy to discuss further in person.

Additional Information

We arrived on our current land hopeful that we could grow Rocky Branch Farm into the farm business of our dreams, but it is clear at this point that it is unlikely we will remain here for long. It has served as a valuable stepping stone and allowed us to get our business off the ground and build a name in the community, but we are limited by infrastructure and cannot invest money in permanent improvements without secure access to land. All water for irrigation and washing and packing food currently draws from a well that is shared with a rental property which we cannot afford, meaning that our ability to use water depends on the water usage of this tenant, a wholly unsustainable solution for a farm of our scale. We currently need to irrigate 20 plus hours a day during periods of dry weather due to poor water pressure and cannot expand our production any further. We would love to continue farming and feeding this amazing community but we need secure access to land and water. Please help our farm find a permanent home where we can steward land for years to come.