When Towns Start Redefining Farming in New Hampshire

A reflection from The Fox & Crow Farm

Across New Hampshire, family farms are facing a new and unexpected challenge — and it’s not drought, pests, or unpredictable weather. It’s happening in the places least expected: town offices, inboxes, and the interpretations of ordinances that haven’t changed nearly as much as the opinions surrounding them.

Over the past few years, more farms have received cease-and-desist letters or been told their long-standing agricultural activities suddenly require new permits, new reviews, or multiple layers of approvals. Farm dinners, workshops, small events, pick-your-own days, tours, and classes — the very activities New Hampshire lawmakers have explicitly protected under RSA 21:34-a — are being reframed as “commercial” or “non-agricultural” by certain towns.

Yet the state has already done the work of defining agriculture clearly.

Agriculture includes agritourism. Agriculture includes education. Agriculture includes diversification. And agriculture includes adapting to survive in a changing economy.

This clarity was intentional. New Hampshire wants to keep farming alive.

Farms want that too.

So why the sudden disconnect?

For many small farmers, the hardest part of running a farm today isn’t the work — it’s navigating interpretations that drift far beyond the law. What used to be a simple question (“Is this agricultural?”) now leads to a maze of: individual interpretations, shifting expectations, sudden enforcement, and opinions that vary from town to town and even person to person.

Some farms get full support.

Others get roadblocks.

And in some places, the loudest decisions about agriculture are being made by people who haven’t spent a single season farming themselves.

In fact, a growing number of farmers across the state have been issued cease-and-desists by the very same offices that publicly claim to “support agriculture.” It’s a contradiction farmers feel deeply. The farms being questioned aren’t the giant operations; they’re the small, family-run places that rely on agritourism to keep their land open, productive, and financially sustainable. When enforcement doesn’t match the law — or the town’s own stated values — it puts the future of local agriculture at risk.

Real farmers aren’t asking for special treatment. They’re asking for fair treatment. They’re asking for consistency. For towns to follow state law. For the freedom to farm, teach, host, share, and grow — the very things New Hampshire agriculture depends on.

Agritourism isn’t a threat to rural communities. It is the heartbeat of rural communities. It connects families to farms. It helps keep land preserved. It keeps local food systems alive. It brings neighbors together in ways big developments never could.

New Hampshire’s identity is built on farms — real ones, working ones, family ones.

If we want to keep that identity strong, we need to make sure towns aren’t unintentionally shutting the gate on the very people keeping agriculture alive.

Here at The Fox & Crow Farm, we’ve learned a lot about this changing landscape. And we believe that strong farms make strong towns — not the other way around.

If this topic interests you, we’ve shared more reflections, stories, and insights on farming, community, and rural life on our website. Every piece is written from real experience, real work, and real life here in Barnstead.