Teaching Farming as a Way of Life and a Business

They clipped cattle, fed piglets, shoveled manure, weaned calves and hunted for eggs. They also figured out how to make a living wage doing what they love; farming. This Spring, I encouraged as well as tested and learned from four NH Technical Institute (Concord's Community College) students who met twice weekly for eight weeks at my farm as part NHTI’s newly-offered Sustainable Agriculture degree and certificate program.

The course I led (Spring2018 CRN: 26495 AGRI112C Section: 1) met at the farm on Wednesday and Friday mornings. After an hour or two of reading, testing and discussion in our farmhouse classroom we moved outside to wean calves, feed pigs, shovel manure and brush horses-regular farm chores. We visited the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Merrimack County Farm Bureau, NH Dept of Agriculture, Grappone Center Kitchen, and UNH Merrimack County Extension Office to learn about the multitude of resources available to farmers. The students also wrote a grant and applied for scholarships.

As I am the instructor of this class, you can call me “Professor.” Even though I'm the teacher, these students have taught me new skills as well. I guess that is what farming is all about; sharing and learning skills both old and new.

Read More

Carole Soule is co-owner of Miles Smith Farm, in Loudon, NH where she raises and sells beef, pork, lamb, eggs and other local products. She can be reached at cas@milessmithfarm.com.