Farm Bureau recognizes local residents

CONCORD — John Hodsdon of Meredith won this year’s Profile Award from the New Hampshire Farm Bureau Federation, while Peter Glines of Sloping Acres Farm in Canterbury is the recipient of the Young Farmer Animal Husbandry Award. The Young Farmer Excellence in Agriculture Award went to Nicole Glines of Canterbury.

The recognitions were part of the Farm Bureau’s annual meeting, taking place at the Hilton Garden Inn in Lebanon.

Hodsdon grew up on the farm in Meredith that his family has owned since 1804, today known as Picnic Rock Farm. Hodsdon had many responsibilities as a youth and kept up with his farm chores, but he also showed promise as an excellent student, especially in mathematics. His education took him all over the world, and he eventually earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from University of California-Berkley.

From the time he returned from out west in the late 1970s, until 2005, Hodsdon operated the family farm, growing vegetables and small fruit and Christmas trees. The farm also sold local products and baked goods he made on the premises himself.

In 2008, Hodsdon’s nephew, Ward Bird, took over the operation of the farm, to be the seventh generation to continue the tradition.

Hodsdon has been a member of the New Hampshire Farm Bureau since the 1980s and served at both the county and state levels, receiving the President’s Award in 2006. He served as Belknap County Farm Bureau’s voting delegate to the NHFB House of Delegates Meeting every year from 1988 to 2017, as well as serving as chair of the Policy Development Committee for many of those years.

At the state level, Hodsdon was a member of the State Policy Development Committee for most of his years as a Farm Bureau member and contributed to the issues of water quality standards, Current Use law, and GMO legislation.

In addition to the Farm Bureau, Hodsdon has been active in the Belknap County Conservation District. Following in his father’s footsteps (John’s father, Marshall, founded BCCD), he became a supervisor of the BCCD in 1982 and served as chair for more than 32 years. More recently, he stepped back to serve as associate supervisor. Hodsdon became the BCCD representative on the North Country Resource Conservation and Development Council in 1980, continuing to today.

In 2016, Hodsdon represented the Hodsdon family as the National Association of Conservation Districts recognized the family for its “decades of commitment to conservation.”

With his brother, Peter Glines operates Sloping Acres Farm in Canterbury. They milk 140 cows, producing a rolling herd average of 23,500 pounds, and raise an additional 110 head of replacement calves/heifers. The farm also grows 110 acres of corn for silage, along with 60 acres of corn for snaplage and 160 acres of hay crops that they use for their own feed.

The New Hampshire Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmer program developed the Animal Husbandry Award to promote sound animal husbandry and to recognize individuals who have implemented exceptional livestock welfare practices on their farm. Candidates are nominated by their fellow Young Farmers, and the judging is based on a set of criteria, including best management practices.

Also nominated this year was Erik Fredrickson of Top of the Hill Farm in Wolfeboro.

Nicole Glines of Canterbury grew up in Milton, and her first agricultural passion was in equestrian sports, where she competed and gave riding lessons. After being introduced to dairy cattle at the University of New Hampshire, she changed course and eventually completed a master’s degree in Dairy Nutrition. She went on to be the herd manager for the UNH Organic Dairy Farm and currently works as a dairy nutrition and forage consultant for Agri-King Nutrition. Glines has also served as vice-chair of the New Hampshire Farm Bureau Young Farmer Committee.

Glines will move on to compete with other Excellence in Agriculture Award winners from across the country at the American Farm Bureau Annual Convention in Austin, Texas.

A panel of judges consisting of State Representative Barbara Comtois, NHFB President Denis Ward, and John Scarponi from American National Insurance selected Glines from among four nominees. Also nominated for the award were Ammy Rice of Milford, Morgan Mewkill of Chichester, and Zachary Mason of North Stratford.

As part of the multi-day annual meeting hosted by Grafton County Farm Bureau, attendees toured local agricultural operations Tullando Dairy Farm in Orford and Poverty Lane Orchards in Lebanon.

“It’s inspiring to see the diversity of agriculture around the state,” said NHFB President Denis Ward. “Our members enjoyed learning about the robotic milking machines at Tullando Farm and the hard cider operation at Poverty Lane Orchards.”

Workshops, speakers, and competitions covering production techniques, advocacy, and the future of agriculture took place throughout the day in support of the theme “Reflection, Innovation, and Diversification.”

Delegates, elected by their county Farm Bureaus, met on the morning of Nov. 16 to adopt nearly 40 new policies on issues such as dairy production, climate change, and UNH Cooperative Extension. Those policies, along with established NHFB positions, will guide NHFB’s work in the coming year.

The House of Delegates also elected a slate of officers for 2020: President Denis Ward of Monroe; First Vice-President Joyce Brady of Columbia; Second Vice-President Tom McElroy of Newton, Second Vice-President Leandra Pritchard of Pembroke; and Treasurer Howard Pearl of Loudon.

Other awards presented during the Annual Meeting Banquet on Nov. 15 included: NHFB President’s Award, Scott Mason of North Stratford; Kenneth R. Marshall Memorial Award, Dr. Christina Murdock, DVM, of Dunbarton; Young Farmer Discussion Meet, Caroline Crouch of Loudon; Young Farmer Achievement Award, Jay and Leandra Pritchard of Pritchard Farms in Pembroke.