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 HelloReturn to index of stories... |
Hello. I'm Allison McNair. Welcome to this special edition of NH Outlook. |
| Intro Graymist - Tuttle Return to index of stories... |
New Hampshire is changing in many ways. As you drive through the state, you may have noticed that there aren't as many farms as there used to be. But the Granite State is still investing in its land. In this program we're going to show you where those investments are being made. This is the best of our series: Growing in New Hampshire. We begin with a look how one farm is using tools of diversification, innovation and education to survive. Producer Susan Hajdu takes us to the White Mountain community of Groveton. |
| Graymist TuttleFeature Return to index of stories... |
Kelly 1-7:22ish "There have been so many farms that have gone out, especially up here. I hate to see that happen to us." Narr 1: Kelly Gray grew up working on this 500 acre farm with her four siblings. It's a family-owned business that began as a dairy operation. Her sense of environmental stewardship and love of farming are strong. But it wasn't always that way. Kelly 1-3:09 3:20 "We always had to help out, my sister, one of my sisters who is close to the same age as me always had chores to do, feeding calves was our job, and cleaning out the barn. At the time we hated it, at the time we wanted to be anywhere but here." Narr 2: But, as time passed, so did those feelings. After high school, Kelly left Groveton and headed south to Durham, where she studied horticulture at the University of New Hampshire. She graduated in 1997 and returned to Graymist Farm with a new vision. Gordon 3:23:30ish "She has a lot of practical ideas, hands-on ideas that she got from college, which is good. Things we can take right out there and we can put to work." Nancy 4-33:20ish "We put up the greenhouse to start most of the vegetables. We used to purchase them and put them in the garden but she wanted to start her own. It just amazed me, when we went out there when she telling me what to do, how to fertilize, and it really impressed me what she had learned, all the hands-on stuff. And she knew exactly what she was doing and how to start everything from seed." Stand-up: 5-05:45 to 5:55 While the dairy is the foundation of Graymist Farm, economic pressures have led the family to diversity by operating a composting business and growing a wide variety of vegetables. Kelly 1- 10:035 "We have started to grow more of a variety of things that aren't traditionally seen in supermarkets around here, specialty things like hot peppers. You might have it or you might not. Or, even baby corn or snow peas or baby eggplant, something that you'd find in supermarkets in the southern part of the state that, up here, maybe it's a little harder to come by." Gordon 3-24:11 "She has also gotten a business degree, which is real helpful. She started in marketing and ended up in business - the combination of that has been excellent. She has a bunch of marketing ideas that we are hoping to do in the future. And, just business in general, keeping track, she has done a lot with spreadsheets, tracking sales and customers, what goes on day to day, things that we never looked at." Nancy 3-31:46 "She also worked while she was at Plymouth State getting her business degree. She worked at a pretty good size supermarket in the Plymouth area. And watching what people bought there gave her the idea that maybe we should be bagging lettuce, and mesculin, and making our own coleslaw. That has really been a big addition, they really like the convenience of that, she has really seen a big difference in sales." Kelly 1-14:00ish "With our stand, too, we've found that just offering vegetables, we do well, but if we have other things like maple syrup, and honey, other types of products, even gift shop type products, we've done better and had more people coming in, spending more time looking around, and spending more money, too. So I think diversification is something that we need to continually look at and keep on top of." Narr 3: Diversification extends beyond what is grown in these fields. With 100 cows, there are a lot of by-products. And what's waste to some has become profit for Graymist. Gordon 4-30:40ish "We have a lot of manure here, and bedding, and I started mixing it and playing with it, and over the years got better at it." Narr 4: Last spring, the family sold 350 cubic yards of odorless, organic compost to area vegetable growers, home gardeners and landscapers. Gordon 4-25:00 "The demand is there. It's just our time to make the compost and time to deliver it. So it's a good problem to have but it can be frustrating in the spring when we are trying to get vegetable crops in, as well as field crops. That's when everybody wants their compost." Narr 5: As the Grays look for new ways to stay profitable, their long term goal is keep the farm family-owned. Gordon 3-26:50 "We'd love to have someone in the family keep it going, obviously as long as it's economically feasible. And as far as the vegetables go, I think it is, that has done well." Nancy 3-30:30 " What has Kelly brought to the farm? Enthusiasm and a desire to keep the farm going and keep it in the family. She has a lot of really good ideas of what we can do for the future. She wants to be a part of that. Of all the kids, she the one who seems most centered to the farm." |
| Intro Nesenkeag Return to index of stories... |
Most of the produce in stores right now is from California. But from spring to fall, local farmers are giving out-of-state growers a run for their money. Producer Susan Hajdu now shows us one such operation. Nesenkeag Farm in Litchfield is successful at marketing distinctive crops that taste best when grown in the New England climate. |
| Nesenkeag Return to index of stories... |
Shots of vegetables in fields Eero 4-14:28 "It's a certified organic farm, about 40 acres, of prime soils, some of the best soils in the world are right here in Litchfield, right here on this farm." Narr 1 - This rich soil has been very productive for Eero Ruttila. For 16 years, he's been a farmer here at Nesenkeag Farm, growing more than 100 varieties of organic, specialty vegetables, and cut flowers. Eero 4 - 17:45ish "Originally I would say I was an edge producer." Narr 2 - Meaning that he grew vegetables - nontraditional crops and culinary herbs - for wholesalers that few other east coast farmers were supplying. Eero 4-17:50ish "But the organic trade really started to feel the pressures of west coast organic production, primarily California. Last 10-12 years I was seeing the value of the wholesale crops I was growing falling rather rapidly over a short period of time." Shots and sounds of production Eero 4-18:26ish "So I had to make some sort of shift. And the shift was to basically cater to the same accounts that my wholesale accounts were catering to and leap frog it over them." Narr 3 - And by doing so, Eero started selling directly to restaurant chefs - about thirty in all. Chef Ben 1-25:03-:05 "My first time meeting him was at the farm." Narr 4 --Benjamin Guertin is a sous chef at the Manchester Country Club in Bedford. Ben 1-29:43-1-30:04 "All the stuff that we've received from him has had more flavor in it that we've been able to find. And I think it goes back to the whole factor -- there's a whole lot of love in the farm. I mean the soil and stuff, the way that he turns it over, I don't know how he does it exactly but I know he really grows some great stuff." Eero 4-27:30ish "And I really enjoy working with the chefs. Of anyone, they're as excited about food as you can be. They're professional food enthusiasts. They're artists that are very creative with how they use the ingredients so I really kind of enjoy the communication and the excitement that they have of buying my food and supporting the farm." Shots of field workers picking veggies, washing mesclun in tub. Narr 5 - Although Eero sells a wide variety of vegetables, Mesclun -- a salad mix of leafy greens, herbs and edible flowers -- accounts for about 65 percent of the farm's total sales. Eero 3-5:06 "It's the first thing I have available in the springtime and it's the last thing I have at the end of the season. So I have it every week. So it's constant - $3,000-4,000 per week, just on this one item. That's the spine of the farm, that makes the farm work." Stand-up 6-5:28-:35 - "Within 24 hours of harvest, Eero delivers his specialty produce to high-end restaurants in southern New Hampshire and the Boston area." Eero 4-25:40ish "So that's the advantage, even if it's flown, I still have a 24 hour advantage and that's important to the restaurants that are really competing for the high end dollar in the restaurant trade." Shots in restaurant kitchen. Eero 4-24:40ish "The mesclun they're receiving that afternoon was picked that morning and the flavor that comes from that kind of freshness, you can't compete with it. And that's what these restaurants are willing to support and pay for, is that flavor." Ben 1-31:40-32:17 "Whenever I leave an order for him, I'll just leave a 'hey thanks again for having your farm in Lichfield.' It's kind of like that extra thing. I never thought moving from Napa Valley here, I never thought that I would run into the same type of environment that I was in in California, being that you have a farm down the street that's growing all kinds of baby lettuces and stuff. I though here, it was all squash and pumpkins so I was pretty excited to see he was growing 5 different kinds of potatoes, he's got all 5 different colors of carrots, all the different lettuces in his mesclun, herbs -- I mean I've never tasted herbs as fragrant and flavorful as these." Montage of Eero showing and naming the variety of vegetables Narr 6 - While proximity to the New England market is an advantage for Eero, the weather here is not. Seasonal climate changes means a shorter, more challenging growing season. Eero 4-23:40ish "So my trick, as it were, is that I change ingredients subtly week to week so that at this time of the year in September my mix is very different looking from the mix I was offering in the second week of June because there are ingredients I'm growing now that don't do well in June. So I wanted to kind of create this kind of excitement of changing the mix and that mix really reflecting the conditions of the growing season." Shots of vegetables growing in fields. Narr 7 - Everything that grows in these fields is hand harvested. And, the people who are hired to do that work have an understanding of the science behind it. Eero 5-5:20ish "My workers come from Cambodia, they come an agricultural tradition. They have a biological sensibility in that they can look at the field just like I do and they can kind of fast-forward think, biologically in time. And so they can look at a bean and come back to me and say 'Five days, those bean are ready for sale. Make sure your customers know about that.'" Shots of workers/vegetables Sue/Eero 5-18:10 "Is this profitable, farming? I think it's all in the eyes of the beholder. Some people think it's ridiculous what I do for what I get paid but in my mind I make a reasonable salary for what I put into it." Sue/Eero 5-18:25 "Why do you do it? Why do I do it? I enjoy it. I really couldn't work in a situation that I didn't enjoy. Also, I have the final say, I get to make my own mistakes and get to have my own successes because I'm making the decisions and I think it's a very exciting um opportunity to be kind of collaborating with nature and biology, kind of creating an economic system with the vagaries that happen when you're working with nature, when you're working with biology. There's never a dull moment." Narr 8 - For NH Outlook, I'm Susan Hajdu. |
| Intro SOD Return to index of stories... |
Next Susan shows us one of the few horticultural products that's grown, harvested and then re-planted. Turfgrass, or sod, are those neatly rolled bundles of lawn that help make our communities greener. For farmers who know how to grow it -- turfgrass can be a profitable crop. Susan takes us to Canterbury where the proprietors are making a living from watching grass grow. |
| SOD Farm Return to index of stories... |
Sod Farm story 5-20:53 "Before I worked here, I would have thought it was just a green carpet. I wouldn't have known any better." Narr 1-Tom Ryan has been in the horticulture business for 25 years. For the past 10, he's been growing sod here at Gold Star Sod Farm and Nursery in Canterbury, New Hampshire. Like most people, there was a time when Tom took grass for granted. 5-21:00ish "But now that I work here, and I've been exposed to all of that - the various technical demands - you have an appreciation of what goes into the growth of the product." Narr 2 - Sod, also known turf grass, is an agricultural product. It's grown on a farm for use in variety of settings -- parks, sports fields, or your own backyard. 3-9:06 "Our typical market, customer base, is a landscape contract. They do a lot of different type of plantings and construction." Narr 3 - Malcolm McPhail is a turf specialist at Gold Star, an 800-acre sod farm and nursery. While the company started out growing sod 35 years ago, they later diversified into other areas of horticulture. 3-00:52 "We used to be just turf grass sod. In the last 15-20 years, we began shade tree ornamental production. But per square foot, it does yield a decent revenue compare to other agricultural crops." Stand-up 5-29:02-29:14 "Gold Star sod farm and nursery in Canterbury produces 6 million square feet of mature sod every year. From the time the grass seed is first planted, it can take up to 18 months for the sod to be ready for harvest." 2-11:50 "Typically, we'll seed the turf grass about this time of year, the middle of August and the middle of September. We'll get germination within a month and begin mowing probably in the fall. Typically, it's the following spring, when it's about 18-20 months old, before we can actually harvest the turf. And it may be two years before it gets seeded again. So it's a two-year crop." Narr 4 - And to produce that crop, Gold Star is very much at the mercy of the elements. 3-2:10 "The last month has been very tough. The combination of drought and heat - typically they are cool season grasses that we grow because of what should be occurring. Instead, periods of 95-98-100 degrees are going to put stress on the turf." Narr 5 - And when Mother Nature fails to deliver enough rain, Gold Star steps in with irrigation, providing about one-inch of water per week. 4-01:45 "This system goes nearly 180 degrees because of the shape of the field and its surroundings. And it's covering approximately 70 acres of fields." 4-3:15ish "But the best irrigation really for turfgrass is not as good as what Mother Nature would provide. And the primary reason is because, in my opinion, is because of the overall coverage, field-wise, and also the fact that natural rainfall pulls oxygen into the soil." Narr 6 - Which, along with fertilizing and frequent mowing, helps produce healthy grass. During the spring and summer months, the turf is trimmed 3 to 4 times per week, using these special mowers that can cut 6 to 8 acres per hour. 2-24:21 "70 degrees during the day, 50 at night, are ideal conditions for growing turf grass. When we have those conditions, that's when you maximize by feeding and mowing and irrigating properly." Narr 7 - Gold Star purchases all of its turf grass seed commercially, using custom-blended mixtures of Kentucky Bluegrass, Fine Leaf Fescues, and Perennial Rye. 2-32:30ish "What we purchase for seed - the germination rates and the varieties in cultivars -- are produced primarily for turfgrass growers and are not available on the open market. So they're the most improved, they're the best that can possibly be." Narr 8 - Before that seed is planted, the fields must be prepared by ploughing, pulverizing and firming the soil. . Narr 9 - Harvesting the sod occurs from May to Thanksgiving. During the hot summer months, the work is done after dark, when the temperatures are coolest. 2-19: 31ish "And we roll the field with a water-filled roller to compress that root system." 2-9:40ish "And the harvester travels along with a blade at the bottom that agitates rather rapidly back and forth, cutting just underneath it. 2-10:20ish "And as it kicks up onto the ramp, it follows up a conveyor and then is folded over by a grouse conveyor and made into a roll, which makes for an easier, neater handling package." Narr 10- Unlike most other crops, turf must be sent to market quickly after harvest. 2-3:17 "This goes out today, this afternoon, it will be delivered to a nursery where it will be picked up tomorrow morning, go to a site and get installed the same day. Typically, 24-48 hours maximum is the time between harvest and installation." 2-4:20 "It's one of the most perishable products, agricultural products that are out there." Narr 11 - And for those who work in this field of horticulture, there's nothing like growing the best lawn on the block. 5-19:58 "I think of it as a lot of individual plants, not one mono-stand. And you have to give them a lot of attention and see them through from a young plant on to an established plant. There's a lot of satisfaction to everyone here - to see the final product that they've worked so hard to be put on a truck. They're very proud when the final product goes down on a client's location. They're very happy." Narr 12 - For NH Outlook, I'm Susan Hajdu. |
| Intro DS Cole Return to index of stories... |
Ornamental horticulture, which includes greenhouse and nursery production, is one of the fastest-growing segments of New Hampshire agriculture. The value of the industry is estimated at $380 million dollars. For the largest growers in the state, producing millions of young plants every year is only possible with the help of sophisticated technology. Producer Susan Hajdu visited DS Cole Growers in Loudon to see how they're putting computers and robots to work for them in their greenhouse. |
| DS Cole Growers Return to index of stories... |
Start with exterior of DS Cole with couple seconds of nat sound, then hear beginning of Doug's clip and dissolve to him on camera. Doug 2-21:00 "What I've got in my hands is some cuttings of the Elatior Begonia that just came in from Denmark. We just went to the airport and picked them up this morning." narration 1 - And by the time those Begonias are ready to leave DS Cole Growers, they'll look a lot like this. montage shots of Begonias narration 2 - Doug Cole is owner of DS Cole Growers in Loudon, one of the most automated growers in New Hampshire. Within 140,000 square feet of greenhouses, Doug and his crew produce about 800 varieties of vegetative and seed grown plants. Doug 1-12:50 "In the spring, summer and fall we are primarily growing finished potted plants, flowering plants that you would see at a garden center of a supermarket or chain store, that type of plant." Chris 4-7:25 "The number and variety of plants is getting bigger and bigger and that's one of the biggest challenges for us." Doug 1-13:00 "Our primary business is not what you see here today." narration 3 - The bulk of their sales is in rooted cuttings, also known as young plants. Doug 1-13:50ish "These are rooted. They're very short and they're sent out all over the country. So we're supplying strictly wholesale to other growers to buy these crops, pot them up and create a finished product." Stand up - "If you're like me, you have trouble keeping several plants alive at one time. Imagine what it's like for Doug Cole who produces 10 million young plants every year. Fortunately for him, he has some high tech help." Doug 1-14:33 "Without that intensity of crop, it would be very hard to justify this automation." Sights and sounds of automation narration 4 - While some of the plant production is still done the old-fashioned way , most is governed by a state-of-the-art environmental computer system. From controlling the heat, humidity and light within the greenhouse to daily watering, automation is the only way to keep Doug's business growing. Doug 1-25:30 "I would say that today's grower's goal is to automate as much as possible. That's driven into us. The issue is more what's affordable and what's the payback, like any other business." Doug 1-25:55ish "As we grow larger and larger, we put in more pieces that went with it to make it more and more automated." narration 5 - And the automation starts early in the growing process. 2- 23:35 "Well, the cuttings are coming in from Denmark and this is what they're looking like coming out of the box. They're just a small tip cutting, you see a small amount of stem with 2 leaves on most of them. This is actually a large one." 2- 21:45 "So I'll take my cutting and just basically stick it in the center about ¼ of an inch, just to get that contact with the peat or media that we're using. And from there, we'll put it in the mist system, under the mist driven by the computer system and they'll stay in there for about 5 weeks until they're ready to come out and be potted." |
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For more information on Growing in New Hampshire, visit the Outlook page on our website at nhptv.org. There you'll find links to these programs and more. |
| Tomorrow Return to index of stories... |
On the next New Hampshire Outlook - Sowing the seeds of peace. An interfaith conversation. |
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That's it for this edition of our program. For all of us here at New Hampshire Public Television, I'm Ally McNair. Thanks for joining us. We'll see you next time on New Hampshire Outlook. |
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Thanks to our founding sponsors who have provided major funding for the production of New Hampshire Outlook: New Hampshire Charitable Foundation Public Service of New Hampshire Alice J. Reen Charitable Trust Putnam Foundation Stratford Foundation |
| 12/18 Tonight Return to index of stories... |
Tonight on New Hampshire Outlook. Young people from around the world come together. Spend a day with a group of Israeli Jews and Middle-East Arabs, at Seeds Of Peace, to see what they learned. Tonight at 10pm. |
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Monday on New Hampshire Outlook. We're bringing you the "best of" one of New Hampshire Outlooks's popular series "Steve Taylor's Real New Hampshire". Monday at 10pm New Hampshire Public Television. |
| Monday Tonight Return to index of stories... |
Today on New Hampshire Outlook. We're bringing you the "best of" one of New Hampshire Outlooks's popular series "Steve Taylor's Real New Hampshire". Today at 10pm New Hampshire Public Television. |
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To learn more about farming in the state, you can visit the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture's website at state-dot-nh-dot-us forward slash agric forward slash rural-dot-html |
| key: Business / Economics Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 12/24/02 22:00 HOST: Allison McNair Length: 26:46 minutes In this edition of New Hampshire Outlook, NHPTV's nightly news magazine, it's a special edition. In this program we're going to show you where those investments are being made. This is the best of our series: Growing in New Hampshire. PRODUCER/REPORTER: Sue Hadju NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: Kelly Gray\Graymist Farm Gordon Gray\Owner, Graymist Farm Nancy Gray\Owner, Graymist Farm |
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Tonight on New Hampshire Outlook. Join us tonight at 10:00 only on New Hampshire Outlook. |
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Tonight on New Hampshire Outlook. . Tonight at 10pm on New Hampshire Public Television. |