NH Small Family Farm Conference

Jean Conklin, Senior Loan Officer in our White River Jct. office, attended and presented at the “The Business of Farming” conference in Concord, NH on January 24th. Also in attendance at the conference was Paul Franklin, YFC director from Plainfield, NH, and his wife, Nancy. The conference was sponsored by UNH CE, USDA RMA, NH DAMF, FSA, NH Farm Bureau, NH Small and Beginner Farmers and NOFA-NH.

About 75 participants heard presentations on:

• Hobby or For Profit Business – Mike Sciabarrasi, UNH CE
• Using Records for Management Decisions – Mary Welles, FCE, Bedford, NH
• What a Lender Looks For – Jean Conklin, YFC, White River Junction, VT
• Who’s an Employee – Christy Asbee & Kenneth Miller, Law for Food, Stowe, VT
• Legal Issues Regarding Employment – Christy Asbee & Kenneth Miller, Law for Food, Stowe, VT
• Insuring Your Farm – Andy Robertson, The Robertson Agency, Northwood, NH
• If and When Should You Form a LLC, Donald Sienkiewicz, Estate Preservation and Planning Law Office, Milford, NH

Mary Welles and Samantha Stoddard represented Farm Credit East. Samantha spoke about the FarmStart program. Jay Phinizy, NH FSA State Executive Director, also spoke and introduced FSA's new Microloan program.