NH Division of Economic Development
YouTube Facebook Twitter Twitter
Why New Hampshire Move Start Grow About Us

Posts Tagged ‘Miles Smith Farm’

NH Division of Economic Development to Partner on Cowcello

Wednesday, September 14th, 2011

Moooove yourself to become a healthier individual and enjoy some great music while you’re at it.

Cowcello, an organic groovefest, will make its debut appearance Sunday, September 25, 2011 as part of the Eastern Propane Concert Series at the Meadowbrook U.S. Cellular Pavilion. 

Presented by the Meadowbrook U.S. Cellular Pavilion in coordination with EARTHTEC and the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development, Cowcello is an “organic groovefest” to inspire and encourage individuals to embrace a life of health, wellness and fitness, environmental consciousness and awareness of natural, organic and alternative products and solutions. Concertgoers will be able to discuss and learn about the lifelong benefits of healthy eating choices from NH farmers and growers.

“Having an event of this kind at a venue that was once the site of a working farm really brings things full circle,” said Meadowbrook U.S. Cellular Pavilion President RJ Harding. “Not only will this event be a celebration of some incredible music, it will also be a celebration of living an active and healthy lifestyle, a concept that all of us at Meadowbrook embrace.”

Participants will be able to try organic wines from locally owned vineyards, enjoy demonstrations with Yoga and Pilates experts from The Practice Room, learn the health benefits associated with eating beef raised in a natural and kind environment free of chemicals and hormones with Miles Smith Farm and discover how cooking organically can not only help you and your family’s health but also keep our local farmers thriving.  Other vendors include Stonyfield Farm, Apple Annie and Late July Organic Snacks.

Partnering with the Meadowbrook U.S. Cellular Pavilion will be Portsmouth-based sustainable clothing manufacturer EARTHTEC.  At its heart, EARTHTEC’s story is pretty simple according to company founder Dennis Randall.

“We are outdoor people. Skiers, hikers, trail runners, kayakers, extreme picnickers. Our favorite place is Earth. We’ve been known to hug a tree or two. We’re into green. We are also clothing people. Put all of that together, and you have EARTHTEC, a group of people who love helping you look good and perform well in clothes that make the planet happier,” he said. “We have partnered this year with the Meadowbrook U.S. Cellular Pavilion to collect all the plastic bottles from the 2011 Concert Season and look forward to turning them into useful clothing for next year’s concert season.”

The Avett Brothers

Joining EARTHTEC will be the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development whose Communications & Legislative Director Steve Boucher said that supporting an event like Cowcello is a new and innovative way to support the state’s business community.

“New Hampshire is so very fortunate to have such a great farming industry as well as a great number of companies that are dedicated to helping people maintain healthy lifestyles,” he said. “We encourage people be part of this great event and more importantly, to buy local products. Buying local ensures that dollars stay in our community and promotes a stronger state economy.”

Cowcello will feature over nine hours of music beginning with four local and regional bands on the Magic Hat Second Stage at 2:00 P.M. Granite State bands The Crunchy Western Boys and The Chris White Band will join Caitlin Canty and The Adam Ezra Band from Boston in kicking off the festivities.

The main stage will begin at 7:00PM with Nicole Atkins, and her alluring, alternative folk rock sound.   The Avett Brothers will headline the event with their organic and unique blend of a rootsy amalgam of folk, country, bluegrass, rock and pop.

Cowcello tickets can be purchased by calling (603) 293-4700 or by visiting www.meadowbrook.net.

Adding a Little Sunshine to Miles Smith Farm

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

Here’s some great news from a friend of the No Bull Business Blog, Miles Smith Farm:

Grass-fed beef, land leased out to keep it green and an anticipated soon-to-arrive windmill allow Miles Smith Farm to rightfully lay claim for being environmentally friendly and fiscally sound.  That new bright spot at Miles Smith Farm, however, will be a solar powered green store.

miles-smith-storesignIn 2010, Miles Smith Farm was awarded a Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Grant to help produce solar thermal energy for the new farm store to be added to the south side of the Miles Smith Farm barn. The NH Community Loan Fund also provided Miles Smith Farm with a loan and grant to help with the project to make the 1850s barn solar efficient.  Solar collectors on the roof of the barn will provide hot water to heat a concrete slab on the floor of the new store, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of April.

“We are creating a 100% solar store,” said Miles Smith Farm owner Carole Soule.  “Solar will be the only source of heat and electricity.  We know our ‘eco-efforts’ will pay off in many ways.”

The benefits are plentiful on both the environmental and financial sides.  The combination of having a super-insulated retail space and a photovoltaic system to offset power needs will save an estimated $890 per year in electricity costs.  In addition, the estimated 5,400 kWh of solar power generated each year avoids an estimated 3.2 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, which is the equivalent of 362 gallons of gasoline or 7.5 barrels of oil.

Replacing the electric heaters in the sales room extension off the barn with a solar thermal system is estimated to save the farm another $800-plus per year.  This savings further equates to reducing 3.1 metric tons of carbon dioxide—the equivalent carbon sequestered by 79.6 tree seedlings grown for 10 years.

“The Community Loan Fund is proud to be financing the Miles Smith Farm solar store.  The energy efficiency built into this old barn should be great for the business, its customers, and the environment,” said Rick Minard, the Community Loan Fund’s vice president for policy.

The public is invited to attend the Grand Opening on May 20th from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Miles Smith Farm, 56 Whitehouse Road, Loudon.  Enjoy a free lunch of grilled burgers to celebrate.  For more information, visit www.milessmithfarm or call 603 783 5159.

NH Agricultural Producers Selected for Business Development Assistance

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

It was great to see that our friends over at Miles Smith Farm are amongst the recipients of a USDA grant for NH agricultural producers. For those of you who don’t remember, Miles Smith Farm was the setting for our “matador” video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67wY7FiuiDE) that hailed the beginning of this very blog. Congrats to Carol and Bruce as well as to Poverty Lane Orchards and The Big Farm.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA has selected recipients in 45 states and Puerto Rico, including three New Hampshire agricultural producers, to receive business development assistance and pursue marketing opportunities for agricultural commodities. Funding is made available through USDA Rural Development assistance under the Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program, which was authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill. 

milessmith_cattle“These grants provide the capital resources necessary for business growth and job creation in rural New Hampshire,” said Molly Lambert, USDA Rural Development State Director. “Through these investments USDA is strengthening the economic foundation of rural New Hampshire.” 

For example, Poverty Lane Orchards, in Lebanon, plans to use their $100,000 grant to expand their craft finished fermented cider into new markets. The cider is fermented from specialized apple varieties grown in the Northeast. Poverty Lane Orchards boasts a large planting of English, European, and New World cider apples, many of which are not edible fresh. Once fermented the cider apples provide a stunning cider blend.  

“We are blown away to be selected as a grant recipient,” said Louise Spencer, one of the proprietors of Poverty Lane Orchards. “This grant will help us to identify market distribution areas throughout New Hampshire, Western Massachusetts, and parts of New York State where we can expand production and distribution and serve as a model for others in this industry.”    

In Madison, The Big Farm, a 21 flock dairy sheep operation owned and operated by Paul Priestman, will use a $15,000 grant for working capital to hire additional labor to produce on-farm sheep’s milk cheese. Priestman, a Beginning Farmer, also plans to use this grant to market and sale in expanded areas, yielding a higher per pound value for their liquid milk to high quality finished cheese product. 

Miles Smith Farm in Loudon, owned by Carol Soule and Bruce Dawson, is receiving a $64,950 grant for economic planning activities—conducting a feasibility study, establishing a business and marketing plan for developing precooked, frozen, packaged meatballs from boneless, underutilized cuts of high quality beef. This small family farm raises ‘free range’ Scottish Highland Cattle, which produce lean and tender beef without hormones or growth stimulants.

No Bull TV Launches – Ole!!

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

At this stage of my professional career, vanity is out the window. It’s all about creating the type of stir that will drive results in a creative, non-traditional fashion.

That’s why on one warm August afternoon, I found myself in the middle of a field at Miles Smith Farm (www.milessmithfarm.com)  in Loudon wearing a matador outfit (complete with Jerry Seinfeld “puffy shirt”) and waving a red cape in front of 1,500 pound Scottish Highlander cattle.

Square Spot Design Creative Director Lisa Williams and "El Matador" Steve Boucher

Square Spot Design Creative Director Lisa Williams and "El Matador" Steve Boucher

The reason I was partaking in this activity was relatively simple – the NH Division of Economic Development needed to kick off its “No Bull TV” YouTube campaign in high energy, full speed ahead fashion. What better way to tell the New Hampshire business community about our desire to provide them with the best possible information (minus the bull) than by driving all of the “bull” out of the state?

Considering the fact that there appear to be few or no live, breathing bulls in the state and the mechanical variety seem to be in short supply, the Scottish Highland Cattle at Miles Smith Farm were a more than suitable substitute. With the tremendous assistance of Farm Co-Owner Carole Soule, we were able to craft a fun YouTube spot with the great setting of a farm that has been in operation since the 1850’s. Miles Smith Farm is a historic jewel in our state with 36 acres and a tremendous view that allows its owners to view the July 4th fireworks from five neighboring towns.

Our message of the YouTube campaign is simple – we’re listening to you. In every interaction with business leaders and private sector partners, we’ve heard the same refrain, Give us something different….present information to us in a way that no one else is so that we can stand up and take notice.

NH Division of Economic Development Communications & Legislative Director Steve Boucher and Miles Smith Farm Co-Owner Carol Soule (sporting the "No Bull Business Blog" baseball cap)

NH Division of Economic Development Communications & Legislative Director Steve Boucher and Miles Smith Farm Co-Owner Carol Soule (sporting the "No Bull Business Blog" baseball cap)

The job of a State Communications Director is to inform, entertain and interpret and somewhere down the line, the whole notion of entertaining and challenging our audience got lost. Let’s face it – there are millions of communications vehicles available to business owners so it is not only our mission but our mandate to reach out to our audience in ways that make them want to come back to us again.

So if our “No Bull TV” spots lead folks to the door, here’s what they’ll find on this blog – information about new grant opportunities, news about training sessions and economic development tools that save businesses time and money and invitations to events that increase the knowledge base of CEOs and line workers alike.

With that in mind, please take a moment to view our two new “No Bull TV” spots on our Youtube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/nobulltv. Make this channel a regular stop while you surf the Web or really go out on a limb and become a subscriber. In the days and months ahead, we’ll be featuring some “Innovation Rocks!” winners, shining a spotlight on some emerging business leaders and hyping some pretty awesome events.

Much thanks to Carole Soule at Miles Smith Farm for her assistance in bringing a neat idea to fruition, to Jud Bartlett and Lisa Williams at Square Spot Design for their logistical and creative assistance, to Allen Voivod at Epiphanies, Inc. for expertly setting up our YouTube channel and to John Herman whose excellent artistic direction and filming made for a great shoot. And oh, by the way, John is the guy you see in the second spot getting the rough treatment after “speaking in bull.”

Welcome to the debut of “No Bull TV” and please be sure to tell your friends about it!

– Steve Boucher, Communications & Legislative Director