Vernon Family Farm sits a few miles from the center of Newfields, surrounded by a handful of houses and open fields. Sometimes, it sounds exactly as you’d expect a pasture in the countryside to sound — with sheep bleating and baby chicks chirping. But other times, the field is filled with bonfire pits, crowded picnic tables and kids playing tag, as a bluegrass band plays on a small stage.
The farm’s dual role — as a local food source and a bustling community gathering space — has drawn scrutiny from the town government and the Vernons’ neighbors. And it has also highlighted the challenges many family farms in New Hampshire and across the country are facing, as they search for new ways to ensure financial stability in a rapidly changing agricultural landscape.
“Somehow this family farm on this side of the road in Newfields has become like one of the most polarizing intense things in Newfields,” said Jeremiah Vernon, who runs the farm with his wife, Nicole. “And I think it’s really sad, because that was never our intent.”
The Vernons bought the farm 10 years ago. Jeremiah Vernon grew up on family farms and was eager to continue the tradition. From early on, they say, they have been holding concerts and operating a farm store selling eggs, garlic, onion and chicken products from poultry raised on the farm. They say some neighbors voiced concerns about their events from the beginning, but COVID is when both the opposition — and customer traffic — really ramped up.
In the early days of the pandemic, people became increasingly interested in local food. Jeremiah Vernon said people were especially concerned about where their meat was coming from. The Vernons raise pigs and sheep on site and cows at another location. The farm store they operate has open windows, which helped to mitigate the risk of catching COVID. People could also talk with the Vernons about how their food was raised and treated – things larger grocery stores couldn’t always provide. So they saw a big spike in demand from people that felt local farms were safer.
“When I say this little farm store went from 25 customers a day to 200 customers a day — it literally exploded,” Vernon said. “It was very intense and it was overnight.”
These days, the farm also does catering, educational classes and tours. The concerts are also a key part of their business model — especially since it’s hard to turn a profit on the farm store alone. Each event brings in 50 to 200 people, according to the Vernons, and anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000.
Vernon said it’s been great to see the farm become a community gathering space, where families from all over can enjoy some music and local food together. But the farm’s growth in popularity has caused some neighbors to question whether the farm is following the law, or the terms of its own site plan.
“Which then prompted us to have to go forward and update our site plan,” Vernon said. “And that opened up a like, well, a can of worms that has not yet been closed or empty.”
Neighborly disputes
The Vernons have faced repeated questions from Newfields officials over their operations, and the state has also asked them to adjust their driveway to accommodate traffic. Earlier this fall, a group of neighbors got together and sued the Vernons and the town of Newfields. They claim the Vernons get special treatment, doing things that other farms aren’t allowed, and that their concerts are too big and too loud.
One of the neighbors involved in the lawsuit, Lynn Girard, moved to a nearby horse farm in Newfields with her husband and kids around six years ago. She said she initially supported what the Vernons were doing, and has even donated to an earlier fundraiser.
“We went over and bought a rotisserie chicken every week, every Friday,” Girard said. “We went to a couple of their events, as well.”
But as the farm started adding larger and more frequent events, Girard grew worried. She didn’t want her kids riding their horses during the concerts, in case the animals bucked at the loud noise. Plus, the alcohol at the events made her weary of people driving down their street. She didn’t feel like her neighbors, the Vernons, were very receptive.
“I understand that they, too, are trying to raise their family over there as well, so we were willing to compromise,” Girard said. “We were asking them to maybe go back and scale it down. No more bar, could we go back to acoustic music, so the amplification is not so loud, and reduce the amount of events they’re having?”
Other neighbors who are part of the lawsuit echoed those concerns. Some said they are concerned about not knowing who is drawn to the farm’s events. They’ve also felt they have had to change their way of life to adjust to the concerts, like planning family activities and property work on days the concerts aren’t held.
Jeremiah Vernon said his family did try to hear out their neighbors' requests, but those interactions were hostile.
Even before the lawsuit was filed, the Vernons hired a lawyer to help deal with the pushback. They said they feel like their every move is being scrutinized, and documents that were originally meant to protect their farm are now being used against them. That includes the farm’s conservation easement — neighbors allege that the Vernons are violating the terms of that agreement by using part of their land for parking during events.
The tensions have also made things awkward for the Vernons, who say the ongoing scrutiny has made them feel isolated within their small community.
“I did not realize how much Newfields was like: This is what a Newfields person is, and if you don't get in line, you're not from here,” Vernon said.
A growing trend
These kinds of conflicts are becoming more common in New Hampshire and across the country, said Jada Lindblom, who studies rural communities and agriculture at the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension. She said more and more farms around the state are turning to agritourism — weddings, events and other activities — to survive.
“We think of that in terms of tourists — visitors from other places — but so many agritourism businesses are serving a lot of local people,” Lindblom said.
'It's a tricky issue, because a lot of community members really want to support their local farm’s ability to thrive and sustain economically.'Jada Lindblom, UNH Cooperative Extension
But New Hampshire’s state rules around agritourism are broad. The state defines agritourism as farming.
Since there’s not a lot of enforcement at the state level, Lindblom said a lot of conflicts end up playing out at a local level and specifically, between neighbors.
“It's a tricky issue, because a lot of community members really want to support their local farm’s ability to thrive and sustain economically,” Lindblom said. “But there [are] a lot of questions in these areas as well about whether they are in the neighborhood, is that what you signed up for?”
In Newfields, the dispute over the Vernon Family Farm doesn’t seem to be quieting down anytime soon. The lawsuit is still moving forward, and the town’s planning board is reviewing another potential issue — this time, involving the farm’s signage.
The mood between the neighbors on Piscassic Road, where the farm is located, remains tense.
Girard said she feels like she and others behind the lawsuit are being characterized as anti-farming, and that’s not their position. She knew she was moving her family to a town with plenty of rural character, and that was part of the appeal — she grew up around farms, and she wanted her children to have the same type of childhood.
“I worked for farmers my entire life,” Girard said. “I know it's very, very hard work and it's a thankless job at times.”
But she thinks there should be more guardrails about how farms like the Vernons’ can operate.
“I think it's important that the states are doing agritourism to support the farmers,” she said. “But I don't think it gives the right of farmers to misuse it in ways that they want instead of what's intended. And that's what I feel like is happening here.”
Jeremiah Vernon is adamant that his family is using the agritourism law in the way it was intended, and he said allowing neighbors to dictate how they can use their land is a slippery slope.
As the disputes over the farm have dragged on, he said they have also worn on his family. His children notice when their parents are stressed about town meetings and legal woes. They have considered moving, but they don’t know where they would go.
“How do you move a farm?” Vernon said. “Where are you going to go on the seacoast of New Hampshire where you’re going to find 50-plus acres of open land that's not $3 million and where do you do that? And if you do find it, what about all of our customers for the last 10 years learning like ‘301 Piscassic Road is where I buy my food?’ I just can’t imagine.”
What’s keeping them in Newfields, for now, are all of the people who are supportive of what they’re doing.
