New Hampshire is the seventh smallest state by land area. Much of the state is forested. There are about 3,000 small farms averaging 166 acres in size. They are located primarily in the southern part of the state. The chief crops grown are greenhouse and nursery products. The leading farm commodities are dairy products, hay, chicken eggs, beef cattle, and apples. Dairy products account for nearly 1/3 of the state’s total farm income. Maple syrup is also produced in New Hampshire.
There are 28 regional Career and Technical Centers in New Hampshire. Most are located within existing high schools. The career and technical education course offerings are available to sophomore students and higher. Twelve of these centers teach agriculture. A good way to learn about agricultural education in New Hampshire is to go on a virtual visit to each of the schools. In this Footnote we will visit six of the schools and visit the other six next week.
Wilbur H Palmer Career and Technical Education Center at Alvirne High School in Hudson, NH. – Fourteen CTE programs are offered at this Center. There are four agriculture teachers and the agriculture offerings are:
Natural Resources – The program utilizes the 100 plus acres of Alvirne’s registered tree farm as a laboratory for operating forest equipment, managing, and studying forest ecosystems. There is also a greenhouse utilizing hydroponics and aquaculture. Floriculture is also taught. Check out their video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Sx1w_Fdfm8.
Veterinary Science – Students in this two year program learn about both large and small animal practices. Students learn about animal behavior, handling and restraint techniques, grooming, medical terminology, kennel skills, animal health and disease, and record keeping by working with animals in the small animal facility and large animals on the school farm. They have a dairy farm on the campus. Check out their video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDoekMTuqQs.
Figure 1. The Veterinary Science team placed second in the nation out of 45 teams at the 2025 National FFA Convention.
Dover High Regional Career & Tech Center at Dover High School in Dover, NH. – Fifteen distinct CTE programs are offered. There are two agriculture teachers specializing in animal science.
Animal Science – Students learn about a wide variety of farm animals, horses, and domestic pets. Classroom pets and on-site barn animals are used to teach animal handling, restraint, feeding, and maintaining optimal health. They also study equine history, animal management, veterinary care, and work towards a Pet First Aid and CPR certification. This is done while managing and operating a dog grooming business and an on-site school barn. There is a six minute video with the first 30 seconds showing agricultural scenes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzureBFa8uI
Figure 2. Dog Grooming and inside the school barn at Dover.
Fall Mountain Career Tech Center at Fall Mountain Regional High School in Langdon, NH -Five CTE programs are offered with three being in agriculture. The agriculture program has articulation agreements with Keene State College and SUNY Cobleskill. The school has a sugar house, apple orchard, greenhouse, animal science barn and a tree nursery on 83 acres. There are two agriculture teachers.
Horticulture – The courses in this program include an introductory Horticulture course plus three additional courses in Greenhouse Management, Landscaping and Floriculture.
Animal Science – The two courses are Animal Science I and II. In addition to classroom instruction students work on the Fall Mountain Farm and weekend barnyard chores are required. On this farm they have cows, horses, pigs, goats, chickens, and ducks.
Natural Resources – Students develop an understanding of the interrelationships of species in the natural world, and wildlife habitat enhancement. Tractor and chainsaw safety and operations are integral to the program. Students are introduced to forest management, sustainable logging practices, trail maintenance, and maple sugaring.
Figure 3. Agriculture facilities at Fall Mountain.
Cheshire Career Center at Keene High School in Keene, NH – According to the NH agriculture program directory there is one agriculture teacher at this school and she teaches horticulture. This school has an arrangement with Fall Mountain for additional courses.
Horticulture – Landscape Design, Floriculture/Floral Design, and Greenhouse Management are the courses listed for the horticulture program.
Figure 4. Back in Time. In 2004 horticulture students demonstrate their aerial skills for the Arbor Fest. From the Concord Monitor, May 9, 2004.
Lakes Region Technology Center at Kingswood Regional High School in Wolfeboro, NH – There is one agriculture teacher at this school. Agricultural Science is the name of the agriculture program. “We do a lot of everything” is what the teacher says in a 51 second YouTube Video.
Ag Science I meets for 1 block per day while Ag Science II students meet for two blocks a day. A variety of topics including Agribusiness, Horticulture, Agriculture Mechanics, Aquaculture and Forestry/Agriculture Resources are covered in the program.
Figure 5. Advertising for the Agricultural Science program at the Lakes Region Technology Center.
Manchester School of Technology in Manchester, NH – This school opened in 1982 as Manchester Skill Center. The agriculture program consists of three courses – Horticulture/Landscape Construction 1, 2, & 3. There is one agriculture teacher. At the school ag students are known as Green Technology students Graduates of the program accepted into the Stockbridge School of Agriculture at UMass Amherst receive 3 academic credits.
As a design/build program, students plan, design and implement potential alternative energy sources such as photovoltaic, solar, geothermal and wind to help power the MST greenhouses and the homes constructed by MST students.
Through active participation in the design and construction of two homes and the management of our greenhouses, students are able to demonstrate their understanding of sustainable practices and apply them in real world applications. The Green Industry is one of the fastest growing employment sectors in New England and this program helps prepare students to overcome the many challenges of entering this emerging industry.
Figure 6. This photo from a few years back shows a “green technology” student hand pollinating tomato plants. Green technology students also provide fresh produce for the school’s culinary arts program.
Interim Concluding Remarks
We have visited six of the high school agricultural programs in the Granite State. One can easily see there are some quality agricultural education programs in New Hampshire. Next week we will visit the remaining six programs.