In last week’s Footnote we visited six of the twelve Ag Ed programs in New Hampshire. This week we continue by visiting the other six programs.
Coe-Brown Northwood Academy in Northwood, NH – How many agriculture teachers teach at a school that was established in 1867? If you taught at this school, you could answer in the affirmative. This school was established in 1867 as the Northwood Academy after civil war veterans advocated for the creation of a high school in Northwood, NH. To finance the school 200 shares of stock were sold at $10.
The Academy was renamed the Coe’s Northwood Academy in 1875 to honor the Coe family who donated land, money, houses, and woodlots to the academy. The name Brown was added in 1939 to honor New Hampshire governor Albert Brown who was a major benefactor for the school. The school is situated on a 100 acre campus and is often referred to as CBNA.
The agriculture courses listed in the 2026-2027 Program of Studies for the school are:
- Agricultural Technology I and II
- Floral Design I
- Greenhouse Management
- Animal Science I – Small Animal
- Animal Science II – Large Animal/Equine
- Animal Science III – Intro. Veterinary Tech
- Green Futures
- Equine Science
- Agriculture Capstone
The two agriculture teachers are listed in the school directory as teachers of Life Skills. The FFA chapter is the Much-To-Do FFA chapter.
Figure 1. The floriculture class, a chapter exhibit and the back of the FFA jacket.
Arthur T. Paradice Career & Tech Center at White Mountains Regional High School in Whitefield, NH – How would you like to teach in Paradise? Teaching at Paradice might be close to that. The school has two agriculture teachers and offers courses in horticulture and natural resources. The two teachers have the same last name. Hmm!
The agriculture program is identified as Diversified Agriculture and the course offerings are:
- Diversified Agriculture 1
- Diversified Agriculture 2
- Grow Your Own Food
- Floral Design
- Introduction to Forestry
- Maple Sugaring
- Introduction to Industrial Mechanics.
Students are engaged through both classroom and experiential learning with an on-site greenhouse, high tunnel, livestock and poultry farm, sugarhouse, and sawmill, with an emphasis on applied, hands-on learning.
Figure 2. Scenes from the horticulture and natural resources program. .Bottom image of FFA members participating in trunk or treat at the fairgrounds this past fall! Over 900 kids went through!
Pinkerton Academy Career & Tech Center at Derry, NH – No, the Pinkerton Academy doesn’t train Pinkerton Detectives but does teach students about agriculture. If you thought the Coe-Brown Northwood Academy was old, then be prepared for an even older school. The Pinkerton Academy was chartered in 1814 with classes starting in 1815.
The academy’s website states it is the largest independent high school in the United States and has 3,100 students. Pinkerton Academy owns over 170 acres of land. On the main campus, fourteen of the school’s twenty-two buildings are used for academics.
The school also owns a 68-acre parcel of land known as the Forsaith Forest, in Chester, NH. This rare Atlantic White Cedar swamp contains unusual species such as pitcher plants and black gum trees and is maintained by students in Pinkerton’s Environmental Studies and Forestry classes.
There are 19 CTE pathways at Pinkerton with the two agricultural focus areas being Animal Management and Environmental Science and Natural Resources. There are two agricultural teachers. The courses offered are:
- Advanced Placement Environmental Science
- Agribusiness
- Animal Health & Veterinary Science
- Animal Science & Management
- Environmental Science
- Environmental Science: Adv. Studies
- Environmental Science: Work Based Learning/SAE
- AP Environmental Science
- Exploring Plant and Animal Science
- Horticulture and Landscaping
- Sustainable Living
Figure 3. Ag Program Information for the Pinkerton Academy
Seacoast School of Technology at Exeter, NH – With a name like Seacoast you might expect this school to teach about aquaculture and they do but they teach more than that. Here is information for the animal and plant science program from the school web site:
Love animals? Fascinated by plants? Curious about where your food comes from and how to care for living things? In Animal & Plant Science, you’ll spend two years exploring agriculture, animal care, plant biology, and aquaculture—combining hands-on work with live animals, greenhouse plants, and aquarium systems.
Year 1 Program Overview:
Animal and Plant Science Year 1 introduces students to the diverse and growing fields of agriculture, animal science, and plant biology. This course combines classroom instruction with hands-on learning, using real-world tools and environments such as our greenhouse, animal care areas, and aquaculture systems. Students explore a wide range of topics to build a strong foundation for advanced study or future careers in animal and plant-related fields.
Year 2 Program Overview:
Animal and Plant Science Year 2 builds on the foundational knowledge and skills developed in Year 1. This course combines classroom learning with hands-on experiences in areas such as greenhouse operations, aquaculture, and animal care. Students will engage in independent projects and in-depth studies designed to prepare them for college, careers in agriculture and veterinary sciences, or caring for animals and plants at home.
Figure 4. Left -Seacoast students on a field trip where their guide was a graduate of the program. Center – Students in Floriculture. Right – Sophomore students learning about opportunities at Seacoast.
Sugar River Valley Regional Tech Center at Newport Middle High School in Newport, NH – Of the nine CTE offerings at this regional tech center two are in agriculture.
The Forestry & Natural Resources Program focuses on a growing field with a diverse range of educational and work opportunities. The two-year program introduces students to outdoor related careers which manage, improve and protect the country’s natural resources. The main areas of study within the program are: forestry, natural history, maple sugar production, water quality monitoring, fisheries/aquaculture, diversified agriculture, soil science, and tree harvesting. Students completing the program will have the skills and knowledge needed to gain entry level positions in the forestry industry or a solid educational base to continue their education at a post-secondary level.
The Animal & Plant sciences program teaches students to expertly care for living things and apply knowledge of animal and plant science to the agricultural industry. Students will engage in animal classification and selection, anatomy and body systems, animal behavior and safe handling including daily care and management of program animals. Students will also learn principles of plant science such as identification, anatomy and physiology, the role of nutrition, insects and disease and the growing environment of plant production. The program explores animal welfare, reproduction and zoonoses, plant propagation, greenhouse management, sales and marketing, career planning. An emphasis is placed on business management to enhance the entrepreneurial skills of the students.
Figure 5. Images from the agricultural programs at Sugar River Valley Regional Tech Center.
Winnisquam Career Center (WICC) at Winnisquam Regional High School in Tilton, NH – This center first opened in 1992 as the Winnisquam Ag Center. Recently it underwent a major renovation and reopened in 2025 as the WICC (Winnisquam Career Center). Three of the offerings at WICC focus on agriculture.
Animal Care & Management – Students learn about and work with both domestic and farm animals on nutrition, anatomy and physiology, healthcare, control/management, breeding, training and grooming. This two-year program balances animal science classroom learning with hands-on, live animal working experiences at our newly updated lab. There are work-based learning opportunities in the community through job shadows and internships.
Business Enterprise & Entrepreneurship Through Agriculture – This unique program merges agriculture with the business world. Students study, visit and engage with area businesses that leverage NH’s natural resources as their core product or service base, learning all aspects of the industry from business owners and industry professionals, and replicating and exploring elements of what students learn under the guidance of the expert teachers in the new CTE classrooms and labs. This program allows students the flexibility to pursue their individual ambitions, from part-time side gig to career employment to full business ownership. You might want to check out their one page brochure.
Outdoor Resources & Recreation – For students who love being outdoors and want to pursue a career to match – whether engaging in environmental protection and forest work, or supporting recreational opportunities in NH – then WICC’s new Outdoor Resources & Recreation Program is for them. Classroom learning provides the foundation to dive into outdoor labs and job site activities involving forest management, landscape construction and outdoor recreation. Students meet industry pros, engage in experiential learning opportunities and explore many career tracks in the state’s booming $3B recreational business sector.
Figure 6. Left – A student with a bunny in the Animal Care & Management program, center – the campus, right – bee hive in the Business Enterprise & Entrepreneurship Through Agriculture program.
Concluding Remarks
Hope you enjoyed your tour of agricultural education programs in New Hampshire. Even though there are not many agricultural education programs in the state, the existing programs are quality programs and the students are learning much about agriculture.
There are some unique courses in New Hampshire such as Sustainable Living and Grow Your Own Food that might be worthy of emulating in other states.
The Friday Footnote has one more stop to make in New Hampshire next week. We will visit the Canterbury Shaker Village in Canterbury, NH. We will learn about the Shakers and their contributions to agriculture. Stay tuned!