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New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station

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New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station

The NHAES uses science to help overcome some of the biggest challenges across diverse communities.

The New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station (NHAES) has remained an elemental component of New Hampsire's land grant university heritage and mission, since before UNH was created here in Durham. The initial mandate to the novel system of state agricultural experiment stations was to undertake research of importance to agriculture for New Hampshire, New England, and the nation. With expanded

statutory directives, and in response to the evolving needs of our many stakeholders, we now steward federal and state funding to provide unbiased and objective research concerning diverse aspects of sustainable agriculture, aquaculture, forest management, and related wildlife and natural resources.

09/03/2026

Parasitic nematodes cause human diseases and damage more than $100 billion in crops annually, and they are spreading beech leaf disease, which is threatening New Hampshire forests.

Chemical-based approaches to controlling them are highly toxic, but researchers at the University of New Hampshire are now investigating a metabolic pathway that could provide a way to manage them in the Granite State and around the world with far lower environmental consequences.

NHAES scientists Rick Cote and Kranti Galande worked with C. elegans, a small nematode widely used in research.

They focused on inhibiting the activity of a family of proteins known as phosphodiesterases (PDEs). PDEs are vital for regulating the levels and activity of signaling molecules that nematodes need for proper function.

They were surprised to find that inhibiting or eliminating a single PDE had little effect, but the nematodes were killed or impaired when multiple PDEs were targeted.

"A ‘cocktail’ of PDE inhibitors targeting multiple PDEs may provide a very effective way to manage plant-parasitic nematodes and improve agricultural productivity,” says Cote.

Read full story at the link in the comments.

UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture UNH Research

08/28/2026

“I love growing everything.”

Most of the time, New Hampshire Agricultural Research Station researcher Rebecca (Becky) Sideman can be found outside at the University of New Hampshire’s research farms or in her home garden.

Sideman leads a wide-ranging academic research program and works with a variety of crops and growing systems. The Station scientist enjoys working with crops that are both frequently found across New England farms as well as those that she calls “unusual,” leading innovation within the industry.

What Sideman has learned and discovered in her research can be found not only in the pages of research journals, but in fields and on farms throughout New Hampshire and the Northeast. Including her own. Her lifelong passion for food production was an inspiration for her professional career and now transcends her work.

“I grew up on a farm, and gardening and food production have always been important parts of my life,” she says. “Now I love to work on my homestead farm. There, I can also try things on small scale that might be worth exploring from a research standpoint.”

Read more at the link in the comments!

USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture

08/25/2026

For nearly 80 years, UNH’s cucurbit breeding program has helped advance pumpkins, squash and melons.

This summer, that expertise is reaching a senior living community just down the road from campus. 🎃

Chris Hernandez, who leads UNH’s long-running cucurbit breeding program, has been working with residents at Brookdale Spruce Wood, a senior living community in Durham, as they take on their first season growing giant pumpkins.

Long-time gardener Jim Cross connected with Rodriguez at the Macfarlane Greenhouses Open House this spring. With Hernandez’s expertise, Cross and Daniel Reich, a mechanical engineering expert, have led the effort to water, fertilize and nurture the massive vines and pumpkins.

Cross and Reich now have five pumpkins growing at three sites across the Brookdale Spruce Wood property, with estimated weights ranging from 300 to 750 pounds by late August. Their largest pumpkin is currently almost 750 pounds and may reach 1,000 pounds before harvest.

Pictured: Jim Cross, Daniel Reich and Chris Hernandez (l-r) discuss the giant pumpkin growing project at Brookdale Spruce Wood.

08/19/2026

A new study conducted in the Bartlett Experimental Forest, located just west of Conway, New Hampshire, found that its ability to absorb more CO₂ than it releases declined over the 20 years between 2004-2023.

Moving forward, just how much can we rely on these forests to help slow the accumulation of carbon in the atmosphere? The findings from researchers including NHAES scientist Scott Ollinger, professor of natural resources and the environment, indicate that it may be less and less over time.

“Over that time period, there’s been a steep decline in the amount of carbon dioxide the forest sequesters annually, and a primary cause seems to be warming winter temperatures,” says Ollinger, who is also on the faculty of UNH Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space - UNH EOS.

“Long-term observations like these are critical for understanding whether forests can continue to provide one of nature's most important defenses against rising atmospheric carbon dioxide.”

08/14/2026

Looking for something to do tomorrow? Durham Farm Day is happening at UNH Kingman Research Farm. 🚜🌾

Get an up-close look at the equipment used to manage UNH research farms and forests, including the recently donated natural gas-powered tractor, and take a turn in the driver’s seat of a large modern tractor and truck.

Then, explore two UNH agroforestry research plots on a guided tour and learn how researchers are studying ways to increase local food production while maintaining New Hampshire’s woodland landscapes.

We hope to see you there!

08/12/2026

In its second year, the UNH honeybee management initiative is abuzz! 🐝🍯

Currently, the four hives at two different locations—the Woodman Horticultural Research Farm and the UNH Sawmill—is managed by a team of four NH Agricultural Experiment Station staff who were trained by a local beekeeper with over 40 years of experience.

The goals of the initiative are to enable students, staff, and faculty to engage in research and learning about honeybee management, and to create community outreach opportunities.

08/07/2026

Join us for Durham Farm Day on Saturday, August 15, from 10:00am – 1:30pm at UNH Kingman Research Farm. 🚜🌾

Begin with an opportunity to be in the driver’s seat of a large, modern tractor and truck used to manage research farms and forests, including the recently donated natural gas-powered tractor.

Later, go on a guided tour of two test plots of the UNH agroforestry research program, which seeks to help increase local food production while maintaining New Hampshire’s woodlands landscapes.

08/05/2026

This week is National Farmers Market Week! 🥕️

Farmers markets do more than offer fresh, local produce. They help build stronger, more resilient food systems here in New Hampshire.

UNH researchers, supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture are exploring how these markets support farm viability, connect communities, and help build a more resilient food future for New Hampshire.

This week, show your support for local farmers, food producers, and small businesses by shopping at a farmers market near you!

08/03/2026

What can UNH researchers learn by listening to bats after dark? 🦇

Since white-nose syndrome devastated New Hampshire’s bat population beginning in 2009, UNH researchers have been working with NH Fish and Game and community volunteers to monitor the bats that remain.

Haley Andreozzi, UNH Extension state specialist in wildlife conservation, helps lead an effort in which volunteers count bats at maternity colonies in houses, barns and church steeples twice each summer. These counts help scientists understand where colonies are located and how their populations are changing.

Now, a new partnership is adding acoustic monitoring to the effort. Laura Kloepper, associate professor at UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, is using recordings of the high-frequency sounds bats make to navigate to help estimate how many bats are using a structure when they emerge at dusk.

This work matters because bats are natural predators of agricultural pests and insects such as mosquitoes. Researchers are also seeing encouraging signs, including slow population growth in some maternity colonies.

Read or listen to the full New Hampshire Public Radio story at the link in the comments.

07/30/2026

Agroforestry, the intentional integration of trees with crops and/or livestock, provides economic as well as environmental benefits by embracing, rather than seeking to overcome, the heavily forested landscapes common to the Northeast.

At the University of New Hampshire, the Adaptive Agroforestry Principles and Teaching (ADAPT) program is developing research and education that will turn challenges into opportunities to support the region’s agricultural community.

To expand the study of agroforestry, ADAPT assembled a multi-institutional effort funded by USDA’s Sustainable Agricultural Systems program. The project involves dozens of researchers, Extension specialists, and educators across UNH, Yale, and Dartmouth, as well as farmers at 12 operating regional farms that are establishing agroforestry systems.

New Hampshire is second to only Maine in its forest coverage in the U.S., with more than 80% of its land forested. With the Granite State’s mountainous terrain and small footprint, agricultural production is difficult to scale up, and currently only about 3% of the food consumed in the state is grown locally. Higher levels of local production has been shown to improve food quality, food security, and meet more of the growing demand for local foods. Agroforestry can help to achieve these goals in the Northeast.

“Agroforestry can increase crop diversity and sustainability, providing farmers and growers with more resilience in changing conditions,” says NHAES scientist Heidi Asbjornsen and ADAPT’s lead.

“But agroforestry systems are complex to manage, and education and Cooperative Extension are critical parts of ADAPT so that we can share research-based insights with the community.”

Read more at the link in comments!

USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Association of Public and Land-grant Universities

Address

46 College Road
Durham, NH
03824

Opening Hours

Monday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Friday	8:30am - 4:30pm

Website

https://linktr.ee/nh_aes

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