New Hampshire Farmers Market Association nhfma'org In partnership with NHMade'com Sponsored in part

1
New Hampshire Farmers Market Associationnhfma.or
gIn partnership with NHMade.comSponsored in
part by grants from The NH Department of
Agriculture, Markets and Foodand Stonyfield Farm

• New Hampshires Farmers Markets The Legalities
  Affecting Their Viability

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New Hampshire Farmers Market Associationnhfma.or
gIn partnership with NHMade.comSponsored in
part by grants from The NHDAMF and Stonyfield
Farm

• RSA 2134-a Farm, Agriculture, Farming.
• I. The word "farm' means any land, buildings, or
  structures on or in which agriculture and farming
  activities are carried out or conducted . . ..
• II. The words "agriculture' and "farming' mean
  all operations of a farm, including
• (a)(1) The cultivation, conservation, and
  tillage of the soil.
• (2) The use of and spreading of commercial
  fertilizer, lime, wood ash, sawdust, compost,
  animal manure, septage, and, where permitted by
  municipal and state rules and regulations, other
  lawful soil amendments.
• (3) The use of and application of agricultural
  chemicals.
• (10) The production of greenhouse crops.
• (11) The production, cultivation, growing,
  harvesting, and sale of any agricultural, . .
  crops . . . or any other plant that can be
  legally grown and harvested extensively for
  profit or subsistence.
• (b) Any practice on the farm incident to, or in
  conjunction with such farming operations,
  including, but not necessarily restricted to
• (1) Preparation for market, delivery to storage
  or to market, or to carriers for transportation
  to market of any products or materials from the
  farm.
• (5) The marketing or selling at wholesale or
  retail, on-site and off-site, where permitted by
  local regulations, any products from the farm.
• III. A farm roadside stand shall remain an
  agricultural operation and not be considered
  commercial, provided that at least 35 percent of
  the product sales in dollar volume is
  attributable to products produced on the farm or
  farms of the stand owner.

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New Hampshire Farmers Market Associationnhfma.or
gIn partnership with NHMade.comSponsored in
part by grants from The NHDAMF and Stonyfield
Farm

• RSA 4717 Bylaws and Ordinances. The city
  councils shall have power to make all such
  salutary and needful bylaws as towns . . . for
  the following purposes
• XII. MARKETS, SALES. To establish markets and
  market-places. . .
• XV. MISCELLANEOUS. Relative to . . . licensing
  and regulating butchers, petty grocers, or
  hucksters, peddlers, hawkers, and common
  victualers

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New Hampshire Farmers Market Associationnhfma.or
gIn partnership with NHMade.comSponsored in
part by grants from The NHDAMF and Stonyfield
Farm

• RSA Section 3201s General Provision (HAWKERS AND
  PEDDLERS)
• 3201 Definition. The terms "hawker' and
  "peddler' shall mean and include any person, as
  defined by RSA 358-A1, either principal or
  agent, who
• I. Travels from town to town or from place to
  place in the same town selling or bartering, or
  carrying for sale or barter or exposing therefor,
  any goods, wares, or merchandise, either on foot
  or from any animal, cart, or vehicle or
• III. Keeps a regular place of business, open
  during regular business hours at the same
  location, but who offers for sale or sells and
  delivers, personally or through his agents, at a
  place other than his regular place of business,
  goods, wares, or merchandise.
• 3203 Exceptions. The provisions of this chapter
  shall not apply to the following
• II. Any person selling the product of his own
  labor or the labor of his family or the product
  of his own farm or the one he tills.
• IV. Any nonprofit organization, community chest,
  fund or foundation organized and operated
  exclusively for religious, charitable,
  scientific, literary, or educational purposes
  when no part of the entity's earnings benefit any
  private shareholder or individual.
• Exception . . .under the jurisdiction of city
  or town health officers under RSA 1471 and RSA
  4717.

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New Hampshire Farmers Market Associationnhfma.or
gIn partnership with NHMade.comSponsored in
part by grants from The NHDAMF and Stonyfield
Farm

• RSA Section 43233 Nuisance Liability of
  Agricultural Operations
• 43233 Immunity from Suit. No agricultural
  operation shall be found a public or private
  nuisance as a result of changed conditions in or
  around the locality of the agricultural
  operation, if such agricultural operation has
  been in operation for one year or more and if it
  was not a nuisance at the time it began
  operation. This section shall not apply when any
  aspect of the agricultural operation is
  determined to be injurious to public health or
  safety under RSA 1471 or RSA 1472.
• 50814 Landowner Liability Limited.
• I. An owner, occupant, or lessee of land,
  including the state or any political subdivision,
  who without charge permits any person to use land
  for recreational purposes or as a spectator of
  recreational activity, shall not be liable for
  personal injury or property damage in the absence
  of intentionally caused injury or damage.
• II. An owner of land who permits another person
  to gather the produce of the land under
  pick-your-own or cut-your-own arrangements,
  provided said person is not an employee of the
  landowner and notwithstanding that the person
  picking or cutting the produce may make
  remuneration for the produce to the landowner,
  shall not be liable for personal injury or
  property damage to any person in the absence of
  willful, wanton, or reckless conduct by such
  owner.
• NHFMA Recommended Insurance Needs
• Market general liability (trip and fall)
• Vendor general liability
• Vendor product liability
• Beginner Farmer Farmers Market Insurance
  program

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New Hampshire Farmers Market Associationnhfma.or
gIn partnership with NHMade.comSponsored in
part by grants from The NHDAMF and Stonyfield
Farm

• Section 6721 Planning and Zoning Declaration
  of Purpose. The general court hereby finds and
  declares that
• III-b. Agriculture makes vital and significant
  contributions to the food supply, the economy,
  the environment and the aesthetic features of the
  state of New Hampshire, . . . Agricultural
  activities are a beneficial and worthwhile
  feature of the New Hampshire landscape and shall
  not be unreasonably limited by use of municipal
  planning and zoning powers or by the unreasonable
  interpretation of such powers
• III-d. For purposes of paragraphs III-b, III-c,
  and III-e, "unreasonable interpretation' includes
  the failure of local land use authorities to
  recognize that agriculture, forestry, and
  commercial and recreational fisheries, when
  practiced in accordance with applicable laws and
  regulations, are traditional, fundamental and
  accessory uses of land throughout New Hampshire,
  and that a prohibition upon these uses cannot
  necessarily be inferred from the failure of an
  ordinance or regulation to address them
• Section 67417 Purposes of Zoning Ordinances.
• I. Every zoning ordinance shall be adopted in
  accordance with the requirements of RSA 67418.
  Zoning ordinances shall be designed
• (i) To encourage the preservation of
  agricultural lands and buildings and

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New Hampshire Farmers Market Associationnhfma.or
gIn partnership with NHMade.comSponsored in
part by grants from The NHDAMF and Stonyfield
Farm

• Section 67432-b Existing Agricultural Uses.
  
• Any agricultural use which exists pursuant to
  RSA 67432-a may without restriction be expanded,
  altered to meet changing technology or markets,
  or changed to another agricultural use, as set
  forth in RSA 2134-a, so long as any such
  expansion, alteration, or change complies with
  all federal and state laws, regulations, and
  rules, including best management practices
  adopted by the commissioner of agriculture,
  markets, and food subject, however, to the
  following limitations
• (a) Any new establishment, re-establishment
  after disuse, or significant expansion of an
  operation involving the keeping of livestock,
  poultry, or other animals may be made subject to
  special exception, building permit, or other
  local land use board approval.
• (b) Any new establishment, re-establishment
  after disuse, or significant expansion of a farm
  stand, retail operation, or other use involving
  on-site transactions with the public, may be made
  subject to applicable special exception, building
  permit, or other local land use board approval
  and may be regulated to prevent traffic and
  parking from adversely impacting adjacent
  property, streets and sidewalks, or public
  safety.

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New Hampshire Farmers Market Associationnhfma.or
gIn partnership with NHMade.comSponsored in
part by grants from The NHDAMF and Stonyfield
Farm

• Section 67432-c Agricultural Uses of Land
  Other General Provisions.
• I. The tilling of soil and the growing and
  harvesting of crops and horticultural
  commodities, as a primary or accessory use, shall
  not be prohibited in any district.
• II. Nothing in this subdivision shall exempt
  new, re-established, or expanded agricultural
  operations from generally applicable building and
  site requirements . . . provided, however, that
  in circumstances where their literal application
  would effectively prohibit an agricultural use
  allowed by this subdivision, or would otherwise
  be unreasonable in the context of an agricultural
  use, the . . . applicable local board, after due
  notice and hearing, shall grant a waiver from
  such requirement to the extent necessary to
  reasonably permit the agricultural use, unless
  such waiver would have a demonstrated adverse
  effect on public health or safety, or the value
  of adjacent property. Such waiver shall continue
  only as long as utilized for the permitted
  agricultural use.
• III. Nothing in this subdivision shall apply to
  any aspect of an agricultural operation
  determined to be injurious to public health or
  safety under RSA 147. Nothing in this subdivision
  shall be deemed to modify or limit the duties and
  authority of the department of environmental
  services under RSA 485 or RSA 485-A or the
  commissioner of the department of agriculture,
  markets, and food under title XL. IV. Nothing in
  this subdivision shall be deemed to affect the
  regulation of sludge or septage.

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New Hampshire Farmers Market Associationnhfma.or
gIn partnership with NHMade.comSponsored in
part by grants from The NHDAMF and Stonyfield
Farm

• RSA 1751 Definitions. In this title
  ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, CHAPTER 175, DEFINITIONS
  AND GENERAL PROVISIONS
• XXXI-a. "Farmers' market' means an event or
  series of events at which 2 or more vendors of
  agricultural commodities gather for purposes of
  offering for sale such commodities to the public.
  Commodities offered for sale must include, but
  are not limited to, products of agriculture, as
  defined in RSA 2134-a. "Farmers' market' shall
  not include any event held upon any premises
  owned, leased, or otherwise controlled by any
  individual vendor selling therein.
• HB 275 defining farmers' market.

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New Hampshire Farmers Market Associationnhfma.or
gIn partnership with NHMade.comSponsored in
part by grants from The NHDAMF and Stonyfield
Farm

• NH WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program
• Limited to fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs
  purchased at a farmers market.
• Vendors must register with NHDAMF, 603-271-3788
• Vendors must be trained prior to accepting WIC
  FMNP NHDHHS, 800-WIC-4321 or 271-4935/4546
• The Food Stamp Program
• Any farmers market, farm stand or individual
  farmer may be licensed to redeem food stamp
  benefits for all food intended to be eaten at
  home, not in a store, nor hot at the point of
  sale
• Breads/cereals
• Dairy products
• Fruit and vegetables
• Meat, fish and poultry
• Non-alcoholic beverages, snack foods, soft
  drinks, candy and ice
• Seeds and plants intended to grow food, but not
  for growing flowers or feeding to birds.
• USDA/FNS, Robert Hughes, 225-5253
• NH Food Stamps at Farmers Market SARE Grant
  Helen Costello, UNHCE Nutrition Connections,
  224-9298

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New Hampshire Farmers Market Associationnhfma.or
gIn partnership with NHMade.comSponsored in
part by grants from The NHDAMF and Stonyfield
Farm

• Pesticide Licensing
• Pesticide Any substance or mixture of substances
  intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or
  mitigating any pest or intended for use as a
  plant regulator, defoliant or desiccant
• New Hampshire Pesticide Licensing Requirements
• Anyone using Restricted Use pesticides
• Anyone applying any Restricted or General use
  pesticides (any pesticide) in the course of
  employment.
• All farmers who use pesticides on a crop for
  sale must have a general or restricted use
  license.
• A person using a General use pesticide on his or
  her own property is exempt.
• Types of Licenses
• A private applicator is one who purchases and/or
  uses or supervises the use of a restricted-use
  pesticide on their own property or anyone else's
  property for the purpose of producing an
  Agricultural Commodity as long as they do it
  without direct compensation for their services.
• A commercial applicator is any individual
  applying pesticides on a commercial basis, on the
  property of another. . . . regardless of whether
  the applicator gets paid for the service and
  regardless of whether the pesticide would be
  classified as general use, including over the
  counter home owner type pesticides, or restricted
  use pesticides.
• RSA 43033 Pesticide Applicator Registration
  Certificates and Permits
• Pesticide Safety Education Program Contact your
  local county agricultural educator, or Rachel
  Maccini, Coordinator at 603-629-9494 extension
  130.

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New Hampshire Farmers Market Associationnhfma.or
gIn partnership with NHMade.comSponsored in
part by grants from The NHDAMF and Stonyfield
Farm

• Pesticide Any substance or mixture of substances
  intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or
  mitigating any pest or intended for use as a
  plant regulator, defoliant or desiccant
• agriculture.nh.gov/rules/index.htm
• Pes 700 Sale and Use of Pesticides, Prohibited
  and Restricted Use Pesticides
• www.ams.usda.gov/nop/NOP/standards/ListReg.html
• 205.601 Synthetic substances allowed for use
  in organic crop production.
• In accordance with restrictions specified in
  this section, the following synthetic substances
  may be used in organic crop production 
  Provided, That, use of such substances do not
  contribute to contamination of crops, soil, or
  water.  Substances allowed by this section,
  except disinfectants and sanitizers in paragraph
  (a) and those substances in paragraphs (c), (j),
  (k), and (l) of this section, may only be used
  when the provisions set forth in 205.206 (a)
  through (d) prove insufficient to prevent or
  control the target pest.

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New Hampshire Farmers Market Associationnhfma.or
gIn partnership with NHMade.comSponsored in
part by grants from The NHDAMF and Stonyfield
Farm

• Selling Shell (Fresh) Eggs
• Poultry eggs may be freely sold at any location
  in NH--no license is required.
• Farms with more than 3,000 laying hens are
  required to register under USDA Egg Products
  Inspection ActNHDAMF implements EPIA.
• RSA 42822-30 requires labeling of eggs under
  USDA grade standards.
• Eggs held for retail sale must be refrigerated
  at a temperature of no more than 450F.
• NHDAMF, Bureau of Markets, 271-3685 or NHDHHS,
  Bureau of Food Protection, 271-4583.

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New Hampshire Farmers Market Associationnhfma.or
gIn partnership with NHMade.comSponsored in
part by grants from The NHDAMF and Stonyfield
Farm

• Poultry and Meat
• MeatAll meat products that are sold must be
  inspected by the USDA Food safety and Inspection
  Service and bear the marks of Federal Inspection.
• Poultry Exemptions
• Producer Grower (PG)
• May slaughter and process poultry for
  distribution (buying and selling) by anyone
  operating under the PG exemption.
• No more than 1,000 birds per calendar year.
• Product Label Name and Address and statement,
  Exempt Public Law 90-492.
• Only distributed in State where prepared
• There are a number of other exemptions each
  exemption is determined on a case by case basis.
• Agr 1600 POULTRY, RSA 42819 and RSA 43624
• USDA Albany District Office, Herb Vedder,
  518-452-6870, herbert.vedder_at_fsis.udsa.gov

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New Hampshire Farmers Market Associationnhfma.or
gIn partnership with NHMade.comSponsored in
part by grants from The NHDAMF and Stonyfield
Farm

• Cheese, Butter, Yogurt and Other Dairy Products
  Must Be Made From Pasteurized Milk!
• Raw Milk RSA 18430-a, states no milk or milk
  products as defined in RSA 18479 shall be sold,
  offered for sale or served unless pasteurized.
• This shall not serve to prohibit the direct sale
  of raw milk or cream from the producer, store or
  milk pasteurization plant to the final consumer
• Raw milk and cream may be sold directly to the
  consumer from the farm or to the consumer from
  the farmer at a farmers market, if less than an
  average of 20 quarts of raw milk are sold per day
• RSA 18430-a allows for the sale, within the
  state, of cheese made from raw milk when such
  cheese has been aged a minimum of 60 days at a
  temperature above 35 degrees Fahrenheit, and is
  clearly labeled as unpasteurized.
• Milk and milk products must be stored at 45f or
  less. Below 40f is best.
• NHDHHS, 271-4673, lkeller_at_dhhs.state.nh.us

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New Hampshire Farmers Market Associationnhfma.or
gIn partnership with NHMade.comSponsored in
part by grants from The NHDAMF and Stonyfield
Farm

• Food Manufacturing in a Residential Kitchen
• The only products that may be manufactured in a
  residential kitchen are
• Baked items
• Double crusted fruit pies
• Candy and fudge
• Packaging of dried products such as spices
• Food Processing In A Residential Kitchen
• Products that may be processed in a residential
  kitchen
• Acid foods, such as vinegars and mustards
• Jams and jellies
• Those foods allowed to be manufactured in
  residential kitchens
• Commercial Kitchens
• Products approved for processing in a commercial
  kitchen but not in a residential kitchen
• Acidified foods, including but not limited to
  pickles, pickled products, relishes, salsas, and
  sauces.
• Potentially hazardous foods
• Foods processed under reduced oxygen packaging
  methods and
• Foods which undergo aseptic processing and
  packaging

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New Hampshire Farmers Market Associationnhfma.or
gIn partnership with NHMade.comSponsored in
part by grants from The NHDAMF and Stonyfield
Farm

• RSA 143-A3 Definitions.
• III. "Food' means any raw, cooked, or processed
  edible substance, ice, beverage, or ingredient
  used or intended for use or for sale in whole or
  in part for human consumption.
• IV. "Food service establishment' means any fixed
  or mobile, attended or unattended restaurant
  coffee shop cafeteria short order cafe
  luncheonette grill tearoom sandwich shop soda
  fountain tavern bar cocktail lounge
  nightclub roadside stand industrial feeding
  establishment food vending operation private or
  public organization or institution, whether
  profit or nonprofit, which routinely serves food
  catering kitchen commissary, or similar place in
  which food or drink is prepared for sale or for
  service on the premises or elsewhere and any
  other eating and drinking establishment or
  operation in which potentially hazardous food is
  served or provided for the public with or without
  charge.
• V. "Occasional food service establishment' means
  any food service establishment operated by a
  private or public organization or institution,
  whether profit or nonprofit, which prepares food
  or drink for sale or for service, and any other
  eating or drinking establishment or operation
  where food is served or provided for the public
  with or without charge, no more than 4 days
  during a 30-day period.
• VII. "Retail food store' means any establishment
  or section of an establishment where food or food
  products intended for off-premise consumption are
  offered to the public. The term includes . . .
  roadside markets or farm stands which sell only
  fresh fruits and vegetables . . .
• VIII. "Temporary food service establishment'
  means any food service establishment which
  operates at a fixed location for a temporary
  period of time not exceeding 2 weeks, in
  connection with a fair, carnival, circus, public
  exhibition, or similar transitory gathering.

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New Hampshire Farmers Market Associationnhfma.or
gIn partnership with NHMade.comSponsored in
part by grants from The NHDAMF and Stonyfield
Farm

• RSA 143-A5 Exemptions. The following
  establishments shall be exempt from licensure
  under this chapter
• I. Food service establishments and retail food
  stores licensed by city health officers under RSA
  4717. The city councils shall have power to
  make all such salutary and needful bylaws
• II. Food service establishments and retail food
  stores licensed by town health officers under RSA
  1471. health officers of towns may make
  regulations
• III. Temporary food service establishments and
  occasional food service establishments which are
  not under the jurisdiction of city or town health
  officers under RSA 1471 and RSA 4717.
• "Occasional food service establishment' means
  any food service establishment operated by a
  private or public organization or institution,
  whether profit or nonprofit, which prepares food
  or drink for sale or for service, and any other
  eating or drinking establishment or operation
  where food is served or provided for the public
  with or without charge, no more than 4 days
  during a 30-day period.
• NHDHHS Legal Coordinator Since establishments
  that produce food products for sale at a location
  other than the establishment where the food
  products are produced do not fit into either of
  the categories set forth in the definition of
  occasional food service establishment they
  cannot be considered occasional food service
  establishments and they are not exempt from
  licensure.
• NHDHHS, Food Protection Section, 271-4589,
  www.dhhs.nh.gov/DHHS,FPS

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New Hampshire Farmers Market Associationnhfma.or
gIn partnership with NHMade.comSponsored in
part by grants from The NHDAMF and Stonyfield
Farm

• RSA 429 Maple and Honey Products
• RSA 43411 Grading and Marking Potatoes
• RSA 43440-b CiderRules
• Agr 901 Apples
• Agr 904 Maple Syrup
• Agr 907Cider
• RSA 4384 State Standards of Weights and Measures
  
• Agr 1401Weights and Measures Definitions
• agriculture.nh.gov/rules/index.htm

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New Hampshire Farmers Market Associationnhfma.or
gIn partnership with NHMade.comSponsored in
part by grants from The NHDAMF and Stonyfield
Farm

• The Farm Viability Committee, established by SB
  519 to investigate maintaining the viability of
  farm businesses within the state. . . findings,
  recommendations and proposed legislation.
  http//www.nhfarmbureau.org/
• FINDINGS
• 1. Farming and other agricultural interests are
  a vital part of New Hampshire's economy and need
  much more attention. They intertwine many
  different state agencies and programs, which need
  each other for survival and/or growth.
• 2. The agricultural interests of the State
  expressed overwhelming concern that the
  University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension
  needs to be properly funded in order to continue
  serving them properly.
• 3. The agricultural interests perceive they lack
  access to the Legislature to express their
  questions and concerns.
• 4. The Committee found that there are laws,
  rules and regulations that are hindering the
  economic viability of New Hampshire farms.

21
New Hampshire Farmers Market Associationnhfma.or
gIn partnership with NHMade.comSponsored in
part by grants from The NHDAMF and Stonyfield
Farm

• The Farm Viability Committee, RECOMMENDATIONS
• 1. This Committee feels that the University of
  New Hampshire Cooperative Extension needs a full
  examination to ensure that the programs are able
  to and are supporting the agricultural interests
  of the State. . . All agricultural specialist
  positions are filled and supported.
• 4. Federal WIC and Food Stamp Programs are a
  vital part of the New Hampshire Farmers Markets,
  but the rules and regulations need to be fine
  tuned, such as supporting the use of Electronic
  Balance Transfer Cards.
• 5. The Committee feels emphasis, pressure and
  incentives should be put on public and private
  entities to produce, procure and sell more New
  Hampshire products.
• 6. The State should promote positive attributes
  of New Hampshire agriculture by highlighting
  successful activities and groups, such as
  Community Supported Agriculture and Farmers
  Markets.

22
New Hampshire Farmers Market Associationnhfma.or
gIn partnership with NHMade.comSponsored in
part by grants from The NHDAMF and Stonyfield
Farm

• The Farm Viability Committee, LEGISLATION TO BE
  FILED
• 2. Legislation will be proposed to amend the
  existing statute relative to the state meat
  inspector. This would be paid for through
  producer and/or grant funding.
• 3. Legislation will be proposed to reduce the
  taxation on agricultural buildings, related to
  food and fiber production, which will be enabling
  to individual communities.
• 4. Legislation will be proposed to amend the
  LCHIP laws to further define public access to
  agricultural land and enabling term easements.
• 5. Legislation will be proposed to continue SB
  519, Chapter 241, Laws of 2004, Study Committee,
  establishment of a farm viability program.

23
New Hampshire Farmers Market Associationnhfma.or
gIn partnership with NHMade.comSponsored in
part by grants from The NHDAMF and Stonyfield
Farm

• Information sources
• NHFMAnhfma.org
• NHDAMFagriculture.nh.gov/
• NHDHHSdhhs.nh.gov/DHHS,FPS
• UNHCEextension.unh.edu
• NH Farm Bureau--http//www.nhfarmbureau.org/

24
New Hampshire Farmers Market Associationnhfma.or
gIn partnership with NHMade.comSponsored in
part by grants from The NHDAMF and Stonyfield
Farm

• Comments Questions?
• Jack Potter Charlie Burke
• 528-1990
• info_at_nhfma.org