The Laurels Farm Field Day
Location: Sandown, NH
Topic: Scaling Up From Backyard Gardener to Organic Micro Farm
In just three years, Danika and L. Villalva transformed The Laurels Farm in Sandown, NH from a modest backyard garden into a thriving certified organic micro farm. Danika and L will walk your through their real-world journey; buying land, expanding infrastructure, navigating challenges like burnout and financial strain, and building a direct-to-consumer model with CSA programs, meat birds, and more. They’ll also cover lessons learned, key turning points, and how a strong “why” and community support kept them going. Ideal for gardeners, homesteaders, and aspiring farmers looking for honest, practical insight on scaling up sustainably.
Join us for all the 2025 field day programs!
July 24th: Nubi River Farm
Aug 7th: Two Mountain Farm
Aug 20th: Alprilla Farm
Sept 4th: Nerdy Turnip Farm
Sept 25th: The Laurels Farm
This work is supported by the Beginner Farmer Rancher Development Program, project award no.2024-49400-43622, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture."
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The UNH Extension Beginning Farmer Program is designed for beginning farmers (anyone who has owned or operated a farm business for the past 10 years or less) with the intent to make a profit in New Hampshire. While this program is tailored to beginning farmers, it is free of cost and open to anyone that wants to participate. This program will be offering a variety of hands-on farm demos, in-person workshops, and online webinars to help beginning farmers gain the skills and information they need to ensure farm viability. Topics covered will include emergency preparedness, soil health, IPM, food safety, record-keeping, marketing strategies, weather mitigation, reducing animal/ crop loss and more.
Contact Caroline Beaton with any questions caroline.beaton@unh.edu
These events are hosted by Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire and sponsored in part, by the USDA Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP).