Sticking up for Soil

Aside from stints at UNH and in the Army, John Hubbard has lived his entire life in Walpole, where his family roots go back to the 1700s. He’s seen the town grow and change over the years but thinks there are some things that should not change, such as the flat, fertile farmland along the Connecticut River.  

      That prime agricultural resource should stay that way, Hubbard said, and that’s why he and his wife Carol have donated a conservation easement on the 12 acres of it they own along River Road to the Forest Society. They bought the property in the mid-1970s and have leased it to the abutting Boggy Meadows Farm to grow hay and corn. The 461-acre Boggy Meadows Farm is also conserved with a Forest Society easement, and the Hubbards decided a similar layer of protection would be right for their land.  

            “It’s not far from Route 12, and it would make a good housing development for someone, but I didn’t want that to happen to such nice farmland,” Hubbard said.

            The easement not only preserves the farmland but also the scenic, rural experience of anyone using the abutting Cheshire Rail Trail -- a 42-mile multi-use trail that runs from Walpole  to Keene -- or traveling down River Road. 

            The Hubbards’ easement donation is in keeping with a family tradition of philanthropy.  That tradition grew out of the success of the family poultry breeding business, Hubbard Farms, which John Hubbard joined after serving in the Army and where he worked until he retired. Hubbard Farms was founded in Walpole by Hubbard’s grandfather Ira Hubbard and his uncle Oliver Hubbard in 1921. John’s father Austin and uncle Leslie joined the business and together they built it into an international leader in poultry genetics, starting with the New Hampshire Red, a breed sought after for meat and egg production. In 1974, Merck & Co. acquired the business.

            The Hubbard family has shared their success in many ways, but especially by providing scholarships and foundational support for science programs at UNH. John Hubbard continues the commitment as a founding member of the UNH Foundation.  

            Also a longtime Forest Society member, Hubbard said he has always felt that protecting New Hampshire’s natural resources is important and that in Walpole, one of those resources is agricultural land.

            The Hubbard property is located along River Road, in an area of Walpole that is noticeably different from much of forested, rocky New Hampshire because of its proximity to the Connecticut River. As Hubbard described it, “It’s just wide open farmland down there.” 

            Thanks to the Hubbards’ donated easement, that open farmland -- a piece of Walpole’s agricultural heritage -- will remain intact for generations to come.  

To see a map of this project, click on the link below.