In N.H., one farmer-journalist is expected to follow another as agriculture commissioner

One farmer-journalist is expected to succeed another as New Hampshire agriculture commissioner. Lorraine Stuart Merrill has been nominated for the position by Gov. John Lynch, and will likely be confirmed by the state Executive Council when it meets Nov. 28, retiring Commissioner Steve Taylor reports to The Rural Blog.

"Lorraine and her family run a 240-cow dairy farm in Stratham amidst the subdivisions and sprawl of Seacoast New Hampshire," Taylor writes. "She’s also an accomplished writer, contributing regularly to Hoard’s Dairyman, the leading dairy-farmer trade magazine, and various other ag journals, plus general interest publications ranging from Smithsonian to the Christian Science Monitor. I’m recommending to her that she include the Rural Blog in her daily reading." For a Concord Monitor profile of Merrill, by Shira Schoenberg, click here. For a story by Sara Liebowitz on Merrill's appointment, click here.

The Monitor said in an editorial that Taylor's retirement after 25 years in the job marks the end of an era. "He's an institution, like the feed store, the Hopkinton Fair, the cook at the diner who knows everybody in town and how they like their eggs, a dirt road lined with old maples," the editorial said. "Because he's not just a skilled and knowledgeable commissioner but also a born storyteller and a talented writer, Taylor became the face of agriculture in the Granite State. He has been the bridge between the old and new New Hampshires. He mourned the loss of the old Yankee farmers and a freer age yet was an advocate for today's small boutique farms."

The editorial ended with a salute that most folks would want in a farewell tribute, with a good idea for any state: "A decade or so ago, when asked to create a program for Leadership New Hampshire, Taylor came up with a list of '100 Things You Should Do to Know the Real New Hampshire.' That list appears on the Home & Family page of today's edition. In recognition of Taylor's contributions to the state, we'll make that to-do list 101, with the last being to have a beer with Steve Taylor." (Read more)

In case you're wondering what the Executive Council is, Taylor explains that it's a vestige of the colonial era, intended to be a check on despotic governors. "Maine abolished its in 1960, Massachusetts has one that just votes on judicial appointments," he writes. "It’s composed of five members popularly elected from districts every two years. It approves all executive and judicial appointments, state contracts over $5,000, land takings and pardons. Currently it’s 3-2 Democratic with a Democratic governor; in the past it’s often been Republican with Republican governors but with frequent noisy battling between them. Department heads will often tell you they spend more time keeping Executive Council members happy than they do the governor."