Allow us to introduce ourselves

We are Bob Haefner and Tara Sad, former state representatives from the beautiful state of New Hampshire, and now your agricultural policy consultants for the Council of State Governments Eastern Regional Conference. We are delighted to join the great CSG/ERC team!

So, a little bit about us. We were both elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives 10 years ago, and were both appointed to serve on the Environment and Agriculture Committee. While neither of us have a farming background, we chose the committee because of our interest in local food, open space, and the rural landscape that is so important to our state.

We don’t know how many of you are aware that New Hampshire is unique among the other U.S. states — we have 400 members in the House, but only 24 members in our Senate. Representatives are paid $100 a year for their service, have no staff, and no assistants.

As a result, we were forced to learn how to read and understand statutes and rules, how to get answers to our constituents’ questions. and how to delve into the issues that affect our farmers and rural areas. So with this intense training, we will know how to get answers to your questions and help find solutions to your problems.

Perhaps most importantly, despite being of opposite political parties, we have worked together closely on agricultural and rural issues for our years in office. So rest assured what we pass along to you will not be partisan, but what we think is important for agriculture in the Northeast.

For those of you that we have known over the years, we are excited to be working with you. For those who are newly elected or newly appointed, welcome! We look forward to meeting you and working with you to help strengthen agriculture in the CSG/ERC region!

Bob and Tara