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By SAMUEL GELINAS

WASHINGTON — The roller coaster ride last week over a down-to-the-wire congressional spending bill ended on a high note for U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, who expressed victory that some $220 million in federal money will soon be in the hands of New England...

By SAMUEL GELINAS

AMHERST — As visitors from throughout the country toured ServiceNet’s successful Prospect Meadow Farm in Hatfield on Monday to learn about “care farming” — a therapeutic approach that combines agriculture and health care — Shawn Robinson shared the story of an employee who was thriving while working at the 18-acre property.

By CHRIS LARABEE

The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) is seeking information about weather-related losses in 2023 and 2024 from farmers across the state as it prepares to report damages to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which will split up $220 million in relief funding among eight states.

By SAMUEL GELINAS

SOUTHAMPTON — Saturday’s Lighted Tractor Parade is expected to be “largest event in Florence of the year,” and the “largest gathering in the Florence since Florence Night Out was last featured in 2022,” according to Florence Civic and Business...

By CHRIS LARABEE

SOUTH DEERFIELD — After a national search, Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) has found a new executive director right here in the Pioneer Valley. The agency has chosen Jennifer Core, a Warwick resident and farmer with a background...

By CHRIS LARABEE

DEERFIELD — With folks confined to their homes in the early days of the pandemic, but still looking for local produce, Julia Coffey and her team at Mycoterra Farm branched out to bring products to their doors in the form of Mass Food Delivery.While...

By SAMUEL GELINAS

CHESTERFIELD — In its first year, the Farm Lab in Chesterfield not only has produced more than $80,000 worth of produce using experimental methods of crop production that can help local growers, but that harvest has provided a community cornucopia...

By CHRIS LARABEE

SOUTH DEERFIELD — New life may soon be coming to the vacant farmstand at the intersection of Routes 5 and 10 and North Hillside Road.Maple Valley Creamery, the Hadley-based dairy farm that also operates Maple Valley’s Scoop at the Silos, is eyeing the...

By JACOB NELSON

Jared Duval built his farm around Massachusetts’ innovative Healthy Incentives Program (HIP). Since 2017, HIP has helped tens of thousands of lower-income households buy fresh produce grown by local farmers. By most accounts, it’s been a wild success,...

By CHRIS LARABEE

A big change will be coming to families who take advantage of the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP).Beginning in December, all families using HIP benefits, regardless of their household size, will see their monthly incentives reduced to $20, which is,...

By MARA MELLITS

Earlier this year, a nationwide outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in cows caused panic for dairy farmers everywhere. Now, Massachusetts has become the only state to test all of its dairy herds, from 95 farms, and achieve 100% negative...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERIand SAMUEL GELINAS

Some squash, pumpkin and potato farmers in the Pioneer Valley are bearing the burden of a soil-based disease described by one farmer as being “like the plague” for these and potentially many more species.Walking through a barren pumpkin patch late...

By CHRIS LARABEE

SUNDERLAND — Two local farms opened their doors to Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer on Monday morning to talk about the challenges brought on by climate change, as well as opportunities for future investments in the industry.The state’s first-ever climate...

By PHILIP KORMAN

 As I am poised to leave my job after 16 years as executive director of CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture), naturally, I’ve started to reflect. My takeaways so far are: Local farms are still challenged to keep farming, maybe even more...

By CHRIS LARABEE

WHATELY — As demand for berries from growers, gardeners and resellers rises, a new structure at Nourse Farms on River Road is rising to meet the moment.The nearly 90-year-old farm’s extensive expansion project, which got underway in October 2023, is...

By CHRIS LARABEE

SOUTH DEERFIELD — After serving as executive director at Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture’s (CISA) for the last 16 years, Philip Korman is stepping down from his position at the end of August with the hope of welcoming a fresh perspective...

By CHRIS LARABEE

CONWAY — After a frantic emergency response to save animals and equipment on July 10, 2023, David Fisher and Maggie Toran assessed their farm field as memories of Hurricane Irene came flooding back.At their horse-powered, community-supported...

By CHRIS LARABEE

SOUTH DEERFIELD — Fresh off awarding $222,000 in no-interest loans to farmers affected by 2023’s flooding, Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) has also reached its $1.8 million goal in its Growing Resilience capacity-building...

By CHRIS LARABEE

DEERFIELD — With the execution of two separate conservation restrictions by Historic Deerfield and the Antonellis family, more than 200 acres of land in Deerfield will remain permanently accessible for agriculture.In early May, Historic Deerfield...