Search Results

Keyword search: Agriculture

By CHRIS LARABEE

With help from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR), businesses across Franklin County will use grant money to increase their capacity and expand the local food supply chain.

By DOMENIC POLI

GREENFIELD — Just Roots, a local farming and food access nonprofit, has two new executive directors.

By MARA MELLITS

For Patricia, a farmworker in Hampshire and Franklin counties, a typical day in the growing season starts at 4 a.m. A single mother who immigrated to the United States from El Salvador in 2003, she drops her child off at a babysitter’s house before going to work. She often doesn’t pick up the child until 6 or 7 p.m., or sometimes even later if she stays to pick vegetables.

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 CHRIS LARABEE

Just over a month since Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) benefits were cut by a minimum of 50%, local businesses and advocates for the initiative are hopeful that it will be restored, as farmers, vendors and stores are seeing the effects of reduced benefits.

By SAMUEL GELINAS

WASHINGTON — The recent roller coaster ride 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 CHRIS LARABEE

GREENFIELD — As Pioneer Valley farmers continue to contend with extreme weather year after year, The LAVA Center has announced a new short-form documentary highlighting the intersections of climate change and the food system.“Rising River’s Edge: The...

By CHRIS LARABEE

NORTHFIELD — The Planning Board unanimously denied BlueWave Solar’s special permit application for a second proposed solar project on Pine Meadow Road, with members citing a litany of reasons why they believe the project does not fit on the parcel.The...

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 announced on Dec. 12 that its board of directors had chosen Jennifer Core, a...

By ADA DENENFELD KELLY

Two Pioneer Valley maple syrup producers were recently recognized among the best of the best at the annual North American Maple Syrup Council competition, held this year in Portland, Maine.Howard and Jeanne Boyden of Boyden Brothers Maple in Conway...

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 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 CHRIS LARABEE

GREENFIELD — With more than 800 farms and hundreds and thousands of workers providing food to the region and beyond, farming is more than just a way of life here in Franklin County.To celebrate what Franklin County Chamber of Commerce Executive...

By MARA MELLITS

Fifth-generation farmer Melissa Griffin’s life is anything but traditional.She operates Clessons River Farm in Buckland with her husband, Adam Griffin. She is also a classical trumpet player who studied trumpet performance at the University of...

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 MADISON SCHOFIELD

Wondering where you can find farm fresh eggs near you? If so, you may find just what you’re looking for on Egglister, a new web app with a map of farm stands in Franklin and Hampshire counties that are selling fresh eggs. The tool comes from data...

By EVELINE MACDOUGALL

Fans of the Greenfield Farmers Market who are feeling sad that the three-season treasure has wrapped up this year’s outdoor version can take heart.Next Saturday, Nov. 9, marks the first of eight occasional winter markets, located indoors at the...