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By CHRIS LARABEE

ORANGE – As advocates prepare to head to the State House for March 13’s Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) Advocacy Day, at least one local store has seen the community fill the gaps left by December’s 50%, at minimum, reduction to the program.

By CHINANU OKOLI

Applications are rolling in for the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources’ new Farm Transfer Planning Assistance initiative that connects aging farmers and their successors with experienced planners to set retirement goals and figure out how management and assets will be transferred.

By MADISON SCHOFIELD

As uncertainty swirls around Washington regarding the release of allocated federal funds, farmers in Franklin County are beginning to feel the freeze.

By ALEXA LEWIS

HATFIELD — Cannabis cultivator River Valley Growers of Hatfield is suing neighboring Whately berry farm Nourse Farms for $17 million for allegedly contaminating thousands of pounds of crops with “negligent” spraying of pesticides.

By DOMENIC POLI

GREENFIELD — Just Roots, a local farming and food access nonprofit, will receive a nearly $250,000 state grant over the course of two years to expand and enhance its operations and technology.

By EMILEE KLEIN

SPRINGFIELD — Most Massachusetts farmworkers whose hard work puts food on the dinner tables for Massachusetts families have difficulty affording the produce they pick and process.

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...