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Keyword search: Agriculture

By DOMENIC POLI

ORANGE — The community shares offered by the Quabbin Harvest Food Co-op used to consist of local produce, but little in the way of meats, dairy and eggs. Enter, “protein bundles.” The co-op has partnered with Quabbin Food Connector — a nonprofit...

By CHRIS LARABEE

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 agriculture (CSA)...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — Health Director Michael Theroux joined the city’s newly revived Agricultural Commission at its meeting this week to outline the Health Department’s role in enforcing and educating the public on the city and state’s agricultural...

By LEAH VERESS

Alice Colman recalls the day a routine fennel harvest turned into a wake-up call. As she stood in her field, carefully examining a plant’s feathery leaves, she felt herself growing increasingly frustrated with the crop’s appearance. When she kneeled...

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN

SUNDERLAND — Following wetlands violations and erosion that stemmed from tree clearing on 3 acres of land, Falls Farm owner Dr. James Arcoleo is continuing to discuss a restoration and mitigation plan with the Conservation Commission.Tuesday’s meeting...

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...

By SAM FERLAND

HATFIELD — Bicyclists will be able to savor the local scenery while learning about the struggles farmers in the Connecticut River Valley are facing as they pedal a flat 12-mile loop on a guided tour of three different farms.This is the first year that...

By TANISHA BHAT

Ben Clark, the owner of Clarkdale Fruit Farms in Deerfield, received $120,000 from the $20 million Natural Disaster Recovery Program created last year after he lost the entirety of his peach crop and 70% of his apples and pears due to sudden cold...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — The U.S. Department of Agriculture will open its new office at 59 Montague City Road on Wednesday, May 15, leaving behind the department’s former Federal Street location amid staffing increases and an expansion of new programs. “It’s a...

By CHRIS LARABEE

In 1994, a new movement began to grow out of the Pioneer Valley, Berkshires and Hudson Valley, as a group of organic farmers banded together to form a cooperative educational program for farm apprentices. That year marked the birth of the...

By VIRGINIA RAY

Though her original idea to start a small community orchard at Buckland-Shelburne Elementary School doesn’t appear to be in the cards, Julia Godfrey will instead donate and move most of her fruit trees and bushes to the Demonstration Permaculture...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Climate change’s impact on farming, as well as emerging areas like urban agriculture, soil health and pollinators, are a focus for the University of Massachusetts Extension Agriculture Program, which continues to help farmers adapt and...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — During a summer in which area farms dealt with significant rainfall and flooded fields, keeping agricultural drainage ditches cleared became essential to protecting crops by ensuring excess water could be removed.Often, though, farmers found...

By CHRIS LARABEE

CONWAY — As BlueWave Solar prepares to potentially expand its list of Franklin County projects by filing site plan review and special permit applications for an agrivoltaic solar array on Roaring Brook Road, the Planning Board approved a request to...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — The owners of a Shelburne farm have permanently protected 100 acres through the Agricultural Preservation Restriction program, ensuring that the fertile land won’t be turned into a large, upscale housing estate or put to other uses.“That’s...