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By EMILEE KLEIN

NORTHAMPTON — The Pioneer Valley Regional Agricultural Conference this Saturday presents three guest speakers on low-impact forestry, cheese making and maple forestry production for agricultural professionals looking to diversify their production.The...

By PAT JAMES

Community gardens grow on all kinds of land. Many gardens start as derelict lots, long abandoned by owners who sometimes reclaim the property after community gardeners reveal its beauty and productivity.Schools and parks are common sites for community...

By JACOB NELSON

‘The best carrots you’ll ever eat are picked in January or February,” says Erik Debbink, owner of Lombrico Farm in Whately. In the dead of winter, their sweetness shines through.Lombrico Farms is one of a growing number of local farms working hard to...

By LISA GOODRICH

Farms are the foundation of our local food system, with farmers markets, farm stands, and community markets providing the predominant means of providing local food to customers. And for some members of the community, the ability to order fresh, local...

By MADDIE FABIAN

NORTHAMPTON — This year was a tough run for Massachusetts farmers, with over $42 million and 13,000 acres of crop losses reported due to extreme weather events during the spring and summer.Despite the Feb. 4 freeze, May 18 frost and July 10 flooding...

By JACOB NELSON

It’s hard to throw water on a burning house while trying to rebuild it at the same time, but that’s exactly what addressing climate change requires. Rising greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are already changing the planet. The choice is whether or...

By CHRIS LARABEE

SOUTH DEERFIELD — With farmers facing two straight challenging summers, Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture is launching a fundraising campaign that will expand access to local produce and prepare farmers for a changing climate.After a soft...

By Alison Kuznitz

Pioneer Valley farms that were flooded out during July will soon receive $10,000 checks from a fundraising campaign launched by the Healey administration and United Way of Central Massachusetts last month.About 100 farms will be awarded money from the...

By MADDIE FABIAN

WESTHAMPTON — As farmers face increasing challenges due to climate change, labor shortages and rising costs, U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern embarked on his 13th annual districtwide farm tour this week to hear directly from local farmers.His first stop of the...

By MADDIE FABIAN

BOSTON — Food access and insecurity, farmland and economic development top the list of priorities for the current legislative session for the Food System Caucus, one of the largest caucuses in the Massachusetts Legislature that’s co-chaired by Sen....

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — Eight acres of tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, leeks, beets, peppers and garlic, all about ready to harvest at the height of the growing season for Stone Soup Farm’s Community Supported Agriculture summer shares, will soon be plowed under after...

By MADDIE FABIAN

EASTHAMPTON — On Wednesday morning, rather than walking into the field to pick the first sweet corn of the season, Ben Perrault, co-owner of Mountain View Farm, kayaked through the inundated field to assess the damage caused by the worst flooding the...

By JACOB NELSON

This week at Brookfield Farm, a community supported agriculture (CSA) farm in Amherst, spring crops continue to take root in freshly tilled fields, gratefully soaking up last week’s rain. Just as they grow — slowly at first, then exploding with life...

By JACOB NELSON

Vibrant yellow and purple pansies coloring local farm stands, their faces turned upward to greet the sun, are sure signs of warmth returning to New England.“I already delivered some last week to Upinngil Farm in Gill and Atlas Farm Store in South...

By JACOB NELSON

Toni Hall is a farmer hoping to turn some heads. A diminutive plant known as spilanthes, with edible flowers called buzz buttons, is helping get people’s attention.“When I give out samples at the farmers market, people make these crazy sounds and...

By LEE HALASZ and KARI BLOOD

This winter has been one of the warmest on record in Massachusetts, and around the nation, extreme weather events are in the headlines on a regular basis. Scientists agree that our rapidly warming planet is now feeling the effects of the climate...

By LISA GOODRICH

At first glance, Charlemont may seem an unlikely place to open a restaurant that features New Orleans cooking. When the pandemic offered a chance to try something new, Wesley Janssen and family saw the opportunity for a homecoming.The Northfield...

By JACOB NELSON

Talk to most farmers raising animals on pasture, and they’ll tell you the same thing – from a farming perspective, the animals are secondary.“Our mantra is creating good food from grass,” says Kyle Bostrom of Bostrom Farm in Greenfield. “Basically, we...

By EMILY THURLOW

HATFIELD — By most familial accounts, Frank J. Skawski, Jr. and Linda Skawski were always together. The couple founded and co-ran their Hatfield business, Skawski Farms, that has thrived for more than four decades. Season after season, Linda could be...

By STEPHANIE MURRAY

HADLEY — In western Massachusetts, much of the labor that keeps local farms afloat is done by immigrant workers. But many who make up that labor force are living in fear of U.S. immigration policy, farm owners say, especially after the election of...