Search Results

Keyword search: farm

By MAX BOWEN

PHILLIPSTON — Red Apple Farm will become home to faeries, knights, trolls and lots of magic on the first weekend in May.The Enchanted Orchard Renaissance Faire will take place on May 4-5. Richard and Rajuli Fahey of Winchendon have been to the farm a...

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

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 what’s...

By CHRIS LARABEE

Farming is already a tough field to make one’s living. Throw in three consecutive years of extreme weather and personal burnout and you’ve got a recipe for what is shaping up to another difficult year for valley farmers, as they prepare their fields...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — Prohibiting PFAS from consumer products sold in Massachusetts remains an objective for Sen. Jo Comerford, who sees a recently advanced legislative bill to protect soil and farms from such contamination as an important first step to...

By MADDIE FABIAN

Editor’s note: This is the fourth and final article from the Western Mass. Solar Forum series. The first three forums took place in September, and another series of forums is in the works for this spring.AMHERST — Most experts agree solar energy is...

By MADDIE FABIAN

For farms across western Massachusetts, the effects of climate change were tangible during the 2023 growing season.At Red Fire Farm in Granby, co-owner Sarah Voiland said that after the May frost event, the farm’s full harvest on multiple acres of...

By GREG VINE

PETERSHAM — Larry Buell, founder and co-director of University of the Wild, has announced that a buyer has been found for Rice’s Roots Farm, a 228-acre parcel located on East Street in Petersham.Buell has identified the buyer as Michael Cook of North...

By JACOB NELSON

In many ways, farming is an act of faith. Faith that nature will provide for a harvest, and a farmer’s faith in themselves to figure out whatever challenges arise. Some years bring bumper crops, others disappointment, but with climate change fueling...

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 GREG VINE

PETERSHAM – Around two dozen people offered ideas for potential uses for Rice’s Roots Farm on East Street during a meeting on Sunday.University of the Wild founder Larry Buell and local grower Andre Pierre are trying to put together a plan to purchase...

By GREG VINE

PETERSHAM — Residents are invited to attend a meeting this Sunday to discuss food security and “brainstorm potential ideas of how to develop and use the Rice’s Roots Farm on East Street for some form of community farming,” according to a release about...

By CHRIS LARABEE

SOUTH DEERFIELD — With farmers facing two of the most challenging summers in recent memory, Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) is launching a fundraising campaign that will expand access to local produce and prepare farmers for a...

By CHRIS LARABEE

With $10,000 donations already sent to hundreds of farms around western and central Massachusetts, farmers have praised the joint efforts of the state and private donors for supporting the Farm Resiliency Fund.The initial round of funding went out on...

By JAMES PENTLAND

Picking apples is one of the rites of fall, with crisp, sunny mornings beckoning families out to the orchard to help gather in the season’s brilliant red and green bounty.This year, though, pick-your-own opportunities will be limited because so much...

By Alison Kuznitz

BOSTON—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...

By DOMENIC POLI

You’re unlikely to hear any squealing from local pig farmers about the impending enforcement of voter-approved pork regulations, as they say they’re already in compliance with the law aimed at improving the living conditions of swines raised for...

By GREG VINE

ATHOL – In May, several dozen residents attended a public meeting to give their opinions regarding the future of the 100-acre Bidwell property located off of South Athol Road.Now, town officials want to expand that conversation through an online...

By CHRIS LARABEE

DEERFIELD — As more rain pounded the region on Sunday, Gov. Maura Healey and other state officials visited Deerfield on Monday afternoon to hear firsthand accounts of the damage — including disease-related impacts that could be seen in the future —...

By BELLA LEVAVI

DEERFIELD — As farmers assess the impact of last week’s flooding on their livelihoods and the future of the season’s crops, federal lawmakers visited the area on Saturday to see the damage firsthand.U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Rep. Jim...

By CHRIS LARABEE

DEERFIELD — As they continue to assess the damage caused by Monday’s torrential downpours, local farmers were joined on Wednesday by legislators and state officials who got a first-hand view of the devastation across the Pioneer Valley.In Deerfield,...