Local Agriculture News & Events in Northeastern Massachusetts

MA AG Facts

• Massachusetts is 2nd in New England for direct sales of farm products to consumers. At $42M in direct sales, Massachusetts farmers were responsible for 40 percent of New England's total.
• Massachusetts ranks 9th nationally in total value of direct sales, following states such as California, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, and Washington.
• More than 80% of Massachusetts farms are family-owned. Over 95% fit the category of "small farms", sales below $250,000.
  Massachusetts ranks 1st in the U.S. for farmland value at $12,202 per acre.
• Female farm operators account for 29% of the farm operators in MA, up from 21% in 2002.
• Massachusetts increased number of organic farms from 129 in 2002 to 295 in 2007, and organic sales from $7.8M in sales in 2002 to $17.5M in 2007.

Sources: New England Agricultural Statistics 2007 and U.S. Census of Agriculture 2007. 

Frost on the Pumpkin  

Native Americans were growing pumpkins for food for hundreds of years before the first Europeans came to America. Along with beans and corn, squash was one of the great staple crops of ancient America. The Native Americans planted them in mounds around their corn. They used the squash and pumpkin pieces in their stews and fed them raw to horses. The settlers learned how to grow and use squash and pumpkins from Native Americans. They soon became a favorite garden vegetable. Many varieties stored well through the long winter, and they are rich in phosphorus, calcium, iron, fiber and vitamin A and C.
 
TOPSFIELD FAIR September 28 to October 08, 2012

Mark your calendars for the 194th Annual Topsfield Fair, America's oldest continuously operating county fair, established in 1818.

Please visit www.topsfieldfair.org for more information.

Corn History in Massachusetts
In Native American usage, the word for corn means "our life," or "our mother," or "she who sustains us." It was the cultivation of corn that turned Native American tribes from nomadic to agrarian communities.
 
The Pawtuxet Indian tribe in Massachusetts was cultivating corn when the first settler arrived, and corn was on the first Thanksgiving table in 1621. If it had not been for corn, the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony might have starved to death during their first year in America. The Indians taught settlers how to grown corn, pound corn into meal, and how to cook with it. The words of Governor William Bradford, first governor of the Plymouth Colony, now inscribed on a brass plaque at Truto (Corn Hill) on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, reflect the settler's gratitude: "And sure it was God's good providence that we found this corne for we know not how else we should have done." 

Late blight found on tomato plants in Hadley, MA 
Late blight, the disease that devastated tomato crops last summer, has been detected in a field in Hadley, according to Ruth Hazzard, a vegetable specialist with UMass Extension. "Tomato crops should be protected with fungicides specific to downy mildew and inspected regularly for symptoms of blight," she wrote in an email alert Tuesday.

The most common symptoms of late blight on tomatoes are sunken, dark green or brown lesions on leaves and brown lesions on stems. Late blight, a fungus that is similar to the one that caused the potato famine in Ireland in the 1840s, can also affect potatoes.

The fungus is spread by the air, not the soil, and can produce spores that are carried by the wind and can infect tomato plants in a 30-mile radius. The Hadley tomato field where late blight was found is being plowed under, Hazzard said. 

Edible Boston - Agriculture in Massachusetts - "Green and Growing"
Edible Boston magazine, devoted to the celebration of the abundance of local food in the Greater Boston area, is in its fifth year running. Published quarterly, its focus is on local farmers, chefs, artisan cheeses, recipes, farmers' markets, guest articles, and all things locally grown! The latest 2010 summer edition of Edible Boston features an article by Commissioner Scott J. Soares entitled Agriculture in Massachusetts: Green and Growing. In it Commissioner Soares highlights agricultural trends, economic indicators, and recent "ag" initiatives. View this article. The subscription rate for the hard copy version of edible Boston magazine is $32 annually. Click for more information.

Grant Program for Beginning Farmers
The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) is pleased to announce an open application period for a pilot program aimed at providing farm viability funding to new and beginning farmers. The purpose of the Matching Enterprise Grants for Agriculture (MEGA) Program is to help with business expansion on new and beginning farms. MEGA will provide technical assistance and business planning help, and then provide funds for farm improvement strategies. Funding provided from this Program will be made available on a one to one matching grant basis and the maximum award shall be $10,000.

It is the objective of MEGA to assist farmers whose goal is to raise agricultural products and who aspire to develop their farms into commercially viable operations. Priority will be given to new and beginning farm enterprises that have operated commercially as a new or beginning farm for 1 to 5 years, have knowledge or have direct experience in agriculture, and have a potential to expand productivity or commercial significance with the infusion of additional technical support and capital.

MEGA applications and program information are available by clicking on this link AGR- MEGA-1, or on line at the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources website www.mass.gov/agr or you can request a copy of the application by calling 617-626-1723. The deadline for submitting applications is June 15, 2010.

Grant to the Food Project Announced  
Congratulations to The Food Project, who recently received a grant of $600,000 from the Boston Public Health Commission as part of a sweeping obesity prevention campaign by the Centers for Disease Control. Since 1991, The Food  Project, has built a national model of engaging young people in personal and social change through sustainable agriculture. This funding will support community food production in underserved Boston neighborhoods through programs including Build-a-Garden and its new community greenhouse.  

Save the Date: Ag Day at the Statehouse, Tuesday, April 3rd
Each year, farmers as well as agriculture officials from across the Bay State visit their legislators on Massachusetts Agriculture Day at the State House to discuss issues and legislation affecting their farms and communities. Read more...

1000 Great Places in Massachusetts! Vote for Your Favorite Agricultural Destination
Make sure that the beauty and wonderful diversity of Massachusetts' agricultural heritage is duly recognized. The Special Commission Relative to Designating 1000 Great Places in Massachusetts was created by an Act of the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Deval Patrick on January 15, 2009. Its mission is to identify and recognize the 1000 most truly special places in the Commonwealth, in order to celebrate pride in our history and culture, increase knowledge of our natural surroundings, and encourage regional and international tourism. Click here to cast your vote for agriculture! Click here for more information on agri-tourism destinations, and stay tuned for MDAR's soon to be released Massachusetts Agriculture Tourism Map this April!

Northeast Harvest Monthly Newsletter
Click here to see past issues of our monthly newsletter containing information for the farmer as well as the consumer looking to buy fresh, local produce from farms in northeastern Massachusetts. Read more...

Click here for more information on agriculture news and events provided by MDAR.