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By DOMENIC POLI

The 2023 season isn’t looking too peachy for New England farmers waiting to see if any of their buds survived mid-February’s subzero temperatures.It appears that month’s cold snap crippled the growth of the beloved stone fruit typically harvested from...

By LIESEL NYGARD

Food safety and infrastructure upgrades are in store for a handful of Franklin County farms thanks to state and federal grant awards.Of the $1 million in grants awarded to 23 farms through the Agricultural Food Safety Improvement Program and nearly...

Several Franklin County residents were named winners of the National Corn Yield Contest this year, with winning fields located in three different states.■Northfield resident Frederick Llewelyn placed first in New Hampshire (where the winning field was...

By MICKEY RATHBUN

One of the many casualties of the COVID-19 pandemic was the series of annual spring gardening symposiums hosted by the Western Massachusetts Master Gardeners Association (WMMGA). These popular events helped gardeners of all abilities expand their...

By JULIAN MENDOZA

MONTAGUE — Red Fire Farm’s Ryan and Sarah Voiland joined hundreds of farmers from across the U.S. for a climate rally in Washington D.C. last week, marching to the Capitol before meeting with legislators to ask for climate change policy to be a...

By CHRIS LARABEE

BOSTON — With a background in showing cattle at fairs and working on the family farm in South Deerfield, the state’s new agriculture commissioner has a Franklin County flair to her.South Deerfield native Ashley Randle has been tapped by the...

By DOMENIC POLI

The United States is experiencing the deadliest bird flu outbreak in its history, labor costs continue to increase and the national average price of gas hovers around $3.40 per gallon.But what’s that got to do with the price of eggs? It turns out,...

By CHRIS LARABEE

SOUTH DEERFIELD — With farms and other locally grown produce generating large amounts of revenue for the region, an $87,000 state grant awarded to Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) will ensure local producers can compete with larger...

By CHRIS LARABEE

WHATELY — After the death of James Pasiecnik in January, his three daughters banded together to ensure the family business, 5J Creamee and Pasiecnik Farmstand, is operating in full force this summer.Justine Pasiecnik, the oldest of the three sisters,...

By CHRIS LARABEE

SUNDERLAND — At first glance, it might seem like Jono Neiger’s 7-acre plot of land next to the Connecticut River is an unkempt, chaotic mess, with underbrush spilling from the rows of young chestnut trees.However, there’s a method to the madness for...

By BERA DUNAU

Asparagus, one of the culinary treats of spring, has a long history in the Pioneer Valley. And some more of that history just might be growing in one couple’s yard.Charlotte Briggs and her wife have a spear of asparagus growing in their yard that was...

By DOMENIC POLI

Editor’s Note: This story is part of a week-long series about the state of farming in Franklin County.Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. But, other times, that smoke you’re holding is wrapped in a tobacco leaf grown along the Connecticut River — in...

By DIANE BRONCACCIO

SHELBURNE — As far as anyone can remember, the 365-acre Davenport Farm has had dairy cows in the Patten Hill district.The rolling hills had cows when the first Davenports bought the property in 1913, says Maegen (Davenport) Senser, who was raised on...