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By SAMUEL GELINAS

NORTHAMPTON — From flooding to fires, few people are as resilient as farmers.So it’s only fitting that Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture’s annual “Field Notes” event earlier this month included a host of local farmers sharing stories of...

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 be another difficult year for local farmers.With the weather whiplash of...

By CHRIS LARABEE

SUNDERLAND — The change of the seasons, as farmers know, often brings a slew of other changes along with it, and at Kitchen Garden Farm, this spring brings the largest change of all.Soon, the farm will change hands for the first time since its...

By EMILEE KLEIN

GRANBY — Days after a large fire engulfed Red Fire Farm’s barn and farm store on Carver Street in Granby on Saturday afternoon, farm staff slowly recounted the equipment and inventory lost in the fire, as well as the memories attached to them.The fire...

By AALIANNA MARIETTA

GRANBY — A blaze engulfed Red Fire Farm’s barn and farm store on Carver Street on Saturday afternoon, leaving the west side of the barn “completely obliterated” and causing an estimated $1 million in damages, according to co-owner Ryan...

By CHRIS LARABEE

GREENFIELD — With “urgent” work needed on its historic barn, Just Roots farm invited local, state and federal stakeholders for a visit on Friday morning to take a look at the failing structure and to discuss potential funding streams.The farm has...

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 EMILEE KLEIN

NORTHAMPTON — The Pioneer Valley Regional Agricultural Conference planned for Saturday will present three guest speakers on low-impact forestry, cheese making and small-scale maple syrup production for agricultural professionals looking to diversify...

By DOMENIC POLI

GILL — From the outside looking in, not much has changed at Sunrise Valley Farm recently. But, for the past month or so, owners Brian and Keri Peila have had one major addition to their to-do list.With help from their three children, the couple has...

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 JACOB NELSON

“So much was just about to bloom,” said Suna Turgay of Flowerwork Farm in Northampton. “And then the flooding came.”Warmer, wetter and less predictable weather are all on the rise in New England as our climate changes. The idea of normal is constantly...

By CHRIS LARABEE

SOUTH DEERFIELD — Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture’s (CISA) Buy Local campaign will get a boost in the coming months on the heels of a Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) grant.CISA received the $84,737 grant on Nov....

By JAMES PENTLAND

Western and central Massachusetts farmers are receiving a boost from $23.3 million in disaster relief from a philanthropic fund set up in the wake of July’s devastating floods and further state aid announced by the Healey-Driscoll administration.The...

By MADDIE FABIAN

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

By MADDIE FABIAN

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

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 CHRIS LARABEE

ASHFIELD — Like many Americans after Thanksgiving, crowds of Franklin County residents left their homes on Black Friday to knock out some holiday shopping.In Ashfield, though, it wasn’t to purchase electronics or other big-ticket items, but rather one...

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 to...