What's in season and where to find it
This has been a tough year for a lot of local growers – but still, it is August and farmers throughout the Valley are bringing in lots of beautiful food for you to enjoy!

This month, look for all your heat-loving favorites: corn, tomatoes, melons, and a whole lot more.

This week is Massachusetts Farmers' Market Week, so it's an especially good time to visit your favorite market or find a new one near you!

We can help you find nearby farmers' markets, restaurants sourcing the tastiest local food, specific crops like corn, local meat for grilling, and anything else your heart desires! Find it all here.
Flooding update: grateful, and so much left to do
We've been keeping you updated on the aftermath of July's flooding, along with the freeze impacts from earlier in the year and the effect of continued heavy rainfall. Here's the view a month later.

The community response, from individual donors on up to the state and federal government, has us grateful beyond words. Thanks to our western Mass legislative delegation, led by Sen. Jo Comerford and Rep. Natalie Blais, the Governor just signed a supplemental budget that includes $20 million in disaster relief to cover crop losses. CISA’s Emergency Farm Fund, which exists because of the generosity of our community of supporters, is offering no-interest loans up to $25,000 to affected farms. A recent federal disaster declaration will make low-interest federal loans available as well.

What's missing is money to cover lost infrastructure and property. The new, statewide Massachusetts Farm Resiliency Fund is currently fundraising with an ambitious goal of $5 million and they aim to make that money immediately available to grants. To give or to find out about other ways you can help, click here.

For farmer-focused recovery resources, click here.
Get to know our Local Heroes
Two great ways to stay abreast of what's happening on local farms: CISA's Valley Bounty column in the Daily Hampshire Gazette, and CISA's segments on "The Fabulous 413" on New England Public Media.

  • Bardwell Farm: Harrison Bardwell talks about wins and losses this weird year for farming, including what you can find at his farm this time of year and how farms are cooperating in tough times (as they always have). Listen!

  • Red Gate Farm Education Center: Offering summer camp and school programs, Red Gate Farm connects young people to agriculture. “There’s no made-up work at Red Gate Farm,” says Sydney Treuer, Assistant Director. When trusted with responsibility and given tools and support, kids often dive in with gusto that surprises their parents, teachers, and even themselves. Read all about them!

State budget update: good news for local farms
The state's 2024 budget is official, and there's a lot of good news in it for local agriculture. CISA is proud to have worked closely with our western Mass delegation and with advocates across the state, led by the MA Food System Collaborative, and we will continue to advocate for funding to strengthen our local food system.

A couple notes:

  • The Food System Infrastructure Grant program (FSIG) has been included in the annual budget for the first time at $25 million. This program helps farms, grocery stores, and other food businesses build and expand their infrastructure so they can grow, process, and sell more local food in more Massachusetts communities.

  • The Healthy Soils Program was funded at just over $1M with NOFA-Mass leading this advocacy effort. This funding will help the state implement the new Healthy Soils Action Plan and support farms and landowners to improve soil health and climate resiliency. 

  • HIP, the Healthy Incentives Program, was funded at a little under $14 million. This program, which expands access to local produce for low-income families, spent $15.8 million in FY 2023, so we are concerned that this funding level will not sustain the program for the year.

Interested in advocacy? Sign up for CISA's Policy and Action Alerts and we will send you occasional updates and opportunities to take action.
More from CISA

Check out our press page for news stories about local farms and local agriculture, along with our regular segments with NEPM, regular column in the Daily Hampshire Gazette, and more!
 
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