Pollination is an important step in growing all fruits and many vegetables. While most people know about honey bees, native bees are also important pollinators. Encouraging native bees and other beneficials by providing nesting and forage habitat is easy and fun for the home gardener. Learn about how to build bee blocks and which flowering […]
This series will provide a foundation in Western Constitutional Herbalism and its impact on the specific needs in our community in Franklin County. This course will be a combination of classroom discussions, wild plant walks, foraging, and cultivation of medicinal plants. We will meet weekly with a focus on clinical herbalism, access to healthcare and […]
Interested in establishing a meadow or caring for an existing one? Join Kathy Connolly to discuss what a meadow is, the role of native species in a meadow, meadow ecology basics, and steps you can take right now to get started. After the lecture, you can purchase books and native seedlings grown especially for this […]
8:30 am - 12:30 pm Location: Hadley Farms Meeting House, 41 Russell St (Route 9), Hadley, MA How has our changing climate affected the health of our landscape plants? Are stressed plants more prone to insect infestation? What timely, new and expected insects of importance are prevalent on landscapes? Rick Harper, Extension Assistant Professor in […]
At the drop-in information session you can: Get your farm, farm stand or farmers’ market authorized for SNAP (formerly food stamps) and receive you FNS Number the very same day! USDA staff will be on site to walk you through the process and assist with your application; Find out about, and sign up for, low cost […]
This program will focus specifically on washing/packing facilities and low-tech & low-cost design for very small farms. Topics will also cover wash water sanitizer usage, sanitizer level monitoring, and other aspects of post-harvest handling using farm food safety good agricultural practices. Click here to register.
Calling all Farm and Food Entrepreneurs! Come learn more about business development, financing and food processing opportunities in the Pioneer Valley. Let us help you grow or launch your business. Hosted by the PVGrows Investment Fund and the Western MA Food Processing Center, programs of the Franklin County CDC.
This year the MBA and county hosts, the Franklin County Beekeepers Association, are pleased to once again invite all beekeepers to our annual Field Day. We thank the staff at the UMass Agronomy Farm for their continued support of our event, getting the farm ready and assisting us with the setup. This year continues our […]