Jul
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced during a press conference with U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock, U.S. Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr., and U.S. Congresswoman Cheri Bustos that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing $67 million in competitive loans through the new Heirs’…
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The Franklin County Agricultural Society, which owns the Franklin County Fairgrounds, has a very serious issue with an embankment collapse. Over the past three years, an increasing amount of underground water has caused four new streams to form beneath the soil at the Fairgrounds. The water has found…
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The Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF) is pleased to release the results from its’ survey to assess the needs of livestock producers for slaughter and meat processing. To view a PDF copy of the results, please click here. The results are from 144 livestock producers, 89 of…
Jul
The Centers for Disease Control has updated information for fully vaccinated people, given new evidence of the coronavirus Delta variant currently circulating in the U.S., and recommends in some circumstances fully vaccinated people wear masks in public indoor settings. In light of these recommendations,…
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The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) is alerting Massachusetts residents that it has received notification from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) that a number of nurseries within the Commonwealth received Canadian…
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The Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF) is pleased to release the results from its’ survey to assess the needs of livestock producers for slaughter and meat processing. To view a PDF copy of the results, please click here. The results are from 144 livestock producers, 89 of…
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is reminding producers and landowners that the signup deadline for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) current general signup is fast approaching. Eligible producers must submit their offers by July 23, 2021. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) made several…
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With an estimated 20% of the workforce working at home beyond 2021, there will be 30 million meal occasions daily that used to be lunches consumed away from home. According to research presented today at the 2021 Chicken Marketing Summit, this presents an unprecedented opportunity for innovation for…
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing up to $200 million to provide relief to timber harvesting and timber hauling businesses that have experienced losses due to COVID-19 as part of USDA’s Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative. Loggers and truckers can apply for assistance…
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The Farmers Market Coalition (FMC), a national organization committed to strengthening farmers markets, announces the launch of the nationwide campaign celebrating the 22nd annual National Farmers Market Week (NFMW), August 1st – 7th, 2021. NFMW, a weeklong celebration formally declared by the…
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As the world continues to warm, many arid regions that already have marginal conditions for agriculture will be increasingly under stress, potentially leading to severe food shortages. Now, researchers at MIT have come up with a promising process for protecting seeds from the stress of water shortage…
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will conduct a forecast survey for 2021 tree fruit (apples and peaches) and cranberry production during August 2021. The survey will collect information about acreage and projected production from close to 500…
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The Gregory Finn Scholarship was established in loving memory of a good friend to agriculture, Gregory L. Finn. Finn was Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation’s (MFBF’s) Information & Public Relations Director, a religious and devoted family man, who died of a heart attack in 1983 at…
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All Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) benefits are now available, including leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition. The following are the most recent updates available to educate and guide you through this process. Updated: PFML Employer Toolkit Updated: PFML…
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Livestock and poultry producers who suffered losses during the pandemic due to insufficient access to processing can apply for assistance for those losses and the cost of depopulation and disposal of the animals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Vilsack announced the Pandemic Livestock…
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The latest edition of MFBF’s News & Views is now online. Please click here to download a PDF version of the newsletter.
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