Baker-Polito Administration Awards Almost $3 Million in Grants to Help Farms Mitigate Impacts of Climate Change

 

Baker-Polito Administration Awards Almost $3 Million in Grants to Help Farms Mitigate Impacts of Climate Change

 

west spRINGFIELD — As part of Climate Week in Massachusetts, the Baker-Polito Administration today announced over $2.9 million in grants distributed by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) to help local farms across the Commonwealth implement climate change mitigation strategies and solutions. The awards will support 84 farms, municipalities, and other organizations through five different MDAR grant programs, including the Climate Smart Agriculture Program (CSAP), the Stewardship Assistance and Restoration Program (SARA), the Agricultural Compost Improvement Program (ACIP), the Urban Agriculture Program, and the Buy Local Grant Program. To highlight the grants, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides joined MDAR Commissioner John Lebeaux at the Big E on Thursday for a tour of the Massachusetts Building.

 

“Mitigating the impacts of climate change requires a holistic approach, which includes ensuring farms are able to implement innovative and resilient strategies to operate and avoid disruptions to Massachusetts food distribution channels,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “As we address the impacts of climate change, this funding will help to protect Massachusetts farms from some of the unpredictability that extreme weather and storms can bring.”

 

“Fostering strong partnerships with farms and other organizations continues to be a focus of our Administration, and we are excited to see the practices being adopted through these projects that will help meet the state’s climate goals,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “These grant programs for the Massachusetts agricultural sector serves as another example of our efforts in addressing greenhouse gas emissions and making farming operations sustainable for the future.”

 

The $2.9 million in funding will go towards addressing several climate change projects, such as:

• Agricultural environmental enhancement;
• Agricultural energy efficiencies;
• Farmland preservation;
• Improvements to soil health;
• Urban livestock management;
• Urban farm enhancements;
• Carbon sequestration;
• The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; and,
• The reduction of food miles through purchasing locally grown produce.

 

“Building a robust food system in Massachusetts requires smart investments to help our local farms and agricultural sector become more resilient to the impacts of climate change,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides. “These grants will advance sustainable practices and help our family farms access new local markets, steward their land and natural resources, and prepare for the future.”

 

“The Baker-Polito Administration is excited to continue funding projects through these agricultural programs to help address farmers’ needs for the future as they continue to address a changing climate.” said Department of Agricultural Resources Commissioner John Lebeaux. “The goal of the grant programs we are able to provide funding through is to position farmers with opportunities to better manage their operations during a time of increased climate variability.”

 

“Every year the weather and climate in Massachusetts reaches new extremes from the coast all the way into the far reaches of Western Massachusetts,” said State Senator Adam Gomez (D-Springfield). “These grants allow communities across the State to better prepare for climate change through mitigation and preparation efforts. The climate will not adjust to us, we have to make a concerted effort to be both environmentally friendly and aware while ensuring we are prepared for what comes next.”

 

“The funding made available through these grants increase food security, battle climate change, and protect local food systems,” said State Representative Carole Fiola (D-Fall River). “These grants enable farms and the agricultural sector to make the necessary changes needed to make operations more environmentally friendly and to bolster our local agricultural economy.”

 

“West Springfield is home to the largest agricultural fair in New England and showcases the importance of farmers and the impact they have on this regional economy,” said State Representative Michael Finn (D-West Springfield). “I am delighted to see the state stepping up for this industry as it is significantly impacted by climate change.”

 

“Our food system is already feeling the impacts of accelerating global climate change, and those impacts will only get more significant over time,” said Representative Carolyn Dykema (D-Holliston). “Giving our local farmers the resources they need to plan for the future and respond to the challenges of the present will ensure that our agriculture economy remains resilient and vibrant in the years and decades to come.”

 

The following organizations will receive funding from the five grant programs during FY22:

 

Organization	City	County	Award	Project Type
FY22 Climate Smart Agriculture Program (CSAP): Part 1-Adaption & Mitigation
Antes Farm	Conway	Franklin County	$16,000.00	No-Till Drill
Bay-Breeze, Inc.	Westport	Bristol County	$18,000.00	(2) 4 Stroke-Engines
Bree-Z-Knoll Farm, LLC	Leyden	Franklin County	$50,000.00	Dairy Barn Modifications - Fans, Side-Wall Curtains, Waterers
Bridgmont Farm	Westhampton	Hampshire County	$31,520.00	No-Till Drill
Brookfield Farm	Amherst	Hampshire County	$11,638.00	Well; Irrigation
Davidian's Farm Market, LLC	Northborough	Worcester County	$30,800.00	No-Till Drill
Edgewood Bogs, LLC	Carver	Plymouth County	$20,750.00	(9) Automated Irrigation Systems
Fletcher Farm	Southampton	Hampshire County	$25,920.00	Manure Spreader
Foxtrot Farm, LLC	Shelburne Falls	Franklin County	$29,200.00	Riparian Buffer with Perennial Crops
Gianetti's U-Pick Blueberries	Franklin	Norfolk County	$25,400.00	Drip Irrigation
Great Falls Aquaculture, LLC	Turners Falls	Franklin County	$50,000.00	Nitrate Reduction System
Hickory Lane Farm	North Brookfield	Worcester County	$18,240.00	No-Till Drill
Idyllvale Farm	Littleton	Middlesex County	$25,400.00	No-Till Drill
Johnny Putt Farm	Littleton	Middlesex County	$1,335.00	Small Scale No-Till Equipment
Krochmal Farms, LLC	Tewksbury	Middlesex County	$50,000.00	No-Till Drill
Littleton Community Farm, LLC	Littleton	Middlesex County	$3,120.00	BCS Spreader/Chipper
Magical Plants	Huntington	Hampshire County	$5,719.00	Irrigation; Flame Weeder; Power Harrow
Mayval Farm	Westhampton	Hampshire County	$36,300.00	Manure Spreader
Medway Community Farm, Inc.	Medway	Norfolk County	$21,519.00	Irrigation
Mills River Cranberry Co.	Marstons Mills	Barnstable County	$40,700.00	Flood Pump
New Entry Sustainable Farming Project	Boston	Suffolk County	$28,000.00	Field Drainage
Newton Community Farm, Inc.	Newton	Middlesex County	$7,670.00	Roller Crimper; Moveable High Tunnel; Vacuum Seeder; Push Seeder; Transplanter
Ogonowski Farm	Dracut	Middlesex County	$48,130.00	Roller-Crimper; Field Drainage
Pomeroy Farm, LLC	Westfield	Hampden County	$32,960.00	No-Till Drill
Rock Village Farm, LLC	Middleboro	Plymouth County	$50,000.00	Tailwater Recovery Pump
Tangerini Farm, LLC	Millis	Norfolk County	$28,320.00	Compost Spreader
Two Mamas Farm	Cummington	Hampshire County	$18,929.00	Expansion of Maple Operation
Vollinger Farm	Haydenville	Hampshire County	$46,530.00	Manure Storage
Walnut Lane, LLC	Dudley	Worcester County	$41,500.00	Well;Waterers
Webster Cranberry, LLC	Norwell	Plymouth County	$11,200.00	(2) Automated Irrigation Systems
William J. Morrison Cranberries	Middleboro	Plymouth County	$25,200.00	Irrigation pump; automated irrigation
FY22 Climate Smart Agriculture Program (CSAP): Part 2: Energy
Chase Hill Farm	Warwick	Franklin County	$49,500.00	12.6kW Ground Mounted Photovoltaic System w/Battery Backup
Elliot Farm, LLC	Lakeville	Plymouth County	$44,890.00	20.16kW Roof Mounted Photovoltaic System w/battery back-up
Little Leaf Farms, LLC	Devens	Middlesex County	$50,000.00	Variable Frequency Drive Air Cooled Chiller
Windy Hill Farm Sugarhouse	Worthington	Hampshire County	$21,345.00	Evaporator
Farmer Matt	New Braintree	Worcester County	$40,000.00	PV Expansion with Battery Back-up
Chestnut Mountain Tree Farm	Northampton	Hampshire County	$4,000.00	Evaporator
Medway Community Farm, Inc.	Medway	Norfolk County	$40,576.00	22.1kW Ground Mounted Photovoltaic System
Newton Community Farm, Inc.	Newton	Middlesex County	$49,340.00	10.1kW Roof Mounted Photovoltaic System with battery back up
Sweet Morning Farm, LLC	Leyden	Franklin County	$22,809.00	8.16kW Tracking Photovoltaic System
Greenagers, Inc.	South Egremont	Berkshire County	$49,460.00	12.77kW Roof Mounted Photovoltaic System/ battery backup; Root Zone Heating
Farmer Daves, LLC	Dracut	Middlesex County	$49,142.00	Electric Irrigation Pump
The Kitchen Garden, LLC	Sunderland	Franklin County	$40,000.00	15.3kW Roof Mounted Photovoltaic System w/Battery Back-up
Moors End Farm, LLC	Nantucket	Nantucket County	$50,000.00	32.64kW Roof Mounted Photovoltaic System
William J. Gould Associates, Inc.	Monterey	Berkshire County	$40,173.00	Dairy Creamery EE Improvements
North Hadley Sugar Shack, LLC	Hadley	Hampshire County	$43,680.00	Commercial Freezer
Four Town Farm, Inc.	Seekonk	Bristol County	$9,400.00	13.6kW Ground Mounted Photovoltaic System
We Grow Microgreens, LLC	Roslindale	Suffolk County	$47,140.00	Ground Fridges
Ogonowski Family Farm	Dracut	Middlesex County	$20,560.00	Battery Storage for Mobile Refrigeration
Rising Star Equestrian Center	Medway	Norfolk County	$40,000.00	15.84kW Roof Mounted Photovoltaic System
Valley View Farm	Topsfield	Essex County	$18,995.00	Bulk Tank; HVAC & Freezer Replacement
M. Huberman, Inc.	Saugus	Essex County	$18,990.00	Re-Glazing Greenhouse
FY22 Stewardship Assistance and Restoration Program (SARA)
Grindstone Mountain Farm	Southampton	Hampshire County	$22,780.00	Repair drainage to correct erosion & flooding, reseed fields
Hughes	Oakham	Worcester County	$35,000.00	Reclaim field edges
Jackson Realty Trust	Leominster	Worcester County	$34,212.50	Reclaim field edges & abandoned field
Low Places Ranch LLC	Lunenburg	Worcester County	$24,281.95	Reclaim field edges
Pine Hill Orchards	Colrain	Franklin County	$16,160.00	Repair storm damaged farm roads & drainage
Gidley Farm	Dartmouth	Bristol County	$12,580.00	Reclaim field edges, repair field access
Fletcher Farm	Southampton	Hampshire County	$35,000.00	Drainage and erosion control system to restore hay land
FY22 Agricultural Composting Improvement Program (ACIP)
Grey Barn Farm Enterprises Farm	Chilmark	Dukes County	$51,375	Grey Barn Farm Enterprises Farm will use this award towards the purchase of a compost windrow turner and windrow covers.
Olde Dartmouth Farm	South Dartmouth	Bristol County	$24,000	Olde Dartmouth Farm will use this award for the purchase of a compost spreader.
Churchill Stables	Bedford	Middlesex County	$27,771	Churchill Stables will use this award for the purchase of a compost windrow turner, windrow cover, and a compost pad.
Copicut Farms LLC	North Dartmouth	Bristol County	$11,610	Copicut Farms, LLC will use this award for the purchase of compost screening equipment, bagger, and compost pad.
Mycoterra Farm	South Deerfield	Franklin County	$70,000	Mycoterra Farm will use this award for the purchase of an in-vessel composting system.
FY22 Urban Agriculture Grant
Just Roots	Greenfield	Franklin County	$42,512	This award will be applied to year-round production infrastructure improvements to increase capacity. The completed project will provide greater equitable food access to low-income constituents.
Urban Farming Institute	Boston	Suffolk County	$6981.65	The award will be used for improving efficiencies on UFI's five farm sites, purchase of specific tools for pest management and production, as well as soil amendments, which will result in increased production.
Wellesley College	Wellesley	Norfolk County	$6,194	Wellesley College's Environmental Geochemistry Lab will partner with two local, nonprofit farms to pilot a study aimed at reducing the burden of fugitive lead in compost. The results from this study have the potential to address high lead soil in urban settings and beyond.
We Grow Microgreens	Boston	Suffolk County	$50,000	Funding will be utilized for the production expansion of the site (materials and labor), including the season extension infrastructure for the farm.
Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation	Boston	Suffolk County	$28,275	The award will be utilized to expand production space with the purchase of materials, site clearing, and provide operational improvements for their growing farm site.
The Food Project	Boston	Suffolk County	$25,041	The Food Project will build multi-season farmers' market, expanding their direct sales and creating new selling opportunities for other farmers during the Spring and Winter seasons.
Charlestown Sprouts	Charlestown	Suffolk County	$15,000	Funding will be utilized for much needed soil and soil amendments, as well as compost tumblers.
City of Salem	Salem	Essex County	$11,940	The City of Salem and partner organizations will utilize the funding for infrastructure improvements at Mack Park Farm. They will purchase a walk-in cooler and shelving as well as a water catchment system.
Groundwork Southcoast	New Bedford	Bristol County	$14,486	This organization will use funding for the continued expansion of its recently established community garden. The build out will provide growing plots for 100 families once complete.
City of Melrose	Melrose	Middlesex County	$9,607	The City of Melrose will use this award to build on its successful expansion efforts, providing much needed growing space for Melrose residents.
FY22 Buy Local Grant
Berkshire Grown	Great Barrington	Berkshire County	$90,528.73	Support the Berkshire Grown Winter Farmers Markets, provide technical assistance for SNAP/ HIP vendors and shoppers, and facilitate farmer-to-farmer mentoring support.
Buy Fresh Buy Local Cape Cod	Barnstable	Barnstable County	$99,996.84	In collaboration with Cape Cod Cooperative Extension and multiple partners, BFBLCC will promote locally grown land and sea products that enhance the local food system, its farmers, and farmers’ markets, and address the critical need of demographic groups experiencing food insecurity.
Central Mass Grown	Worcester	Worcester County	$98,816.00	Will execute four programs in support of the agricultural community of Worcester County.  Each project will strengthen the growing ‘Buy Local’ movement and increase cash sales of our farmers while furthering several of the initiatives within the Local Food Action Plan.
CISA	South Deerfield	Franklin County	$100,000.00	Marketing that will highlight shopping at local farms through paid advertising, videos, articles, and social media; offering a toolkit to help farms better market themselves; and supporting farms by showcasing how local farms work together to support the local economy.
Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society	West Tisbury	Dukes County	$37,901.00	MVAS will assist in expanding the market for local farmers and advance islanders and visitor’s knowledge of the importance of agriculture to economy of Martha's Vineyard. Will expand and enhance marketing for all local farms and farms stands including aquaculture farms and the West Tisbury Farmer's Market that have had a difficult year due to the pandemic.
Northeast Harvest	Topsfield	Essex County	$97,978.00	Will promote, support, and strengthen local agriculture in the following ways: print local food guide, print pick-your-own pocket brochures/cards, purchase branded paper bags, enhance information about fish and seafood, outreach, and support for the Buy Local State-wide Mobile App, continue social media, and host annual agricultural conference.
Southeastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership	South Dartmouth	Bristol County	$99,041.80	Work with partners to increase promotion of local farms, support livestock production, promote and support local fiber farms, promote local agricultural farms and festivals, and regional aquaculture production.  This grant will also support education and technical assistance for regional farmers with a focus on established wholesale farmers and continue to promote and support farms and farmers markets accepting HIP/SNAP and FMNP coupons.
Sustainable Business Network	Cambridge	Middlesex County	$70,791.00	Will increase sales, raise awareness of locally grown and produced foods in MA and New England states and increase the collaboration between the Buy Local organizations and other key players in the local food movement. The program features the promotion and management of the Eat Local MA mobile app, the Boston Local Food Festival, and the Massachusetts Eat local Month campaign.
Sustainable Cape	Truro	Barnstable County	$43,387.00	The overarching goal of the ‘Harvester Highlights – Buy Direct!’ campaign is to increase direct to consumer sales for Barnstable County farmers and fishermen via a comprehensive community initiative to share information on local food access via a broad consortium of regional partners while strengthening our Farmers’ Market Coalition and individual farmers markets’ ability to accept nutrition incentives.

 

During this year’s Climate Week in Massachusetts, the Baker-Polito Administration is highlighting its commitment to reducing emissions, mitigating the impacts of climate change, and building a more resilient Commonwealth. Throughout Climate Week, the Administration is holding events to spotlight important initiatives including offshore wind, land protection and conservation, the Greening the Gateway Cities program, and the expansion of clean energy in the Commonwealth. The Administration is also highlighting the urgent demand for funding to support climate resiliency in Massachusetts, and Governor Baker’s plan to immediately put to use part of Commonwealth’s direct federal aid from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to support critical priorities in cities and towns. The Administration’s plan would commit $900 million to key energy and environmental initiatives, including $700 million to support water infrastructure upgrades and climate resiliency, and $100 million to invest in port infrastructure to support the offshore wind industry.

 

On March 26, 2021, Governor Baker signed comprehensive climate change legislation that enshrined the Administration’s target of Net Zero emissions by 2050 into law, significantly increased protections for Environmental Justice communities across Massachusetts, and authorized the Commonwealth to procure an additional 2,400 Megawatts (MW) of clean, reliable offshore wind energy by 2027. In September 2016, Governor Baker signed Executive Order 569 which lays out a comprehensive approach to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions, safeguard residents, municipalities and businesses from the impacts of climate change, and build a more resilient Commonwealth. In April 2021, the Administration announced it had achieved its goal of investing $1 billion in climate change mitigation in adaptation since 2015 through programs like the nation-leading Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program, which has now enrolled 93 percent of cities and towns in Massachusetts.