Not only do farmers sell fresh fruits and vegetables locally, but they also sell farm-raised beef, pork, lamb, cheese, eggs and wool, according to Mr. As part of that mission, commissions work with health boards to resolve complaints about farms, often by providing information about farming practices. Agricultural commissions, formed over the past few years in 94 of the state s 351 municipalities, including 12 in Central Massachusetts, are spreading the truth about farms. Barely 3 months...

Savvy farmers all over the country have discovered a practice that might not work as a nationwide agricultural policy, but that has allowed some economically inefficient orchards to thrive: Encourage yuppies and their progeny to come pick your fruit they'll pay handsomely for the privilege, buy more than they'd ordinarily consume, and then shell out for all sorts of other value-added products. Instead of paying workers to pick their fruit, they should try another strategy: making customers...

usDiggRedditYahooMyWebGoogle What's this? County beekeeping group hoping to recruit dying breed DAINA KLIMANIS The York Dispatch Article Last Updated:03/27/2007 11:47:36 AM EDT The person who just put a couple of beehives in his back yard can turn to any of hundreds of books for guidance on beekeeping. usDiggRedditYahooMyWebGoogle What's this? County beekeeping group hoping to recruit dying breed DAINA KLIMANIS The York Dispatch Article Last Updated:03/27/2007 11:47:36 AM EDT The person...

Expanded competition from overseas, as well as a change in the government's nutrition pyramid in 2005, new concerns about nutrition in the federally funded school meals program and the growing organic foods market have all helped to elevate specialty crops in the agriculture funding debate. They make up a third of the nation's cash crop receipts a full 50 percent of receipts if floriculture and greenhouse plant sales are counted and, until now, they haven't drawn much federal money or...

It can be freedom from excess weight, liberty from disease and degeneration, and justice to those naughty free radicals ravaging our cells as well as the pursuit of delicious apple dishes such as applesauce, apple crisp or hot apple cider. Maybe this is a little excessive, but dont undermine how incredibly healthy apples are for you. According to the research, the skins of red pigmented apples have the highest antioxidant levels, with Gala apples having the highest levels of the...