An Act fostering agricultural resilience in Massachusetts
By Ms. Comerford, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 55) of Joanne M. Comerford, Hannah Kane, Jason M. Lewis, James B. Eldridge and others for legislation to strengthen local food systems. Agriculture.
Despite their essential role in the Commonwealth’s food system and economy, many farmers struggle to make a profit and keep their farms and businesses afloat. Between 2017 and 2022, Massachusetts lost farmland at twice the national rate, losing approximately 27,000 acres, and American Farmland Trust estimates that Massachusetts could lose an additional 89,000 acres of its remaining farmland by 2040 without significant new investments and policy changes. This bill makes a number of reforms to support farms and farmers and preserve valuable farmland, including directing the state to maximize the amount of local food that is distributed through state food assistance programs, creating a grant to support training for new and historically underserved farmers, allowing farmers to use state grants for used farm equipment, facilitating agritourism, tracking agricultural land at the state level and requiring the Department of Agricultural Resources to set goals for preserving additional farmland, and other initiatives to strengthen the state’s food systems and help farmers remain competitive and viable.
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