Agriculture

Taking a unique approach to addressing the mounting issue of food insecurity throughout the state, Worcester-based nonprofit Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Massachusetts has launched an urban mushroom-growing farm.

The legislative change, completed as part of the sweeping economic development bill signed by Gov. Maura Healey on Thursday, allows for direct-to-consumer sales for off-site consumption.

The project is seeking to create 600 new jobs and increase exports to the United States by $400,000 by the end of 2026.

In 2016, 53.6% of Massachusetts voters cast a ballot in favor of legalizing marijuana like alcohol, kicking off the creation of an industry that has so far led to more than $6 billion in sales.

The U.S. military base known as Fort Devens closed in 1996, jettisoning more than 7,000 local military and civilian jobs.

As the latest chapter of the ongoing issues surrounding Grafton-based food waste conversion company Feedback Earth, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office has filed a lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court, alleging the company has been releasing noxious odors for months and is negatively affecting residents in neighboring communities.  

Massachusetts cannabis regulators took a guided tour of a outdoor cannabis farm on Thursday, in an attempt to learn more about issues facing the relatively-small number of businesses in the state who have attempted to take marijuana production back to its outdoor roots.

Mindful of how difficult it is to grow much of anything in the outdoor climate of Massachusetts, never mind growing a crop that is legal here but still entirely prohibited at the federal level, the Cannabis Control Commission traveled to Great Barrington on Thursday to hear from outdoor growers about the challenges they face.

United is one of the few cannabis companies in Central Massachusetts operating an outdoor cultivation site.

Matthew Koziol’s fascination with farming began as a child when he would visit his relatives’ dairy farm in Canada.