Agriculture

A beef farmer, Schmid co-chairs the Legislature's Agriculture Committee, which top Democrats spun out as a standalone panel this term.

The state's retailers sold 232,894 pounds worth of cannabis flower to recreational consumers in 2023, about the weight of the average blue whale.

With concerns over a lack of affordable housing dominating headlines, communities across the country are starting to reconsider the issue of mandatory parking minimums.

Between 2021 and 2023, the number of Massachusetts residents living in food insecure households increased by close to 50 percent, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The majority owners of Charlton-based Tree House Brewing have responded to a November lawsuit filed by an individual with a minority stake in the company, claiming the passive investor has been well compensated for his initial $10,000 investment and denying allegations of wrongdoing made in his lawsuit. 

Regulating artificial intelligence, creating an agricultural disaster relief fund and boosting food security emerged as areas of focus that lawmakers could tackle in 2024 following a batch of committee votes.

Chaos would probably be a fitting description for the cannabis industry in general during 2023 and don’t expect that chaos to dissipate in 2024.

Feedback Earth, a Grafton-based company converting food waste into animal feed, has been fined again by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection for state permit violations.

The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife said deer densities vary widely from an ideal range of about 12–18 deer per square mile in most of central and western Massachusetts to more than 30–50 deer per square mile in areas of eastern Massachusetts and on the islands, where hunting access is restricted.

While the first five years saw more than $5 billion in sales and hundreds of businesses opening, uncertainty awaits ahead for the next five years.