Agriculture

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.

Nichols College in Dudley has entered a partnership with Pocasset Pokanoket Land Trust, an Indigenous-led nonprofit, to offer a farming financial literacy course for farmers across New England. 

Lancaster-based Deershorn Farm and Taxidermy has received a $45,000 working capital loan from the North Central Massachusetts Development Corp. in Fitchburg. 

Pioneer Valley farms that were flooded out during July will soon receive $10,000 checks from a fundraising campaign launched by the Healey administration and United Way of Central Massachusetts last month.

Companies are sounding the alarm on the state’s inconsistent product safety testing standards.

Long-awaited regulations on the sale of pork products in Massachusetts will launch in less than three weeks under a new legal agreement between state officials and industry groups.

Bay State farmers whose crops were destroyed in recent floods can now apply for low-interest loans and refinance existing loans, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture designated parts of the state primary natural disaster areas on Tuesday.

Skeptical about the timeline for federal aid, the Healey administration on Thursday backed an effort to raise private donations to help farmers who sustained major damage in a series of flood-inducing storms.