News

UMass Extension Vegetable Program

July 28, 2022

Climate change. The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic toll. Increasingly volatile weather trends. These are some of the significant challenges facing farmers today, and UMass Extension's Agriculture Program is here to help, whether it be through statewide education programs, visits to farms for technical assistance, applied research, or its periodic Vegetable Notes newsletter. Genevieve Higgins, an educator in the Extension Agriculture Program’s Vegetable team, thinks about Extension’s... Read more »
Why Confronting Invasive Species Is One of the Best Ways to Prepare for Climate Change

July 17, 2022

AMHERST, Mass. – New research, recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, finds that the ecological effect of invasive species alone is comparable to the combined effects of invasives plus warming temperatures, drought or nitrogen deposition. This suggests that a critical preparation for climate change is to manage invasive species at the local level. It is no secret that the ecological health of the... Read more »
Responding to Climate Change

February 22, 2022

Climate change. It’s really big. So big that it’s difficult to know how to easily talk about the many interconnected pieces and parts that define it, not to mention the myriad efforts we must enact now to make a difference. Our changing climate is one of the most complicated issues facing our planet today: a massive global challenge affecting us on local, regional, and national, and international scales. There’s no time to waste in addressing this interdisciplinary puzzle, so huge... Read more »
Conserving Massachusetts’ Family Forests

August 10, 2021

Like Robert Frost’s character in “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening,” Paul Catanzaro, extension associate professor and state extension forester, has been captivated by the forest most of his life. He recalls years of snowshoeing and canoeing through Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada on church youth group trips, which cultivated his passion for forests. These early experiences evolved into his life’s work. He is rightfully viewed as one of the state’s most ardent... Read more »
Twilight Meeting Series on Water Issues on the Farm Kicks off this Week

September 14, 2020

Agricultural Water Twilight Series The UMass Extension Vegetable Program is offering a series of online twilight meetings all about water! We will welcome extension specialists and farmers from Massachusetts and beyond to cover a range of water-related topics. Part I: Water Use Regulations, Water Monitoring Tools, and Efficient Irrigation Wednesday, September 16, 2020 - 6:00pm to 7:30pm Speakers: Rachel Schattman, UMaine Agroecology Lab - Water use regulations in New... Read more »