The western region of Massachusetts is composed of Berkshire, Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin Counties. The largest city in the region is Springfield, located in Hampden County, along the Interstate 91 corridor on the Connecticut River.
Massachusetts Senator Eric Lesser discusses his experiences when touring the UMass Farm at Cold Spring Orchard in Belchertown. He is tackling myraid food security issues in the next legislative term including closing food deserts and expanding innovative programs. He said, "At the heart of each of these efforts is our state's own homegrown economic engine: our farms." (Republican 2/16/19)
DEERFIELD — Representatives from the University of Massachusetts Amherst attended this week’s Board of Health meeting to address public concerns regarding the spraying of chemicals at the Joseph Troll Turf Research Center in South Deerfield. (Gazette 1/27/19)
40th Annual UMass Community Tree Conference: Species Selection in the Urban Landscape - Professional Perspectives
Tuesday, March 5, 2019 - 8:45am to 3:00pm
Stockbridge Hall, UMass Amherst
Dual use solar installation for use with agriculture at UMass Crop and Animal Research and Education Center in South Deerfield is featured in article. Civil Eats, 1/22/19
Food safety expert Amanda Kinchla, UMass Extension and UMass Department of Food Science, speaks about good agricultural practices to maintain a safe food supply. The Recorder, December 26, 2018.
Governor Charlie Baker visited Make-It Springfield on Tuesday December 11, 2018 to learn about future plans for expanding the busy CAFE supported downtown makerspace. Make-It Springfield was started as a one-month “pop-up” community maker space by UMass Extension Assistant Professor Michael DiPasquale in collaboration with MassDevelopment, a state affiliated economic development agency. The “one-month” experiment to provide creative arts and maker activities to the community has now been open for over two years!
WGBY features a two-part series on urban forestry. Part one includes interviews with Brian Kane and Kristina Bezanson, Stockbridge School of Agriculture. (WGBY 11/5/18)
AMHERST, Mass. – Fall may not seem like a good time for planting, but cool temperatures and ample soil moisture can help plants settle in, says viticulture expert Elsa Petit at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where her students in the Stockbridge School of Agriculture have been busy this fall planting dozens of cold-tolerant grapes at the campus’s first student-run vineyard.
Rick Harper says American elm trees are tough, which make them a great choice for urban locations. The heartiness of this tree is demonstrated by the success found at a one-acre elm orchard at the Agricultural Learning Center at the north edge of the UMass Amherst campus. These saplings have survived severe drought, abnormally wet conditions, deer munching, and feeding injury from gypsy moth and Japanese beetle. Still, about 80% of the 220 seedlings are thriving.
