Agricultural Commissions

Spring Is Here and its Town Meeting Season!

by Douglas P. Gillespie, Commissioner

At our farm, the daffodils are trying desperately to poke through the remaining snow, but in other areas of the farm there is plenty of mud, so Spring must finally be here! A sure sign of Spring in Massachusetts is Town Meeting season, and this year agriculture is at the forefront of debate at many Town Meetings.

At least twenty-six towns are voting this Spring on whether or not to establish an Agricultural Commission as a voice for farmers at the municipal level. We currently have 14 Agricultural Commissions already in operation, so these new votes represent a substantial opportunity to expand the presence and keep the momentum. Agricultural Commission votes will occur (to the best of our knowledge) in Adams, Alford, Boxford, Brewster, Carver, Chesterfield, Colrain, Cummington, Falmouth, Hardwick, Holliston, Middlefield, Montague, North Andover, Northfield, Oakham, Richmond, Shelburne, Sheffield, Southampton, Sunderland, South Deerfield, Sudbury, Topsfield, Westford and Weston.

As you can see, the list includes municipalities in all parts of the state. If your community is on the list (or we've missed it!) I hope that you are involved in the effort to proactively address farm issues at the local level. If your town is not moving ahead in this effort, seek out a town near you and learn about the Agricultural Commission concept, and start the campaign in your town. MDAR has staff and consultants ready to assist you, and several of our organizations are partnering in this endeavor.

Several towns are also voting on establishing a Right to Farm bylaw. These include Hancock, Hardwick, Middlefield, Orange, Shelburne, South Deerfield and Weston. MDAR has worked with the Attorney General's office and the Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation to create a model bylaw for towns to consider. The bylaw restates farm protections that exist in various state laws, and adds notification provisions to remind residents that the town is a right-to-farm community. Advocates for bylaws should be careful to make sure that the local bylaw, if modified, does not conflict with state law, or it could be disallowed when the Attorney General reviews bylaws passed by Town Meetings. Better to have us take a look in advance, if changes are being considered!

Much of the campaign support for Agricultural Commissions, as well as the model Right-To-Farm bylaw, can be found on our website at www.mass.gov/agr.

Seldom is there such an opportunity for farmers to be proactive to ensure their future at the local level. I encourage all of you to get behind this effort, as decades from now you will reap the benefits.

Best wishes for a successful Spring season!

Doug