November
- November 29 - Green Friday - Christmas Tree Season begins! Details here.
December
- December 3 - Soil Management for Climate Resilience - 4-5:30pm, via Zoom. Workshop will examine the potential threats of heat to the long-term productivity of Massachusetts farms, and will highlight practices that can be employed to maintain, manage and improve soil health to safeguard against rising temperatures. Details here.
- December 4 - Massachusetts Food Policy Council Annual Meeting - Remote and in person, Boston, 11:00am - 1:30 pm, Room 428 Boston State House. Details here.
- December 4 - Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony - 5:00pm. Showcase Massachusetts Products at State House. Contact Phu.Mai@mass.gov.
- December 4 - Agricultural Resource Fair - 1:00 - 5:00pm, Red Apple Farm, Phillipston. Mount Grace hosts fair aimed at connecting the MA ag community with resources provided by non-profit agricultural stakeholders and government partners. Bring you questions for representatives from American Farmland Trust, MDAR, NRCS, NOFA, Worcester County Conservation District, USDA and more. Details here.
- December 5 - Farm Bureau Annual Meeting and Conference - Details here.
- December 9 - Central Mass Grown's From Field to Customer: Marketing Strategies for Beginning Farmers - 6-7:30pm. Are you a beginning farmer selling directly to customers through farmers markets, a CSA, farmstand, or events? Free, interactive webinar presented by Myrna Greenfield of Good Egg Marketing. Learn how to grow your customer base while maximizing your marketing efforts. From crafting a compelling story about your farm to building stronger relationships with your customers. Details here.
- December 9 - How to Welcome Visitors and Increase Sales - 6-8:00pm, Park Hill Orchard, Easthampton. How can on-farm experiences like tours, festivals, educational workshops, farm stays, or other events help your farm profitability? CISA, Lisa Chase from UVM, and Russell and Alane from Park Hill Orchard will lead a discussion about how to host visitors and build connection with your customers, increase on-farm sales, or even create new income streams for your farm. Details here.
- December 10 - Explore Farming Workshop (Online) - Free and open to all. Details and registration here.
- December 10-11: Becoming A More Effective Sales Manager In The Natural And Specialty Foods Channel - 8-5pm, Boston. Details here.
- December 10 - Agricultural Lands Preservation Committee Meeting - 10am-noon. Details here.
- December 11 – MDAR's Farm Transfer Plan Assistance (Farm-Pass) Informational Webinar – 12pm. Planning Assistance program for owners who have already identified a successor interested in transitioning to own and manage the farm. Register here.
- December 12 - Financing Your Consumer Product Company: Natural, Organic, Specialty, Retail & Premium - 8-5pm, Boston. Details here.
- December 17 - 19 - The 2024 New England Vegetable & Fruit Conference - Manchester, NH. Conference includes more than 25 educational sessions over three days, covering major vegetable, berry and tree fruit crops as well as various special topics. A Farmer to Farmer meeting after each morning and afternoon session will bring speakers and farmers together for informal, in-depth discussion on certain issues. Details here.
- December 17 - Massachusetts Food System Forum, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester - Details here.
January - 2025
- January 13 - 15 - The 2025 Care Farming Network National Conference - Inaugural national conference at UMass, Amherst. The conference is hosted in partnership with Red Wiggler Community Farm and ServiceNet’s Prospect Meadow Farm. Farmer-to-farmer learning, inspiring speakers, educational workshops, farmer panels, and the chance to highlight the work of their own care farm. The Conference offers knowledge for all experiences and will create fertile ground to nourish a healthy and inclusive community. The goals of our conference focus on creating an inclusive, collaborative gathering that strengthens connections and builds community among care farmers. Details here.
- Jan 14 – Farm Business Planning Course (Online) – This 8-week course is filled with information, activities, and presentations from excellent guest speakers that will help you write your farm business plan. The Farm Business Planning course is designed to help you create a written plan to start or expand your farm business. Also, the course is recognized by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) as fulfilling one of their financial management training requirements. Details here.
- January 18 - MA Maple Producers Association's Annual Meeting - Mohawk Regional High School. Details here.
- January 28 - SBN's Annual Local Food Trade Show - Russell’s Garden Center, Wayland. Business to business opportunities to connect and make wholesale connections. Details here.
February
- February 1 - NOFA Winter Conference - UMass, Amherst, MA - Updates here.
- February 2 - Southeast New England Agriculture Conference & Trade Show - Bristol Aggie, Dighton. Bringing farmers and service providers together to share knowledge and learn about innovations in agriculture. Details here.
- February 12 & 13 - MNLA's Green Industry Winter Forum - Marlborough. Details here.
March
March 18 - Save the Date! Agriculture Day at the Statehouse - Boston
April
- April 26 - Save the Date - Massachusetts Agriculture in Action Expo - Mt. Wachusett Community College, Gardner. Updates here.