The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) is one of the oldest departments of agriculture in the U.S. Its interests lie in two broad areas: regulatory and promotional. On the one hand it deals with animal health (rabies) and crop and pest services (Asian Longhorn beetle). On the other it deals with agricultural conservation and technical assistance […]

Over on the Boston Local Food Festival blog, I talk to to Save That Stuff’s Adam Mitchell about how the company is able to divert so much waste for the festival. (They’re so successful that we’ve contracted the company for the Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival in September!) I was also really interested in what he […]

On Thursday I talked about some of the vendors I discovered at the Boston Local Food Festival. But the thing I was really taken with last year was the trash collection. This year they diverted 13.16% more waste  than last year—by composting 3,600 lbs, recycling 1,820 lbs, and only throwing away 900 lbs. I even […]

Despite the threat of rain, this year’s Boston Local Food Festival was even better than last year’s. Extending the festival grounds to the other side of the bridge made more room for the vendors and less of a crush in the crowd. The wide variety amazed me yet again: restaurants, farmers, apiaries, even “green” investing. […]

Over on the Boston Local Food Festival blog I’ve got a post up about Blue Heron Organic Farm in Lincoln. Ellery Kimball, the woman who runs it, is possibly the nicest person I’ve ever met, and so full of energy that she makes what I’m sure is back-breaking work look fun. I didn’t have space […]