The Town Council established the Franklin Agricultural Commission in 2018, per Special Legislation to promote, develop, and foster agricultural resources in the Town of Franklin. The Committee consists of 5 Members with 3 Year terms. All members are residents of Franklin and most members are active farmers or have experience in agriculture-related fields.
The Mission of the Franklin Agricultural Commission is to preserve, revitalize and sustain the Franklin Agricultural Industry and its lands, to encourage the pursuit of agriculture, to promote agricultural-based economic opportunities, and to protect all existing farmland in the town of Franklin, Massachusetts.
The current Officers of the Franklin Agricultural Commission are: Roger Trahan: Chair, Charles J. Koshivas: Vice Chair, Marian E. Szymanski: Clerk, Nick Capoccia: Member, and Dan Morse: Associate Member.
In 2023, The Franklin Agricultural Commission revisited our Mission Statement and asked ourselves how the Commission can be more visible in the town and how we can better fulfill our Mission. As a result, we initiated and accomplished the following:
1. The Franklin Agricultural Commission provided informational booths and an assortment of agriculturally themed children's activities at town events such as the Summer and Winter Farmer's Markets, the annual "Strawberry Stroll", the annual "Harvest Festival", "DelCarte Day".) The Franklin Agricultural Commission also provided tractors for the town's "Touch-a-Truck" event, organized and ran the "Zucchini Race", and the annual "Pumpkin Weigh-In" event.
2. The Franklin Agricultural Commission conducted another Chapter 61 "Enrollment Drive". Members of the Commission sent information packets to all of the property owners who own a piece of property that is 5 acres or more. The packets educated residents about the benefits of placing a piece of land into Chapter 61, and how to know if a piece of land would better be covered by Chapter 61A or Chapter 61B. We also provided the directions for the process.
3. The Franklin Agricultural Commission reached- out to all farmers in the town and invited them to one of our meetings. We asked each of the farmers what the Commission could do to help them promote their farm products and assist them in operating a successful farming business. As a result of these conversations, the Franklin Agricultural Commission is considering working on the following actions: Changing the existing laws that require 5 acres of land in order to be considered a "farm" as the town of Franklin no longer has many large parcels of land available for agriculture; Promote the local farms - especially their agrotourism events and children's programs via social media and posters: Installing signs that feature the names of each farm and their products on: highways, in front of each farm, and on the roads that lead to each farm; The possibility of hosting an annual "Farm Hop"; and the possibility of making the town of Franklin a "Right To Farm" town.
4. The Agricultural Commission met with the members of the town of Medway's Agricultural Commission to share their goals, their current and past actions, and their plans for the future.
5. The Town of Franklin has purchased over 200 acres of open space in the past few years .Meeting were held to discuss how the town will use, manage, and care for each of these properties. Members of the Franklin Agricultural Commission attended and participated in the majority of these meetings. The Commission is suggesting that the properties be utilized to create: small farms, event spaces, incubator farms, community gardens, a cross-country course, walking paths with trees and shrubs that will feed birds and pollinators, pollinator gardens, and outdoor classrooms for adults and for children.
Respectfully submitted,
Marian Szymanski
Clerk for the Franklin Agricultural Commission
Visit the Agriculture Commission on the Town website ->
The full Town of Franklin FY 2023 Annual Report can be found online
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| Franklin Agricultural Commission 2023 Annual Report: FY 2023 Report |
