"Franklin land owners are encouraged to attend our Converse and Conserve workshop on 3/29/23 from 4 PM - 6 PM at Town Hall. Come learn more about applicable tax incentive programs for your land, resource management and endowment!
Learn more and RSVP here: https://t.co/jz4DeI9egH"
Shared from Twitter -> https://t.co/tkVsFuFKLu
 |
| Town of Franklin: Franklin land owners are encouraged to attend our Converse and Conserve workshop - Mar 29 |
Your land is a part of your legacy. Deciding what will happen to your land after you are gone is the next critical step of being a good land steward and furthering that legacy. Who will own your land and how will it be used? What will your legacy continue to be? These are questions that the "Converse and Conserve" workshop on Wednesday, March 29 from 4p-6p at Town Hall, Room 326A can answer for you.
Join the Franklin Conservation Department, Franklin Assessor's Office, Franklin Agricultural Commission, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Metacomet Land Trust, and DDCRW Law in learning about your options. Come learn about applicable tax incentive programs for forestland, agricultural land, and open space; learn about resource management for your natural environment; and even learn how to endow your land to ensure its lifelong protection. Estate planning, whether for now or for the future, is not just for the wealthy or for those who own "estates" – if you own land, then estate planning is a necessary and valuable step to ensure that the legacy of your land is a positive one!
Food and beverages will be provided by Birchwood Bakery & Kitchen.
RSVP for a free gift.
For more information or to RSVP contact bgoodlander@franklinma.gov/(508) 520-4847.
Shared from -> https://www.franklinma.gov/conservation/news/converse-and-conserve-workshop-come-learn-about-programs-allow-your-property-work
 |
| Come Learn About Programs That Allow Your Property to Work for You and Create a Family Legacy |
Please note that the Converse and Conserve Workshop will now take place in Room 326A at Town Hall, instead of Council Chambers.
Your land is a part of your legacy. Deciding what will happen to your land after you are gone is the next critical step of being a good land steward and furthering that legacy. Who will own your land and how will it be used? What will your legacy continue to be? These are questions that the "Converse and Conserve" workshop on Wednesday, March 29 from 4p-6p at Town Hall, Room 326A can answer for you.
Join the Franklin Conservation Department, Franklin Assessor's Office, Franklin Agricultural Commission, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Metacomet Land Trust, and DDCRW Law in learning about your options. Come learn about applicable tax incentive programs for forestland, agricultural land, and open space; learn about resource management for your natural environment; and even learn how to endow your land to ensure its lifelong protection. Estate planning, whether for now or for the future, is not just for the wealthy or for those who own "estates" – if you own land, then estate planning is a necessary and valuable step to ensure that the legacy of your land is a positive one!
Food and beverages will be provided by Birchwood Bakery & Kitchen.
RSVP for a free gift.
For more information or to RSVP contact bgoodlander@franklinma.gov/(508) 520-4847
Shared from -> https://www.franklinma.gov/conservation/news/converse-and-conserve-workshop-location-change-room-326a
 |
| Converse and Conserve Workshop - Location Change: Room 326A |
Your land is a part of your legacy. Deciding what will happen to your land after you are gone is the next critical step of being a good land steward and furthering that legacy. Who will own your land and how will it be used? What will your legacy continue to be?
These are questions that the "Converse and Conserve" workshop on Wednesday, March 29 from 4 PM - 6 PM at Town Hall, Council Chambers can answer for you.
Join the Franklin Conservation Department, Franklin Assessor's Office, Franklin Agricultural Commission, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Metacomet Land Trust, and DDCRW Law in learning about your options. Come learn about applicable tax incentive programs for forestland, agricultural land, and open space; learn about resource management for your natural environment; and even learn how to endow your land to ensure its lifelong protection. Estate planning, whether for now or for the future, is not just for the wealthy or for those who own "estates" – if you own land, then estate planning is a necessary and valuable step to ensure that the legacy of your land is a positive one!
Food and beverages will be provided by Birchwood Bakery & Kitchen.
RSVP for a free gift.
For more information or to RSVP contact bgoodlander@franklinma.gov/(508) 520-4847.
Shared from -> https://www.franklinma.gov/conservation/news/converse-and-conserve-workshop-come-learn-about-programs-allow-your-property-work
 |
| Converse and Conserve Workshop - Come Learn About Programs That Allow Your Property to Work for You and Create a Family Legacy |
The Baker-Polito Administration today announced $1,000,000 in grants to 23 Massachusetts farms to implement practices that improve food safety within their operations. The Agricultural Food Safety Improvement Program (AFSIP), administered by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR), is a competitive grant program that allows produce and aquaculture operations to address food safety on their farms, enabling the operations to meet buyer demands, increase consumption of local food, and protect public health by reducing food safety risks.“The Commonwealth’s agricultural industry continues to grow and upgrade its practices to both meet marketplace demands and regulatory requirements,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “These grants underscore our Administration’s commitment to helping farmers implement important upgrades within their operations to ensure that food safety risks are managed, that their marketplace needs are addressed, and their businesses continue to grow.”“Improving food safety practices is important for Massachusetts’ farmers in order to provide the highest quality produce and protein sources for consumers across the Commonwealth and beyond,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “These food safety grants provide a proactive approach for the sector to upgrade their practices to help ensure safe local food production continues for years to come.”
 |
| Night Owl Farm awarded $46K grant from MA Dept of Agricultural Resources |
You may never have heard of the plant Brassica Oleracea, but six vegetables you can find in any grocery store and you eat on a regular basis are actually all from this one plant and they're all human made products of selective breeding [source, read more: https://t.co/ZFHFAjSjpT]
 |
| Community Preservation Committee recommends purchase of Schmidt Farm with CPA funds (video) |
1. The Agricultural Committee will meet at the Agway store on Cottage St. to work on the track for the “great zucchini” race.
2. Work will consist of assembly, needed maintenance, and disassembly.
 |
| Zucchini races return to the Farmers Market - Sep 10, 2021 |
Quick Recap:
As with most meetings in this pandemic period, I took my notes via Twitter during the meeting although this time, reporting live from the 3rd floor training room.
The Twitter hashtag can be found online #boh0901
https://twitter.com/search?q=%23boh0901&src=typed_query
Agenda doc (including connection info) -> https://www.franklinma.gov/health-department/agenda/boh-agenda-56
Audio recording of meeting to be available in couple of days
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/08/franklintv-time-for-ice-cream-3.html
There is no age limit to who can submit an entry and no motors. Entries will be weighed at check in and split into three weight classes.Fans can vote for their favorite racer in four different categories.
We will race in heats, winner of heat moves on.When: Friday, Sep 10 at the Farmers Market!2:30-3:30 - Check in3:30- 4:00 - Fan Voting4:00 - Racing begins!
|
| Zucchini races return to the Farmers Market - Sep 10, 2021 |
 |
| Zucchini races return on September 10 |
"National Farmers Market Week kicked off on Aug. 1. It’s an annual celebration launched in 1999 by the US Department of Agriculture to call attention to the benefits of farmers’ markets and their contribution to the community.
From sweet corn to tomatoes and raspberries picked that day, the markets offer us a host of seasonal, local foods and generate revenue for family farmers by selling directly to shoppers. Food producers — cheese and pasta makers, bakers, condiment creators, and others — benefit, too, by the direct sales.
“Farmers’ markets bring us access not only to nutritional foods, but also preserves farmland and puts money in the local economy,” says Hal Shubin, who helps run the Belmont Farmers’ Market. Customers may grumble that the foods are costlier than at supermarkets, and some are, although plenty are competitively priced. Everything is fresher, which contributes to a longer shelf life.
And the markets are a place where you see your friends and neighbors. The celebratory week brings special events, music, games for kids, giveaways, lectures, and more. To find a farmers’ market near you, visit massfarmersmarkets.org/markets."
 |
| Farmer Nick will have his tractor on the Town Common Friday |
 |
| Franklin Annual Report - 2020: Agricultural Commission |
The meeting was conducted in a hybrid format: members of the Finance Committee, selected guests, and Town Administration personnel were in the Council Chambers, the remainder were remote along with the public via the Zoom conference bridge, all to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.
The show notes contain links to the meeting agenda including documents released for this agenda.
Let’s listen to this budget hearing on the three school budgets Franklin K-12, Tri-County, and Norfolk Aggie
Audio file -> https://player.captivate.fm/episode/7caf826b-e92e-401c-923b-d6e3391c7961
---------------
---------------
We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm).
This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.
How can you help?
Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com
The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.
I hope you enjoy!
------------------
You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
 |
| FM #531 - Finance Cmte Budget Hearing #4 - 05/04/21 (audio) |
Photos captured during the meeting and shared via Twitter can be found in one album https://photos.app.goo.gl/7aWLKfP4xhrHqSbG9
The agenda for this meeting can be found
https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/_2021-05-04_finance_committee_agenda_.pdf
 |
| Recap: Finance Committee approves FY 2022 budget as proposed |
 |
| Franklin Story map on the Agriculture Commission page |
"Fill out your Name, contact information and address every year to get on the list of areas not to be sprayed by the town's contractor.
You must be the owner of the property or have written consent from the owner. Deadline Is July 1st 2019"The form is found at the Town of Franklin page
 |
| if your street has curbing and sidewalks like show, it might be on the spray listing and you can opt out. |
 | ||
| The listing of Franklin roads where spraying is currently scheduled. | If you are on one of these roads, you can opt out |
"It’s estimated there are about 200,000 species throughout the world that are considered pollinators - animals that transfer pollen grains from one flower to another. Pollination leads to the production of fruits that people eat, and seeds that will create more plants.
From the plump bumblebee to the chirpy hummingbird, the delicate monarch butterfly to the wide-eyed fruit bat, pollinators of all kinds play an important role in helping maintain the Earth’s biodiversity and agricultural systems.
It’s estimated there are about 200,000 species throughout the world that are considered pollinators - creatures that transfer pollen grains from one flower to another. Pollination leads to the production of fruits that people eat, and seeds that will create more plants."Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
 |
| a "pollinator pasture" at Dacey Fields |
