The Massachusetts Senate Wednesday passed the FARM Bill, agricultural legislation aimed at supporting Massachusetts’ 7,000 farms.
The bill makes it easier for families to buy fresh and healthy food, and protecting the state’s food supply for the future.
The legislation—formally known as S.3029, An Act fostering agricultural resilience in Massachusetts—is a major step forward in supporting Massachusetts farmers and growing the state’s agricultural economy. It builds on a recent special commission report focused on making Massachusetts agricultural operations sustainable for the 21st century.
The FARM Bill helps owners of small farms to grow their businesses by removing hurdles and making agritourism ventures possible, such as corn mazes and ‘pick your own’ berry and fruit operations. The legislation also supports expanding farm operations with a local option property tax exemption for new agricultural buildings.
The bill also includes legislative priorities championed by both Senator Vanna Howard (D-Lowell) and her predecessor, the late Senator Edward J. Kennedy (D-Lowell).
The two lawmakers co-filed S.2023/H.3130, An Act to promote Urban Agriculture and Horticulture at the beginning of the 2025-2026 legislative session to provide support for organizations that convert vacant lots to urban farms.
The FARM Bill establishes a Vacant Lots to Urban Agriculture Fund. The fund would be used to administer grants to municipalities and organizations to support urban agriculture in numerous ways.
“Agriculture is a major part of life in all five communities in the First Middlesex District,” said Senator Howard. “This legislation will yield significant benefits not only for local agricultural producers but also for residents reliant on initiatives such as the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) to access fresh, nutritious food. Furthermore, it strengthens urban agriculture by facilitating the conversion of vacant, underutilized lots into productive farmland. “I am also very pleased to see some of the dedicated hard work of my colleague and friend, the late Senator Ed Kennedy represented in this bill, particularly on the issue of agritourism. He was a truly passionate supporter of agritourism throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”
The legislation also would conclude a long-time legislative effort undertaken by the late Senator Kennedy to codify in the Massachusetts General Laws a definition of agritourism.
As the chair of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts, and Cultural Development, Senator Kennedy served on the Agritourism Study Commission Task Force from 2019 to 2021. He subsequently filed legislation in three consecutive terms in support of agritourism.
Senator Jo Comeford (D-Northampton) mentioned her former colleague during her remarks on the Senate floor, “I’d like to recognize and celebrate and thank our late colleague, senator Ed Kennedy, whose work and leadership to support tourism on the agritourism task force is really at the core of this language, and I’m really glad we were able to incorporate that into this bill.”
The bill makes it easier for residents to access healthy food, making permanent the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) to help families afford fresh produce and the Farm to School program to bring local ingredients into schools.
“The Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation supports S3029, An Act Fostering Agricultural Resilience in Massachusetts,” said Warren Shaw, President, Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation, “This legislation takes practical steps to strengthen farm viability by investing in food system infrastructure, expanding market access through programs like HIP and Farm to School, and supporting the next generation of farmers. Massachusetts farms operate in a high-cost environment and face increasing pressure on land, labor, and infrastructure, and this bill helps address those challenges in a meaningful way. We appreciate the Senate’s continued engagement with the agricultural community.”
