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National conservation leaders visit Massachusetts on three-state tour
SOUTHEASTERN, Mass. (October 22, 2008) -- NRCS Chief Arlen Lancaster and
Chief of Staff Daniel Whiting joined National Association of Conservation
Districts president John Redding and president-elect Steve Robinson on a
three-state conservation tour through Massachusetts, Rhode Island and
Connecticut. Local NRCS staff, state officials, conservation district
representatives and agricultural leaders met with the visitors as they viewed
conservation projects and practices on cranberry bogs, dairy farms, fish
passages and shellfish operations.
The Massachusetts stops are described below. Read more about the
Rhode Island and Connecticut tour stops.
Old Forge Farm cranberry operation, Carver
The wet harvest was underway on Edwin Randall's 24 acres of bogs that owns at this site.
Plymouth County Conservation District planners wrote a conservation plan in 1998, then updated
it in 2004
and 2007. Randall is receiving
technical and financial assistance from NRCS for nutrient and pest management
through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
The variety of cranberry grown on these bogs is Stevens, which account for 51
percent of the acreage nationwide but only 12 percent of acreage in
Massachusetts. Other varieties grown in Massachusetts include: Early Blacks,
which represent 43 percent of acreage in the Bay State, are the first berries to
market in September. They are smaller and yield less than new hybrids but have a
sweeter taste and intense red color. Howes, which represent 36 percent of
Massachusetts acreage, are harvested about three weeks after the Early Blacks
and produce bigger, firmer, tart berries that store well.
Most cranberries are wet harvested when growers flood their bogs and use
harvesting machines that loosen the cranberries from the vine. With small air
pockets in their center, cranberries float to the water’s surface. Growers
corral the berries, and then conveyors lift them from the bog onto trucks and
then to processing plants.
Only a small percentage of cranberries are dry harvested, a process
that uses mechanical pickers resembling lawn mowers. Comb-like conveyor belts
pick the berries and carry them to attached burlap bags. The bags are
emptied into bins and the fruit is delivered to receiving stations where they are
graded and screened based on their color and ability to bounce (soft berries
will not bounce). Dry harvested berries are sold as fresh fruit.
Santos Brothers Dairy Farm, Westport
Kevin, Karl, Arthur and Norman Santos, brothers who are two sets of fraternal
twins, milk 400 head of dairy cows on two farms in Westport, Massachusetts. The
farm includes 140 acres of hay, 220 acres of corn and 130 acres of pasture, as
well as a cheese making operation.
Over the past several years, the Santos brothers have had EQIP contracts for
cover crop, forage harvest management, a comprehensive nutrient management plan,
nutrient management, and residue management. The brothers plan to apply this
year for waste management utilization and are considering a manure storage
structure in the near future.
The cheese business, known as “Shy Brothers Farm,” includes a farm store
where they sell Hannahbells, small nuggets of blue cheese named in honor of the
Santos brothers’ mother. Hannahbell flavors include Classic French, Shallot,
Rosemary, Lavender, Mint and Basil and Carrot and Ginger. Barbara Hanley, a
friend of the brothers and a Bristol County Conservation District supervisor,
helps sell the cheeses and keeps the books.
The Shy Brothers’ farm encompasses the highest land in a peninsula between
the two branches of the Westport River. The farm gets cooling breezes in the
summer and the salt air moderates temperatures in the winter months.
Dartmouth Grange Community Kitchen, Dartmouth
The Dartmouth Grange Community Kitchen was created, with state and local
grants and assistance from USDA and the Pilgrim Resource Conservation &
Development (RC&D) Area Council, to strengthen the community and support local
agriculture. The Dartmouth Grange recognized that food entrepreneurs are
important to economic development and the sustainability of rural communities.
The Grange Kitchen, which opened in January of 2007, offers a modern,
licensed, certified, clean, and sanitary workplace to meet the needs of light
small-scale food production and various food service operations. Equipment in
the kitchen includes most anything necessary for light small-scale food
production, such as a steam kettle, braising pan, range, ovens, and filling
machine. The facility, a 2,000 square foot addition to the Dartmouth Grange’s
historic Patron’s Hall, provides food preparation, production, and storage
space.
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