Partners in Massachusetts Agriculture Education
Mass. Department of Agricultural Resources
Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation
UMass Extension Landscape, Nursery and Forestry Program
2010 Massachusetts Agriculture Calendar Now Available
The 2010 Massachusetts Agriculture Calendar is now available for sale. Your purchase of this unique local calendar will show your enthusiasm for Massachusetts agriculture, and will also support the many educational efforts of Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom (MAC), the designated recipient of the proceeds. This attractive calendar will make a nice hostess or holiday gift for any friend or family member who has an interest in agriculture. The Mass. Agriculture Calendar was a collaboration between the U.S. D.A. Natural Resources Conservation Service, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources and MAC. It was created to educate consumers about the rich diversity of agriculture in the state, while at the same time providing an attractive color calendar that is a daily reminder of Massachusetts agriculture.
Each month of the calendar features one full-size photograph portraying a local farm or farm product in season. Photos were submitted by amateur photographers from across the state for our 2009 Massachusetts Agriculture Calendar Photo Contest. View the winning photos and check out the rules for taking and sending photographs to the 2010 Mass. Agriculture contest at www.mass.gov/agr/events.
Winners were honored in a ceremony on Massachusetts Day, September 17, at the Eastern States Exposition (The Big E) in front of the Massachusetts Building. Massachusetts Commissioner of Agriculture Scott Soares presented the winners with certificates. Each winner also received two tickets to The Big E, a “Massachusetts grown…and fresher!” logo hat and two complimentary calendars. Additionally, as part of the Massachusetts Day celebrations at the Fair, Governor Deval Patrick visited fairgoers and toured the Massachusetts Day festivities.
This year’s Massachusetts Agriculture Photo Contest winners and their photos are:
- January – Patty Hitchcock of North Attleboro, (“Restored barn at former Sayles Dairy in N. Attleboro”)
- February – Lyn Harris of Groton, (“Orchard in Winter, Autumn Hills Orchard, Groton”)
- March – Jerry Hobert of Worcester, (“Piglets at Starret Farm in Mendon”)
- April – Roz Makowiec of East Longmeadow, (“Spring in Bloom in Meadowbrook Farm Greenhouse in East Longmeadow”)
- May – Dee Dee Mares of Gill, (“Emu Chicks and Egg and Songline Emu Farm in Gill”)
- July – Bart Piscittello of Gloucester, (“Alpaca Show at the Topsfield Fair”)
- August – Kent Boynton of Harvard, (“Pick-your-own Flowers at Indian Head Farm in Berlin”)
- September – Kent Boynton of Harvard, (“Apple Orchard at Nashoba Valley Winery in Bolton”)
- October – Erick Brown of Mendon, (“Andrew Brown Sitting Amongst the Pumpkins at Vandervalk Farm in Mendon”) (Also the Cover Photograph for the Calendar)
- November – Jerry Horbert of Uxbridge, (“Cranberry Bog at A.D. Makepeace in Wareham”)
- December – Patty Hitchcock of North Attleboro, (“Tractor in Snow taken in North Attleborough”
This year’s Massachusetts Agriculture Photo Contest Honorable Mention winners are: (represented by smaller photographs on the calendar pages)
- Christopher Flouton-Barnes of West Newton. (Cattle in snow at Westport Rivers Vineyard) (January)
- Robert Israelian of Worcester, (Rooster at Sturbridge Village Farm) (February)
- John Zieman of Vineyard Haven, (Alpaca at Island Alpaca Company Farm, Martha's Vineyard) (March)
- Erin Koh of Buzzards Bay, (Close up of Red Flower at Bay End Farm, Buzzard Bay) (May)
- Roz Makowiec of East Longmeadow, (Strawberry boxes at Meadowbrook Farm, East Longmeadow) (June)
- Lyn Harris of Groton, (Picking Greens in the field at Waltham Field CSA, Waltham) (July)
- Amy Martin of Peabody, (Monarch Butterfly on Tithonia Flower, taken at Verrill Farm, Concord) (August)
- Emily Everett of Williamsburg, (Jars of Pickles at Northampton Farmer's Market) (September)
- Georgeann Dufault of South Deerfield, (Grain Silos in Hadley) (October)
- Diana Rodgers of South Hamilton, (Turkeys taken at Green Meadow Farm, Hamilton) (November)
- Diana Rodgers of South Hamilton, (Handfull of cranberries at A.D. Makepeace in Wareham) (December)
The goals of the calendar is to serve as an educational tool for teachers, legislators and the general public, while at the same time to create an attractive color calendar that is a daily reminder of Massachusetts agriculture. The calendar offers agriculture education information for teachers including web sites and educational tips on each page. Nine non-profit agricultural commodity organizations sponsored individual calendar pages. The calendar also includes local agriculture facts, conservation facts, agriculture and horticulture related events and websites, as well as a chart showing the seasons of local crops.
Nine non-profit agricultural commodity organizations each sponsored a page in the calendar. They are the Massachusetts Agricultural Fairs Association (July); Massachusetts Association of Roadside Stands and Pick-Your-Own (August); Massachusetts Christmas Tree Association (December); Massachusetts Dairy Promotion Board (June); Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation (January); Massachusetts Flower Growers Association (May); Massachusetts Fruit Growers Association (September); Massachusetts Maple Producers Association (March); and Massachusetts State Grange (April). The proceeds from these sponsorships and calendar sales benefit Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom.
Calendars may be purchased for $10 each ($5 wholesale for 10 or more.) We encourage farmstands and farmers markets to sell them). Proceeds will benefit Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom, a non-profit organization that works with teachers throughout the state in developing classroom materials.
Send a check payable to Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom with your name and address to: Calendar, Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom, P. O. Box 345, Seekonk, MA 02771.
Retail $10.00 each ; Wholesale $5 .00 each, if order over 5
Massachusetts Agriculture Calendar Photo Contest
Amateur photographers who enjoy capturing local rural scenes, farm animals and fresh produce are invited to enter the Massachusetts Agriculture Photo Contest sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources(MDAR), the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom, Inc. Winning photos will be featured in the 2011 Massachusetts Agriculture Calendar.
Twelve photos will be selected, one for each month. Photos will be selected that depict the diversity of agriculture, horticulture, and natural resources on the commonwealth’s farms throughout the year. To view last year's winners, click here.
Winning photographers will be credited in the calendar, will be invited to attend a winner’s ceremony at the Eastern States Exposition (The Big E) in Springfield in September and tickets to the fair, and will receive copies of the calendar.
The Massachusetts Agriculture Calendar will also feature facts and figures about Bay State agriculture, horticulture and conservation, as well as other educational resources. Information about how to order the calendar will be announced on the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources' Website in the fall. Calendars will also be available at selected public events.
Deadline for submissions is June 1, 2010. For details and an entry form, visit Photo Contest Rules and regulations: or contact Rick LeBlanc at Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, 617-626-1759 or send an e-mail to him.
Massachusetts Agriculture Calendar
All photos must depict an aspect of Massachusetts agriculture or horticulture. Photos must have been taken in Massachusetts within the past three years. Entrants must be a resident of Massachusetts. Professional photographers are not eligible to enter. Photos must be taken by the entrant.
All entries must be photographic prints no smaller than 4x6 inches and no larger than 8x10 inches. Slides and digital photos must be submitted as prints. Original negative or slide should be available upon request; digital photos should be available on CD, diskette or via e-mail. Photos must not be framed or mounted. Photographers may submit no more than five photos.
Type or neatly print the following information on an index card or paper, and attach with tape to the back of the photo: entrant name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, where the photo was taken, month and year photo was taken. Please do not write on the back of the photo, staple or use paper clips, as this will damage the photograph.
Winning photos will become the property of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. Winning photos will be published in the 2011 Massachusetts Agriculture Calendar, and may be used on the sponsoring organizations’ websites and consumer publications. Neither the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, nor Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom, Inc. will be held responsible for lost submissions.
Employees of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom, Inc. are not eligible to enter the contest.
Send entries to: Photo Contest, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, 251 Causeway Street, Suite 500, Boston, MA 02114. Photo's must be submitted by June 1, 2010
Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom
P.O. Box 345
Seekonk, MA 02771
(508) 336-4426 Fax: (508) 336-0682