Mass Agriculture in the Classroom

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 2008 Massachusetts Agriculture Calendar Photo Contest. View the winning photos and check out the rules for taking and sending photographs to the 2009 Mass. Agriculture contest at www.mass.gov/agr/events.

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. A poem written by the kindergarten class from the Sippican School in Marion, about one of the photographs in the 2008 calendar, is also included. Seven non-profit agricultural commodity organizations each sponsored a page in the calendar. They are the: Massachusetts Agricultural Fairs Association; Massachusetts Christmas Tree Association; Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation; Massachusetts Flower Growers’ Association; Massachusetts Fruit Growers Association; Massachusetts Maple Producers Association, and the Massachusetts State Grange.

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.

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 2010 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, 2008. 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

Photo Contest Rules

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 2010 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, 2009