Agriculture in Massachusetts
# Agriculture in Massachusetts

As of 2012, there were 7,755 farms in Massachusetts encompassing a total of 523,517 acres (2,120 $km^2),$ averaging 67.5 acres (27.3 hectares) apiece, but by 2017 this had declined somewhat again, to 7,241 farms in the state. Greenhouse, floriculture, and sod products – including the ornamental market – make up more than one third of the state's agricultural output. Cranberries, sweet corn and apples are also large sectors of production. Massachusetts is the second-largest cranberry-producing (Vaccinium macrocarpon) state in the union after Wisconsin. Agriculture in the state is served and represented by the Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR).

Fruit cultivation is an important part of the state's agricultural revenues. The UMass Extension Fruit Program provides information to support growers. Strawberries suffer from Botrytis Gray Mold (Botrytis cinerea) and Tarnished Plant Bug (Lygus lineolaris) here, and the Extension provides data sheets for both.

The Asian long-horned beetle (ALB, Anoplophora glabripennis) was detected in Worcester in 2008 and as of April 2021 is still uneradicated. An population in Boston that was detected in 2010 has since been successfully eradicated however.

Cover cropping has been successful elsewhere and can be used here. Akbari et al. 2019 finds that Winter rye (Secale cereale) and Hairy vetch (Vicia villosa) are effective covers for weed control in Massachusetts.

