Report: Action Needed To Protect State's Farmland

Farmland across Massachusetts is quickly disappearing, according to a new report by the state Department of Agricultural Resources.

The Farmland Action Plan, which covers the years 2023 to 2050 predicts the Bay State will lose 78 thousand acres, or nearly 20-percent of farmland by 2040 if no action is taken.

The document calls for sweeping policy changes at the state level, collaboration between agencies and nonprofits, and the expansion of the UMass Extension Service.

Western Massachusetts is home to more than 34 hundred working farms, totaling approximately 330 thousand acres.

(Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)