GREENFIELD — With more than 800 farms and hundreds and thousands of workers providing food to the region and beyond, farming is more than just a way of life here in Franklin County.

To celebrate what Franklin County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jessye Deane called “one of the most critical drivers of our economy,” Friday’s chamber breakfast at Terrazza invited farmers and community leaders, as well as Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) Commissioner Ashley Randle, to talk about their experiences.

Joining Randle was Warner Farm and Mike’s Maze General Manager David Wissemann, Upinngil Farm owner Clifford Hatch, Marty’s Local Director of Marketing Sandra Thomas and Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) Development Director Wendy Ferris.

“This is world-class land … and just because it’s special doesn’t mean it’s not vulnerable. … Climate change is not an abstraction any longer to people that work the land. Droughts, floods, these things are real and are impacting people every single day. Labor markets, immigration, huge worldwide issues are playing out on farms,” Ferris said. “It’s just a reminder that it takes all of us to do what you’re always doing, which is buying local and supporting farms, to keep farms in business and keep the beauty of what we have here today viable and available for the future.”

After a difficult 2023 farming season, this year has looked better for farmers, but Randle, a Deerfield native and the first woman to lead MDAR, said it is imperative that the state continue to support farmers.

“There’s certainly challenges ahead, but I would say that I remain optimistic and hopeful because of the community we have in Massachusetts and the commitment we have to our farmers,” Randle said. “We’ve been trying to find ways that we can continue to support farmers, while innovating and thinking of new ways to promote agriculture across the state.”

One of those promotions is the growing agritourism industry, which Randle said has “blossomed” by 30% in the last five years. Examples of agritourism include picking apples at the numerous orchards in Franklin County or bringing the family to Mike’s Maze in Sunderland.

“[Agritourism] isn’t necessarily the traditional way we think of agriculture,” Randle said, “but it’s really important in Massachusetts, when we have 7 million consumers and we want them to know where their food is coming from.”

Wissemann, who runs Mike’s Maze with his wife Jess, said exploring new options, like embracing agritourism or trying new things, to keep the business thriving is important because, at the end of the day, a farm is a business that needs to survive. Other options include bringing in all aspects of Franklin County, as “the more you can be out in the community and bring in the community and make it a great space for them to be, it’s better for everyone.”

“I feel like when people talk about sustainability in agriculture, it’s focused on soil health, crop health, those sorts of avenues. I think a lot of times people don’t necessarily talk about financial sustainability,” Wissemann said. “We try something new just about every year, whether it’s adding something to the maze or trying a new crop we haven’t grown or a partnership with a company. … We’re never afraid of change; I feel like if we get stuck in our ways too often, you end just repeating the cycle.”

Other initiatives at the state level, Randle said, include the broadening of the Agriculture Youth Council, which brings high school students to discuss and promote farming, as well as the introduction of Agriculture Literacy Month in elementary school classrooms.

Additionally, Randle highlighted the state Senate’s approval of an economic development bill, H.5100, that will allow MDAR to buy land, protect it and then “sell it to farmers at an affordable cost.”

“There’s so many young and new and beginning farmers wanting to get into agriculture in Massachusetts,” Randle said. “Recognizing that land costs are usually the biggest barrier to entry, this will help substantially, our work at the department and that land access piece, so we’re really excited about that.”

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.