Massachusetts Farm Bureau News & Views: History, Content, Staff and Readers
Profile updated November 2026
The Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF) keeps its members informed through News & Views, a quarterly newsletter now in its 34th volume, plus email updates and social media. Edited from the federation's Marlborough office, it covers legislation on Beacon Hill, member benefits, classifieds and the practical issues facing small and diverse Bay State farms.
| Publication | News & Views, quarterly; Vol. 34 in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation |
| Voice of Agriculture since | 1915 |
| Office | 249 Lakeside Avenue, Marlborough, Massachusetts |
| County Farm Bureaus | 12 |
| President | Warren Shaw (2026) |
| Official website | MFBF.net |
History of Massachusetts Farm Bureau News & Views
The Farm Bureau idea began in Broome County, New York, in 1911 and spread across the country by late 1917, leading to the American Farm Bureau Federation. The Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation has been known as the Voice of Agriculture in the Commonwealth since 1915, organized as a grassroots body in which farmers join at the county level and set policy democratically.
In 2020 MFBF published a Century Farms book profiling 132 Massachusetts farms, with a second edition planned for 2030. The same era brought an unusual expansion: growers on Martha's Vineyard, previously part of the Cape and Islands Farm Bureau, formed their own county Farm Bureau, one of the first new county chapters in the country in a decade, led by oyster farmer Dan Martino.
News & Views has served as the federation's newsletter of record for more than three decades, reaching Volume 34 in 2026.
Massachusetts Farm Bureau News & Views Today
The Spring 2026 issue of News & Views opened with columns from MFBF President Warren Shaw, the executive director and AFBF's president, then covered county membership and mergers, rodenticide restrictions, bats and agriculture, the legislative session outlook, the state Farm Energy Discount Program, the Farm Dog of the Year contest and mental health resources. It also announced the first dues increase since 2017, raising farmer dues from $225 to $250 on July 1, 2026.
Regular sections include an allied business directory, member discounts and benefits, the Young Agricultural Professionals committee, member classifieds and photos from Ag Day at the State House.
What Massachusetts Farm Bureau News & Views Is Publishing Now
Legislation and regulation
Updates on the state farm bill, agritourism protections, pesticide rules and energy discounts for farms.
Member services
Benefits, the agricultural call center, grants and scholarships, and model livestock regulations for local boards of health.
Events and community
Ag Day at the State House, Livestock on the Common, the federation's Littleton livestock facility and county news.
Massachusetts Farm Bureau News & Views Editors and Staff
The Spring 2026 News & Views masthead lists these officers and staff:
- Warren Shaw - President
- Steve Ward - Vice President
- Heidi Cooper - Treasurer
- Karen Schwalbe - Executive Director
- Sabrina Stidsen - Communications Coordinator
- Dan Bosley - Lobbyist
Mark Amato, a former MFBF president, serves as the federation's bookkeeper, and Kim Ashe is membership coordinator.
Who Reads Massachusetts Farm Bureau News & Views
News & Views goes to MFBF's more than 3,000 family members across 12 county Farm Bureaus, a membership of small, diversified operations: dairies, orchards, cranberry bogs, vegetable and flower growers, maple producers, oyster farmers and horse farms. Massachusetts county statistics are available in USDA's Quick Stats.
Nationally, the 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 116,617 farms selling directly to consumers, a model common on Massachusetts farms with farm stands and agritourism.
News & Views readers farm next to subdivisions, sell at farm stands to commuters and explain to town boards why roosters crow. For a lighter take on farming in a crowded Commonwealth, farm.FM offers farm satire and farm humor about cranberry bogs and zoning hearings, plus ranch humor for the few brave beef herds east of the Berkshires. Its farm jokes require no Beacon Hill hearing.
farm.FM calls itself the nation's first satirical farm site, and between the headlines it spins Tractor Tunes, country music for farmers; a good place to start reading is this farm.FM columnist's archive.
Massachusetts Farm Bureau News & Views Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Massachusetts Farm Bureau: History of MFBF - origins, counties and membership.
- MFBF News & Views, Spring 2026 - masthead and issue contents.
- AFBF: Martha's Vineyard establishes new county Farm Bureau - a rare new county chapter.
- USDA NASS Quick Stats - Massachusetts crop and livestock statistics.
- USDA NASS: 2022 Census of Agriculture - direct-to-consumer farm sales nationwide.
Massachusetts Farm Bureau News & Views FAQ
What is the Massachusetts Farm Bureau newsletter called?
News & Views, a quarterly newsletter that reached Volume 34 in 2026.
Where is the Massachusetts Farm Bureau located?
249 Lakeside Avenue, Marlborough, Massachusetts.
Who is president of the Massachusetts Farm Bureau?
Warren Shaw, according to the Spring 2026 News & Views masthead.
How many county Farm Bureaus are in Massachusetts?
MFBF operates in 12 counties.
Quarter after quarter, News & Views keeps Massachusetts Farm Bureau members up to date on the issues facing Bay State farms.