NORTHAMPTON — The state losing 27,000 acres of farmland between 2017 and 2024 is not something to laugh at.
That’s a message that Sen. Jo Comerford has for the hosts of a Boston public affairs program who found humor this week in legislators seeking financial support for agritourism.
“On your show, you had a little chuckle about corn mazes, which missed and belittled my underlying interest in increasing investment in agritourism,” the Northampton senator wrote in an open letter to WGBH public radio hosts Margery Eagan and Jim Braude. “West/east misunderstandings aren’t new out where I live, so I thought I’d nip this one in the bud with this open letter to you.”
Comerford on Thursday invited Eagan and Braude, whose midday show is called “Boston Public Radio,” to visit the Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester Senate district, and to tour the hundreds of farms across 25 communities. The invitation challenges their views — and their laughter — regarding the importance of corn mazes and the benefits of agritourism.
The focus of the show was on how state leaders, including Gov. Maura Healey, are trying to make Massachusetts fun again, referencing the later drinking hours at bars that were allowed during the World Cup, along with the possible creation of public drinking zones and restoration of happy hour.
That discussion prompted Eagan to observe that Cape Cod Sen. Julian Cyr had encouraged his colleagues to amend the economic development bill with ideas for fun, and that Comerford, whom she referred to as “this other guy, or maybe it’s a woman” had filed the farm-related concepts.
“This would include things like more corn mazes,” Eagan said, as she started to lose her composure, which led to more laughter. The show then displayed a photograph of Eagan in a corn maze while another person got lost in one.
“I didn’t know there was a need for more corn mazes in the commonwealth of Massachusetts, but that’s one of the things that the money is going to go toward,” Eagan said.
Braude got in on the joke, saying that a good friend of his family earlier in July was making the choice between moving to Massachusetts or settling down in Iowa.
“When they found out there were so few corn mazes here… (now) they are in Des Moines for good,” Braude said.
Comerford co-filed the amendment with colleagues, seeking at least $5 million “to enhance agritourism‑related cultural and promotional activities in the commonwealth,” with references to barn paintings, agricultural murals and “other infrastructure and programming that enhances the visibility, viability and visitor experience of farms, farmers markets, farm stands, community gardens, agricultural fairs and other community-based agricultural enterprises.”
The final economic development bond bill, adopted by the Senate early Friday, authorizes $5 million for grants to support local farms, agriculture and small businesses through agritourism. The bill has $575.4 million in authorizations and also tries to surge the production of new housing units through automatic two-family zoning across Massachusetts.
Comerford’s letter explains that for farms in Massachusetts, agritourism isn’t a novelty, but a vital way for local farms to survive.
“Those family businesses grow the food you eat, while also stewarding the land that purifies your drinking water, maintaining the open space that stores carbon, creating wildlife habitats, and donating millions of pounds of produce to food banks statewide.”
Comerford said the “fun agenda” is important, but the loss of farmland isn’t fun or for laughs.
“It’s a statewide problem, made much worse because of Trump administration cuts to climate readiness, local food purchasing and the USDA — not to mention Trump’s wars and tariffs,” she wrote.
“A statewide show like yours which now airs in my district needs an expansive statewide perspective not a constricting Boston-centered echo chamber. Rural communities and farms carry heavy responsibilities for the commonwealth’s entire food system, natural resources and climate future. They deserve to be understood and supported, not caricatured.”
