BOSTON — The United Nations has declared 2026 to be the International Year of the Woman Farmer, and at the State House, Department of Agricultural Resources Commissioner Ashley Randle declared one such woman farmer, Kat Chang Laznicka of Sunderland’s Reed Farm, to be an “emerging leader” in her field.
Wednesday, March 10, was Agriculture Day. The occasion invited farmers and food system enthusiasts to speak with legislators about bills and programs that would help agriculture in the state, explore a hall filled with booths representing agricultural businesses and recognize a few individuals who have made an impact on their local food system.
“Last year, you may recall, was the Year of Youth in Agriculture. This year, we are uplifting women farmers,” Randle said. “In Massachusetts, we have the highest percentages in the country of women, female owners and operators on farms, so we are incredibly excited to be able to celebrate that this year and uplift the incredible contributions that women farmers make to our agricultural sector.”
Randle presented the Emerging Leader Award to Chang Laznicka.
“An unsung hero who’s doing work behind the scenes to contribute to Massachusetts agriculture, this year’s honoree is both a member of the western Massachusetts farming community, a poultry producer and will soon be USDA-certified for poultry processing, which is incredibly needed in the state,” Randle said. “And serves on our Board of Agriculture, as well as boards within their community.”
Chang Laznicka said she had no idea she was going to receive an award, but after hearing her name called, she added that it made sense, as Randle and other MDAR representatives kept asking if she was coming to Agriculture Day.
“When I heard her say the award was going to a western Mass poultry producer, I wondered who it was, because I probably know them, and then she said ‘soon-to-be USDA-certified’ and I knew it was going to be me,” she said. “It’s incredible. I’m a little overwhelmed.”
At their farm on Russell Street, Chang Laznicka and her husband, Peter Laznicka, raise poultry for meat, which they sell wholesale while also offering custom processing services. She said Reed Farm differs from other farms because it raises and processes the birds.
“We’re both a producer and processor,” she said. “There’s not a lot of us around.”
MDAR also announced $3.3 million in grant funding during Wednesday’s festivities. Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper said the funding will help farmers who are facing the impacts of climate change, rising costs and economic instability to ensure they can continue to provide food for their communities.
“These are investments. Those operations will be more resilient during weather events, and continue to weather storms,” Tepper said at the State House. “Growers have used this funding to increase productivity and grow sustainability and strengthen their operations for the long term. … We need to recognize that farming, in Massachusetts and everywhere, is hard work. The weather doesn’t cooperate, and you have to deal with market shifts and costs that are climbing, and all these people in this room are dealing with that and they’re keeping us going. These programs are our way of making sure our agriculture sector thrives in the face of these challenges.”
In addition to grant funding for farmers, Randle said the state is also investing in the food system by increasing funding for emergency food assistance, protecting land for agriculture and introducing a food donation tax credit, which, if passed by the Legislature, would offer a $5,000 tax credit to farms that donate produce to food banks and programs.
Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, who serves as vice chair of the Joint Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries, said that supporting programs that offer funding to farmers and legislation that makes agriculture more feasible and sustainable is “the best thing we can do for the commonwealth.”
“I’m so glad to be a part of this wonderful group of legislators,” Comerford said. “And grateful to the Healey-Driscoll administration for seeing the wisdom to advance the kind of policy and spending that farmers and our commonwealth needs and deserves.”