Hello [firstname],

My 16th annual Farm Tour is in the books! This week, I visited 9 farms and heard from our farmers about the challenges they’re facing. I’m inspired by their hard work, grit, and perseverance amid a crushing affordability crisis that's making it harder for folks to provide for their families.

Here's the good news: Central and Western Massachusetts is home to the best produce, dairy products, and meats in the United States. But I’ll be blunt: farmers are facing serious hardship.

Our farmers told me they’re struggling to make a living as Trump's stupid tariffs and his war of choice with Iran push prices through the roof. One farmer said the cost of a critical piece of farming equipment went up $25,000 because of Trump's insane, stupid tariffs on Canadian goods. Another said the cost of farming chemicals has more than doubled since the start of Trump's Iran War. Others are facing extreme labor shortages spurred by this administration's cruel and economically devastating immigration policies.

Under Trump, our farmers are hurting. Costs have never been so high. That's why I'm heading back to Washington fired up to fight for our farmers—and for working people everywhere who are struggling to get by while the rich and powerful are doing better than ever before.

For now, I hope you'll enjoy my digital Farm Tour journal—a small peak into the time I spent this week with our incredible farming community. There’s never been a better time to buy local!

On Wednesday, I kicked off my 16th annual Farm Tour at Mapleline Farm! For over a decade, Jessica’s family has provided Western and Central Massachusetts with fresh, local milk (including UMass Amherst dining halls).

Supporting local family farms is great for our economy—and their milk is delicious!

My next stop was Thomas Farm in Sunderland! Loved meeting their goats and tasting their delicious goat cheese.

Laurie and Jim told me the soaring cost of farm equipment—from tractors to things as small as labels—are making it harder for them to make a living. I hope you’ll join me in supporting our family farms!

For our third stop, we toured Marty’s Local—a wholesale food distributor in South Deerfield that partners with 160 local farms to supply grocers, colleges, restaurants, and school districts with fresh produce grown by our local farmers!

Nick and his team are expanding access to local produce—supporting our farmers and helping families eat nutritiously. It’s a win-win partnership!

Next stop: Pioneer Gardens! Arjen and Jaap grow BEAUTIFUL flowers for local and national retailers. It’s an incredible business, but tariffs are driving up their costs—especially when it comes to critical materials like planting soil.

If we care about our farmers, we need to ABOLISH the tariffs that are making it harder for our farmers to earn a living!

We wrapped up day one with a visit to Good Bunch Farm, which grows a diverse array of incredible fresh produce, all sold to local residents and restaurants within 10 miles of the farm!

Dan told me he’s being squeezed by rising costs and cutthroat corporate growers that are pushing small family farms out of business. We MUST put our local farms first and support ambitious, young farmers like Dan who are keeping our community fed with nutritious and fresh farm-to-table produce. His farm stand by the road has a great selection of fruits and vegetables!

We kicked off day 2 of my 16th annual Farm Tour at Sholan Farms, wholly owned by the community of Leominster! For over 25 years, Joanne and her team (many of whom are volunteers!) have provided our community with fresh produce at fair prices.

But because of soaring costs and Trump’s war of choice with Iran, that’s getting harder to do—diesel prices are through the roof, and the cost of farming chemicals has more than DOUBLED. Thankfully, Sholan hasn’t raised their prices—putting their community above their profits. Greedy corporations should take notes!!!

Our next stop was Valley View Farm in Templeton! Matt and his family butcher and sell a great selection of local meats.

Plus—he’s diversifying his business by hosting Friday night community BBQs and creating a beautiful event space to keep up with rising costs and the economic chaos caused by tariffs. So innovative—and his legendary snack sticks are award winning (#1 snack stick nationwide)! Well done Matt!!!

As costs continue to soar, family farms are finding innovative ways to make a living. Case in point—Red Apple Farm in Phillipston! From peaches and apples to blueberries and sunflowers, you can find just about anything here (and you can pick it yourself)!

Al and Nancy also have an incredible cidery, a brew barn, an ice cream window, a MASSIVE farm store, and an event space for live music & festivals. There’s SO MUCH to do at this incredible farm that traces its roots all the way back to the American Revolution!

The final stop on my 16th annual Farm Tour was The Brewery at Four Star Farms!

The L’Etoile family has been farming this land for 40 years and started a brewery on the property that now serves Flis Woodfire Pizza. We took a tour of the brewery and learned about how important agri-tourism is to our region!

Sincerely,

James P. McGovern

Member of Congress