Enthusiastic horse owners and audiences saw powerful horses pulling enormous loads at horse pulling competitions at The Big E on Sept. 16. Displaying Herculean strength, horses and their teamsters took turns pulling a stone sled with ever-increasing weights in three classes. The teams pulled a stone...

One of the biggest hits the evening of Saturday Aug. 24 at the 145th Cummington Fair held in Cummington, MA was the jam-packed, bleacher-filled demolition derby, with gears grinding, bumpers falling off, and exhaust spuming. Over on the other side of the fairgrounds, a quieter hit was happening, get...

ORLEANS, VT — The Current Use Program costs the state of Vermont about $54 million a year, but its positive impact on the state’s economy was about $4 billion in 2007, a committee of Vermont senators heard recently at a meeting at Lake Region Union High School. They also heard from farmers, forester...

Every year at the Eastern States Exposition (ESE), known regionally as the Big E, each day of the 17 day event is designated to highlight a particular state, city or organization. Wednesday, Sept. 18 was Connecticut Day with the spotlight on the many components that go to make up that which is speci...

It’s been an interesting season for growing corn. While some farmers are bringing in record yields, others are lamenting a season that was simply too wet and cool. Once the ground is bare, what’s next? Some fields in which silage corn was grown will be planted immediately with a winter cover crop, b...

For almost 100 years, The Big E has highlighted New England agriculture, livestock and produce. Since 1917, this fair has hosted agricultural competitions and displays, following the vision of Joshua L. Brooks, founder of Eastern States Exposition. Well over one million people visit New England’s Gr...

This summer has been full of happy endings for Anna Hanchett and Michael Kalagher, owners of Manda Farm. The two have sold certified naturally grown beef, turkey, eggs, organic vegetables and Gloucester Old Spots since 2006 on Pleasant Street in Plainfield,MA. “Manda” is derived from combining lette...

Living Acres, in Sharon, Maine, is all about “making soil more alive,” and providing plants with the optimal nutrients needed to thrive. Living Acres makes organic-approved compost, growing mediums, foliar seaweed and fish emulsion sprays. Their products are made with local, natural inputs — the far...

Earl Bennett’s home wasn’t always filled with old milk bottles, dairy signs and other dairy memorabilia. Antiques, especially dairy antiques, always intrigued him, and his hobby-turned-business began innocently enough when Bennett and his father were in the feed and grain business. “We delivered gra...