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Meeting the needs of farmers, backyard gardeners, and the Island’s broader food community.
Each August, the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society — founded in 1859 to connect Island farmers, share practical knowledge, and strengthen local agriculture — is transformed by the Fair, filling its grounds with animal barns, blue ribbons, carnival rides, fried food and a familiar feeling of Island-wide celebration.
But the Ag Society’s calendar stretches well beyond the Fair. It now includes gardening workshops, farm tours, farmer education, 4-H clubs, grant programs, farm maps, local food events, and behind-the-scenes support. It is a home for the people who grow, raise, harvest, and steward food on Martha’s Vineyard.
“Community and education have always been the heart of what we do,” says Lauren Lynch, president of the Ag Society. “The number and depth of programs we provide for farmers and community members alike has drastically increased in the past five years.”
Lucy Grinnan, the Ag Society’s program and outreach manager, adds that “On the ground, this means we’re committed to supporting agriculture at different scales and for different segments of our community, including farmers, gardeners, consumers, and families.”
Fall and Winter: Youth, Grants, Infrastructure, and Community
So what happens after the rides come down and the ribbons are packed away? The work shifts into a quieter season of education, planning, youth programming, and community gatherings.
“What we do is educate people about agriculture and gardening, but how we do it is through community-building,” Grinnan says. “Whether we’re offering garden tours, facilitating clubs, or hosting events, what we’re trying to do is build relationships and a sense of connection through agriculture and food production.”
Youth programming is another major part of the off-season rhythm. Through 4-H Clubs, children and teens can take part in hands-on learning connected to animals, agriculture, STEM, crafts, healthy living, and civic engagement. The clubs give young people a place to build skills and meet mentors.
Other programs address a range of Island needs. The Island Deer Cooler supports deer management and venison donation. The Emergency Shelter for Farm Animals gives livestock owners a place to turn during storms or dangerous cold. The Paul Jackson House addresses one of the Island’s most pressing agricultural needs: housing and land access for farmworkers and farmers. The Martha’s Vineyard Farm Bureau gives local farmers another channel for advocacy.
Jo Douglas, who operates Fork to Pork and Leaf to Beef, has attended Ag Society workshops on grant applications and land leases and taken advantage of farm visits and site-specific recommendations from agricultural professionals. “I really appreciate how much the Ag Society supports farmers,” she says. “I have made some changes in one of my pastures based on two different farm visits by experts.”
“We are working all year to make sure our farmers have the support they need and access to education they want,” Lynch says, whether that means pasture management expertise, QuickBooks assistance, help advertising farm stands, or a place to gather with peers.
Farmer and Backyard Grower Grants are another form of support, allowing farms to invest in equipment and households to produce more food. The scholarships the Society offers support Island students pursuing agriculture, horticulture, environmental studies, veterinary medicine, culinary arts, and other related fields.
The Society also organizes community events to welcome locals of all ages to enjoy and socialize in the Hall. Events like Harvest Festival, Barn Raisers Ball, Meat Ball, and Farmers Social show another side of the organization.
Spring and Early Summer: Learning to Grow
In the spring, the Society’s work is practical and hands-on. This is the season of pruning, planting, planning, questions, and experiments. The programming is constantly rotating and evolving — recent offerings included a fruit tree pruning class, an edible garden tour, a meeting of the Homegrown Club, and a workshop on pollinators. Programs often develop around the kinds of questions people are already asking in their own yards.
Rosemary Confalone, who teaches Ag Society classes on composting, greens, herbs, edible flowers, and winter garden prep, says she has been struck by “how much hunger there is on the Island for vegetable gardening knowledge. Even long-time gardeners are interested in deepening their understanding and connecting with others to learn new tips or solutions to problems. The Agricultural Society has done an incredible job in the last few years in trying to make gardening knowledge accessible to folks.”
Some participants come with years of gardening experience, while others come because they inherited a fruit tree, planted their first tomato, or want to understand the land around their home a little better. Backyard gardening classes give people a way to participate in the Island’s agricultural life without needing significant acreage, livestock, or a commercial operation.
Grinnan sees the public programs, which are often small and in person, as “building community through agriculture.” She adds, “There’s so much empowerment in self-sufficiency: people often just need a little confidence boost to get started, and a feeling that they aren’t alone.”
As Confalone puts it, “None of us knows it all, or can grow it all, but we can all contribute our piece and support one another. Home gardeners are an important part of the food system here, along with our local farms.”
Summer: Getting People Onto Farms
As summer builds, programming evolves to include making connections and expanding awareness. The recent first annual Farm Day gave residents and visitors a chance to tour farms across the Island, learn directly from farmers, and get a rare look behind the farm stand.
The farm passport has become one of the Ag Society’s surprise successes. Grinnan says the idea began three years ago, and last year 56 people completed the whole passport, visiting 18 Island farms. This year, they’ve distributed close to 3,000 passports. The farm map and passport create a path between the public and the people producing food, flowers, meat, oysters, honey, and other Island-grown products.
“Seeing people appreciate our farms and farmers is really gratifying,” Grinnan says, “and farmers really enjoy being a part of it.”
Work to support the farmers themselves runs through the year, changing with the season through technical workshops, farm tours, soil health conversations, cover crop discussions, flower farming programs, and shared meals for farmers and farmworkers.
“Throughout the year, [the Society] really helps by providing us with the tools, resources, education, and grants to support our work,” Douglas says. “I felt confident I could farm here because of their unwavering support.”
“To have another generation of farmers on the Island, we really need to make sure farmers can grow into owning their own operations and investing in their businesses,” Grinnan says. On an Island where land and housing costs make access to farmland difficult, the Ag Society has also moved into deeper business support, including matching farmers with agricultural business consultants.
Back to the Fair
The Society’s work has grown because the Island’s needs have grown. Farmers need support. Backyard growers need guidance. Children need places to learn by doing. Families need points of connection. The local food system needs advocates, infrastructure, and shared spaces.
Lynch describes the Fair as the Ag Society’s largest program and fundraiser, drawing roughly 30,000 people over four days. But its reach extends beyond those four days, since the money it raises helps support the year-round work the organization does for Island farmers.
Beyond the Fair, the Ag Society’s mission carries on in classrooms, barns, gardens, farm fields, meeting rooms, and backyards, helping the Island grow together long after the rides come down.
