August 3, 2023: A renaissance of acronyms

It's a course correction sort of day. Is this once again about our ongoing struggles with the floodwaters? Perhaps. We're all looking for ways to alleviate the devastating repercussions of the June and July rains, and those efforts now include the USDA. Farm Service Agency State Exec Director for the USDA, Daniel Smiarowski takes a break from his own farm the to chat about some of the USDA's disaster relief programs, as well as other programs the federal agency engages with smaller farms to help them year round, environmental disaster or no. In fact that extends more broadly across the federal landscape, we discover in our weekly mcgoverning with Representative Jim McGovern. We get his take on Massachusetts disaster relief on the state level, the efforts to get more federal aid to the farmers and municipalities that need it, and on aliens. Yup. Aliens. And it's in the stride of one's horse as it enters the tourney. The Massachusetts Renaissance Faire happens this weekend at the Cummington Fairgrounds. There's a giant swath of activities to participate in beyond the costumes, fairies, and field hands, and we speak with Jenny Crawford who's been involved with the fair for several seasons, about all the delights our in which local lords, ladies, and beyond might indulge.