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Dear Friends,
Before we know it, summer will be in full swing. As the season of growth picks up, we have been busy — here at home and out in the field(s). We are happy to share a few highlights of our recent work in this month’s newsletter.
On May 1, we wrapped up our Market Match Fund campaign, meeting and exceeding our April fundraising goal! Our gratitude to everyone who supported this critical program during our community outreach campaign. We are proud to be supporting SNAP matching at 10 farmers markets this year.
The BAV team has gotten “out and about” a lot this spring. And so we are adding a new section to the newsletter to highlight some of the conferences, farm visits, and other places where we’re meeting food system colleagues and sharing information and expertise.
Speaking of expertise, Ben Crockett, BAV Program Manager for Climate Smart Agriculture, authored an op-ed published in The Berkshire Eagle last week. It’s a great read! In the piece, Ben explores how farmer-to-farmer networks are critically important in helping farmers adapt to climate change. BAV has been incorporating this powerful tool into our work with local farmers.
Also of note is our May spotlight story, which takes a closer look at BAV’s Livestock Working Group (LWG), co-facilitated with Berkshire Grown. The LWG brings together farmers, processors, and distributors to creatively and collaboratively improve regional meat processing, with an important study on value-added meat processing now underway.
Thanks for reading! As always, we are grateful to you — our food system partners, supporters, and friends.
Warmly,
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Rebecca Busansky
Executive Director
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MARKET MATCH FUND UPDATE
YOU Did It! — Gratitude and What’s Next
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Thanks to our wonderful supporters, BAV not only met our Market Match Fund campaign goal for April, but exceeded it — raising more than $30,000 in 30 days to support fresh local food for our community! We are so grateful for your enthusiasm and support around this vital program.
While our April campaign has come to a gratifying close, BAV continues to raise funds year round to support consistent $1-to-$1 SNAP matching at Berkshire-area farmers markets. We know this program is more critical than ever, and so this year, we have set our sights on expanding community engagement and outreach. There are many more SNAP recipients in our community who could benefit from greater purchasing power for fresh local food and true inclusion in our farmers markets.
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Our farmers markets are vibrant community gathering-places — and when SNAP matching programs are fully funded and actively used, we send a powerful signal that our markets are for everyone.
Our sincere gratitude to all who supported the campaign and cheered us on. We look forward to sharing updates in future newsletters, and meanwhile … see you at market!
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SPOTLIGHT: LIVESTOCK WORKING GROUP
Expanding Opportunities for Locally Raised Meat
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Local livestock farming is, so to speak, on the mooove. Our region is home to many farmers raising animals for local meat — yet processing and distribution systems lag their evolving needs.
This means gaps and missed opportunities for farmers and processors — and consumers — in the Berkshire-Taconic region. To address these issues, BAV launched its Local Meat Processing Support Program three years ago, with a grant from the USDA. The program provides technical assistance, flexible low-interest loans, and other support to existing processors in our region. To guide this work, BAV has partnered with Berkshire Grown to initiate the Livestock Working Group (LWG), a cross-industry gathering of farmers, processors, distributors, and other experts in the local meat economy. LWG members have been meeting bimonthly since the spring of 2022 to share ideas and explore solutions for improving regional meat processing and growing the market for local meat.
“It’s an amazing group,” said Jake Levin, Program Manager for BAV’s Local Meat Processing Support Program. Levin facilitates the LWG in close partnership with LWG Coordinator Ren Constas of Berkshire Grown; the two have collaborated to develop related initiatives such as the Meat Up newsletter and the Livestock Farmers’ Resource Guide.
The LWG has identified five priority areas for improving regional meat processing: cold-storage capacity, trucking and logistics, value-added processing, workforce development, and co-branded/aggregated product development. “That’s where we are focused on putting energy and attention,” said Levin.
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OP-ED PUBLISHED
An ‘Old Tool’ Can Help Local Farmers Adapt to Climate Change
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Did you read it? The Berkshire Eagle recently published an op-ed by Ben Crockett, BAV’s Program Manager for Climate Smart Agriculture. In this piece, Ben synthesizes his own farming experience, his work with other farmers, and recent agricultural research to explore how farmer-to-farmer connections are an absolutely essential tool for helping our farmers adapt to climate change. Here’s a taste of the piece:
“The problems are complex, and the solutions are, too. Yet there is one fairly simple tool that I believe can be used and encouraged even more widely — a tool that can make a profound difference. As a former farmer myself, I have come to believe that connecting farmers with other farmers is an essential way to address the growing list of agricultural challenges related to climate change.”
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IN THE NEWS
Two Stories Spotlight Market Match Fund Campaign
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We were thrilled and grateful for our local media’s coverage of BAV’s Market Match Fund campaign last month. An article in The Berkshire Eagle did a great job explaining how Market Match programs are a community-building tool, making farmers markets more accessible to more local residents.
And a story in The Berkshire Edge helped spread the word that SNAP matching is a triple win, empowering low-income shoppers while also supporting local farmers and farmers markets. Our thanks to both news outlets and their writers!
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Program Manager Dan Carr and Executive Director Rebecca Busansky recently participated in the National Farm Viability Conference, which brought together professionals from across the nation to focus on farm sustainability, building stronger and more resilient local food systems, and supporting the long-term profitability of farming. | |
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Program Manager Ben Crockett recently conducted climate risk assessments at several area farms in partnership with the Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy’s “Building Resilience” program, which helps producers identify climate risks and develop solutions for enhanced agricultural resilience. | |
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Program Manager Dan Carr attended last month’s Northeast Dairy Innovation Summit, a gathering of over 220 dairy farmers, processors, service providers, policy makers, and industry experts. Participants dug into the future of regional dairy, with session tracks on workforce development, dairy farm innovation, processing expansion, and goat and sheep dairy.
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Adamah Farm Agroforestry and Soil Health Field Day
When: Time sensitive! Thursday, May 16, 10am-3pm
Where: Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Falls Village, CT
Registration: Pre-register here; $15, includes lunch
Details: An on-farm field day to learn more about growing your farm’s resiliency with agroforestry and cover crops. Farmer panel on cover crops; lunch and networking. Tour Adamah’s Agroforestry Planting.
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“Trees with Edible Leaves” Workshop
When: Saturday, May 18, 9am-3pm
Where: Eric Toensmeier’s new demonstration farm,
47 Pequot Road, Southampton, MA
Registration: Pre-registration required; cost is $120
Details: Trees with edible leaves provide outstanding nutrition, long harvest season, climate resilience, and carbon drawdown. They are easily grown. This hands-on workshop led by Eric Toensmeier will introduce participants to this remarkable group of plants featured in his recent publication, Trees with Edible Leaves. The workshop will include a tasting of multiple species, and will close with a hands-on planting.
View other workshops and events here.
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Grow Food Everywhere: DIY for Solidarity and Joy
When: Weekend Workshop, June 14-16
Where: Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY
Registration: Pre-registration required; cost is $395, with tiered pricing
Details: Gain methods and inspiration to create and improve your food-producing gardens, from window sills to lawns to lots, with Seeds of Solidarity farmers Ricky Baruc and Deb Habib.
View other workshops and events from Seeds of Solidarity here.
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Preserve the Valley 2024
When: Summer 2024
Details: Interested in selling value-added products at your farm stand, through your CSA, or at wholesale? Check out the Western MA Food Processing Center’s updated Preserve the Valley program! Farmers deliver the key ingredients to Greenfield and the WMFCPC team will process, bottle, label, pack, and more — all for a flat fee.
Learn more at WMFPC.org.
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Free Soil Health Testing
When: Ongoing
Details: Want to learn more about the health of your soil? Get free soil health testing on your farm by participating in the New England Soil Health Survey! Farms in Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Massachusetts are eligible to receive free soil health testing on up to three fields after completing a short survey. The New England Soil Health Survey will build our understanding of how farmland conservation and conservation planning are impacting soil health in New England.
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SUPPORT OUR WORK!
BAV empowers local farmers and food businesses with your support! Please consider donating today.
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Our deepest thanks and appreciation to our donor community and all those who support local farmers. | | | | |
