The December holiday season is, for many of us, a time of celebration and tradition and seasonal decorations make the onset of winter’s cold weather and shorter days feel a bit less daunting. Whether your celebration is religious or secular, there are many reasons to warm your home with seasonal décor, gather with friends and family, give gifts, and enjoy locally grown holiday food.

Bringing home a freshly-cut tree to deck out with ornaments is a time-honored tradition for many families. Farm-fresh Christmas trees benefit the environment and the local farm economy: they can be grown on land that isn’t suitable for other crops, and while growing they protect soil and provide wildlife habitat. When the holidays are over, trees can be composted or fed to livestock (check your area for goat farms or composting sites that accept trees). Plenty of Berkshire farms offer pre-cut trees and the always-popular cut your own option, although you’ll need to hurry, trees are selling fast!

Looking for wreaths and other colorful décor? Local farm stores have you covered. Holiday feasts? Winter farmers markets will have everything you need to delight your guests with locally grown food, from main dishes to vegetable sides, desserts, and even the drinks. And for gifts, what could be better than a jar of local honey, a sampler of jam, or a gift certificate to a local farm store?

Seekonk Tree Farm in Great Barrington, where the Sweet family has been farming for 42 years, offers one-stop shopping for holiday decorations. Customers can pre-tag trees early in the season or order early to get extra-tall trees. For the rest of the season, two lots are full of cut-your-own trees through early December, and now their pre-cut trees are available. Greenery, accessories, and local farm products can be found in their cozy Christmas Shop.

Natural décor like evergreen garlands, kissing balls, and wreaths can round out the holiday spirit in your home. Many tree farms offer these accessories in their farm store (see details below). For a unique touch, try a local winterberry wreath from Windy Hill Farm. The bright red, yellow, and orange berries add a pop of color on their own or combined with greenery.

At Ioka Valley Farm in Hancock, visitors can trek to the fields to cut their own trees or grab a pre-cut tree. A warm fire welcomes shoppers into the farm store, where the farm’s maple syrup and other products are available. Several Berkshire Grown member farms offer pre-cut trees, including Holiday Brook Farm, and Forthill Farm.

Here are some local farms and shops for holiday décor. We recommend calling to check on availability and store hours at this point in the season. (You our Guide to Local Food & Farms to find their contact information.)

Canaan Conifers, Canaan, NY

Clark’s Nursery, Lee

Crane Hill Tree Farm, Washington

Forthill Farm, Pittsfield

Holiday Brook Farm Dalton

Ioka Valley Farm, Hancock, NY

Seekonk Tree Farm & Nursery, Great Barrington

Tafts Farm, Great Barrington

Ward’s Nursery & Garden Center, Great Barrington

Windy Hill Farm, Great Barrington

Woodlife Farm Market, New Lebanon, NY

Great Barrington, December 17

Watch all five 3-minute videos here:

What We Are Reading:

Sales of real and artificial Christmas trees in the U.S. each number in the tens of millions every year, and the American Christmas Tree Association expects that demand to keep going strong. There are benefits and drawbacks to both options, and one may be more suitable than the other for your particular lifestyle — but if environmental impact is your main concern, there are a few key things you’ll want to keep in mind.

Read the full article here.

by Emily Baron Cadloff for Modern Farmer

The average age of American farmers is roughly 58 years old, and it has been increasing every year. According to the 2017 USDA census, only eight percent of the farmers surveyed were under the age of 35, and the majority of producers—73 percent—identified as having more than 10 years of on-farm experience. 

But to keep the industry growing—and adapting to both climate and food supply changes—more young people will have to take up the profession. According to the National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC), there’s one key way to encourage them do that: land access. 

“We’re asking Congress to make historic investments in equitable access to land for farmers and ranchers across the country,” says Holly Rippon-Butler, the lands campaign director for the NYFC. Having available land to grow farms is about more than just building a business, she says. It’s also about confronting deep-set inequalities in access. “We know that 98 percent of agricultural (acres) in the US are owned by white landowners. And that’s a direct result of federal policy. We believe it’s imperative and critically important that the 2023 Farm Bill takes action to address this injustice and makes investments that will really help our next generation succeed.” 

Read the article here.

This 2022 Guide to Local Food & Farms is the region’s most comprehensive guide to local farms, farmers markets, and restaurants offering local foods - use it to find farm stands, CSA farms, pick-your-own farms and orchards, as well as locally sourced value-added products like charcuterie, preserves, and fermented foods and locations and hours of food pantries spread across the county.

You can also find the best in locally grown food and products near you on Berkshire Grown's searchable map!

Keep your Guide to Local Food & Farms handy and use it frequently!