Collaborating for the Future of Livestock Farming

By Martha Jackson Suquet

Off the Shelf Farm, New Marlborough

The work of raising livestock is more complex than it seems, and much of it takes place behind the scenes. There is plenty of time spent in the field and the barn – moving animals during grazing season, supervising births, the daily chores of feeding and watering. But to get animal products from farm to plate, farmers must also navigate complex decisions about having their livestock processed, how to transport both live animals and meat products, and how to safely store large quantities of meat. As we’ve explored in previous articles, farmers in the Berkshires struggle with bottlenecks in the local meat economy, including a lack of slaughterhouse capacity and the expense of transportation. A thriving local food system includes local meat, and that system requires an interconnected network of farmers, processors, distributors, and retailers.

To address the gaps and sticking points in the local meat economy, Berkshire Grown and Berkshire Agricultural Ventures have been working in partnership to convene the Livestock Working Group. The project is part of Berkshire Ag Ventures’ Local Meat Processing Support Program, an initiative providing technical assistance, funding, and other support to local processors with the aim of strengthening the viability of the region’s meat production. The Livestock Working Group is part of BAV’s holistic approach to the challenges of local meat production, bringing together farmers, processors, distributors, and other local meat system stakeholders to identify key areas of infrastructure that need strengthening. The group has identified cold storage, transportation, and opportunities for cooperative marketing as some areas requiring more attention.

The working group is unique in that representatives from different groups across the supply chain, especially farmers and meat processors, don’t often get to sit down and share perspectives. These businesses depend on each other for viability, but relationships can be challenging when both farmers and processors work with the constant pressures of time, costs, and staffing. Jake Levin, who manages BAV's Local Meat Processing Support Program, says that farmers and processors often come away from working group sessions with a new appreciation for each other’s challenges and needs. “It’s a conceptual and emotional shift,” he says, and that shift has been one of the surprising and satisfying outcomes of the project.

Jake came to Berkshire Agricultural Ventures after years as a butcher, and he hopes to build a local farm and food system where everyone can be connected to their farmers and to the animals they eat. The Livestock Working Group is the most satisfying part of his work, he says, because of the breadth of perspectives coming together.

Ren Constas, who coordinates the Livestock Working Group on Berkshire Grown’s end, also values being able to work with the local food and farm economy on a systems level after many years in food and farming work. They love “building relationships, getting a birds-eye view of things, and systems thinking,” which aligns well with the scope of a project like the Livestock Working Group.

Jake and Ren both emphasize that while there are big changes that all stakeholders hope for – like building new processing facilities, or major policy changes – they’ve been pleased with how many smaller “wins” they’re seeing through the working group. Several livestock producers have collaborated to work with a trucking company, lowering their costs while making the routes more efficient for the transporter. Other farmers have connected with a startup business making bone broth. Jake and Ren have also put together a resource guide to help farmers connect to processors, transporters, and other services. These connections and resource-sharing form a kind of “soft infrastructure” that strengthens the food system and can pave the way for larger developments.

Along with facilitating the working group meetings and compiling the resource guide, Jake and Ren launched The Meat Up newsletter and listserv to keep stakeholders up to date and encourage more connections in the regional meat production network.

The successes of the Livestock Working Group offer a sense of pragmatic optimism that the challenges of local food production, while daunting, can be addressed and improved by consciously working together, building stronger relationships, adopting new perspectives, and developing creative solutions.

Sweet Brook Farm, Williamstown, MA

Berkshire Grown Welcomes (back) Kate Bailey

Kate Bailey is taking on the role of Mobile Farmers Market Manager at Berkshire Grown. The Berkshire Mobile Farmers Market is a collaborative food access program, working with local farmers to offer a variety of locally grown seasonal produce, eggs, meat, dairy products, and other products at six locations across Berkshire County. The Mobile Farmers Markets will roll out again in June through October.

Kate may be a familiar face to some of you! She worked as the Program Manager at Berkshire Grown from 2014-2017, organizing the winter farmers markets and the winter workshops for farmers.

During her time away from Berkshire Grown, Kate worked as a Produce Safety Inspector with the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR), and as a Lead Engagement Coordinator at Multicultural BRIDGE, managing the bi-weekly food distribution. She cultivated her love of farming at Slide Ranch in Marin County, CA, growing vegetables, caring for chickens and ducks, milking goats and teaching youth about farming and gardening.

Alyssa VanDurme, the outgoing Mobile Farmers Market Manager, is staying with Berkshire Grown and transitioning into the role of Business Membership Program Manager.

Next Market is Saturday, March 16!

Scenes from the February Berkshire Grown Winter Farmers Market

Help support programs like the

Winter Farmers Market.

BECOME A MEMBER TODAY!

What we're reading:

Small Processors Face Big Obstacles in Ultra-Consolidated Meat-Packing Industry

By Eric Wallace for Modern Farmer

USDA grants help small processors push back against the ‘Big Four,’ but it’s an uphill battle.

Dalton Mosser and a trio of workers hustle to hand-truck boxes filled with a few thousand pounds of freshly packaged ground beef through a loading bay into a refrigerated box truck. The 30-year-old president of operations wears newish jeans, a tucked-in button-up shirt and old work boots snagged from his office closet—and was supposed to be in a morning meeting.

“In this business, you have to wear a lot of hats and be ready to jump in when and where you’re needed,” says Mosser, a principal at Seven Hills Food, an independently owned, USDA-inspected meat-processing and packaging plant in downtown Lynchburg, Virginia.

The company processes about 150 cattle per week and partnered with dozens of area cattle farmers to launch a state-branded line of grass-fed beef, Virginia Beef Co., in 2018. It got an early shot in the arm when the nation’s second-largest retail grocery chain agreed to pilot flagship hamburger blends at a handful of local stores. Rave customer reviews and pandemic-related beef shortages fueled rapid expansion: The truck Mosser is helping load will deliver meat to about 100 Kroger Company stores in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee.

That means customers can walk into their local grocery store and buy grass-fed, regionally sourced ground beef—and for about 20 cents cheaper per pound than the current national average.

Experts call both the relationship and option rare exceptions.

“It’s rare to see [regionally sourced meats] on shelves at large chains, even at the local level,” says Rebecca Thistlethwaite, director of the Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network (NMPAN), a nonprofit that helps support small processors with marketing, applying for state and federal grants and more. Most ground beef consumed in the US travels hundreds, if not thousands of miles before it hits grocery shelves—Kroger’s organic Simple Truth line, for instance, is raised and slaughtered entirely in Uruguay.

Read the article here.

Find Berkshire-grown food and farm products in the 2023 Guide to Local Food & Farms

The 2023 Guide to Local Food & Farms remains 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 by using Berkshire Grown's searchable map! Watch for hte 2024 Guide in early May!

Shop the (Winter) B erkshire Farmers Markets

Find fresh, local food all year long!

Farmers markets in Pittsfield, North Adams, Sheffield, Great Barrington, Williamstown, Bennington (VT), and Millerton (NY) are open over the winter months. Visit Berkshire Farmers Markets to find your local winter market.

Use SNAP or HIP, WIC or Senior Coupons? Many of the markets offer Market Match and other budget-boosting programs. Visit Berkshire Farmers Markets for dates, locations, and more information on where SNAP, HIP and other benefits are honored. Click here to learn about HIP program basics and FAQs.

Hannaford, located at 32 State Route 82 in Hudson, NY will donate $1 to Share the Bounty, a Berkshire Grown program, for every specially marked Bloomin' 4 Good bouquet purchased during March.