The Rhythms of the Farming Year, and on Our Work at Berkshire Grown

Reflecting on the Rhythms of the Farming Year, and on Our Work at Berkshire Grown

Image courtesy of Lila's Mountain Farm. They raise sheep and all the grass and hay they eat on a 400 acre farm in the towns of Great Barrington, Alford and Egremont, MA.

As the end of the year approaches, it’s a good time to look back at the year that was, and to look forward at the year ahead of us. 2023 was a big year for Berkshire Grown, with lots of growth in our programs as well as hiring more staff to achieve our goals. In fact, we are putting together our first annual report that will come out in early 2024 – stay tuned! That report will be packed full of stories, data, and the details of our impact on local farms and food, but here in our final newsletter of the year, we want to reflect in a more general way on the rhythms of the farming year, and on our work at Berkshire Grown.

At the beginning of each year, while many people are getting back into the swing of things after a busy holiday season, farmers continue their winter routines. Depending on the type of farm, they may be ordering seeds, finishing a crop plan, tending to livestock, or pruning trees. Many farms slow down a bit during this time of year, but the work never really stops.

Berkshire Grown starts the year in the middle of our Winter Farmers Market season – the fall “holiday” markets in both Williamstown/ North Adams and Great Barrington are past, and we focus our energy on the monthly markets at the Housy Dome in Great Barrington. We also launch a new season of our Winter Farmer Workshops and farmers continue to deliver crops to our cold storage facility for distribution to county-wide food access programs. In addition to the educational and technical assistance programs we organize for farmers, our food access work offers another avenue to maintain connections between farmers and consumers during the off season.

As winter gives way to spring, it feels like everything (and everyone) is waking up. Farmers enjoy the first warm days of the year (although not the mud that often comes with those days). Livestock farmers look forward to getting their animals out on pasture, and vegetable growers begin tending to seedlings in greenhouses and in the field. At Berkshire Grown, we wrap up our winter farmers markets and workshops by mid-spring and start to plan farm visits for the upcoming growing season as we work to match farmers with food pantries for food access distribution, and to learn more about the challenges facing farmers for the coming season.

It’s impossible to talk about the changing seasons without acknowledging the impact that climate change is having on farms and landscapes. This past year, an unexpected late freeze in May severely impacted many farms, especially apple orchards. In the summer, climate change impacted local farms with disastrous weather patterns as seemingly non-stop rain hit the region, causing intense flooding and erosion in July.

Massachusetts’ state government and private nonprofits provided relief funding for affected farmers, but the impact was still a major blow to our local farms. Farmers and service providers continue to take even more steps toward climate preparedness, as these weather events will doubtless be an on-going part of farming in the Berkshires.

Above; The Berry Patch, Stephentown, NY on May 18 . Image below courtesy Dancing Greens Farms, Great Barrington, MA.

As this next summer rolls in, it will bring on the full force of farm activity -- long days full of planting, weeding, irrigating, harvesting, packing, and moving animals through pastures, as well as a new farmers market season beginning and CSA distributions kicking off. At Berkshire Grown, our summers are filled with visits to farms and farmers markets. Each summer, we organize a farm tour for the MDAR Agricultural Commissioner and their staff. Our Program Manager visits farms to learn about their challenges in order to offer appropriate support, and the food access team keeps local food moving from the farms to the walk-in cooler to community food pantries. This year, we were excited to lead the partnership launching the Berkshire Mobile Farmers Market. During its pilot season, the Berkshire Mobile Famers Market visited three locations: MCLA campus in North Adams, 18 Degrees in Pittsfield, and the Town Hall in Becket. Once a week for ten weeks the all-electric refrigerated vehicle rolled up to bring locally grown food to areas with low access to farmers markets and food pantries.

In fall, harvests intensify and while the heat of summer fades, the rhythm on the farm is still fast-paced. As the season stretches on, farmers begin to wrap up the harvest, store crops for the winter, and let pastures rest.

During the fall season, Berkshire Grown starts preparations for our Winter Farmers Markets and begins filling our cold storage facility with winter crops for food access programs. Like our farmers, we will stay busy taking stock of this past year and planning for next year, which in our case, means lots of fundraising to support our many programs!

People wonder, after a natural disaster, or crop or livestock loss, how farmers keep farming. Even in a good year, it’s profoundly difficult work. One part of the answer is that farmers don’t do it alone. In a healthy farm and food system, farmers and community members build networks of support that help them through the rough season. These networks take time and effort to create and maintain, just like building healthy soil takes great care. Berkshire Grown staff members spend a great deal of time thinking about and talking with our community partners about how to effect positive, inclusive change that will lead to a resilient, equitable food system.

As this year winds down, we honor all farmers -- those just starting out, those who are stepping away, those who have passed, those who have been displaced, and those whose farm is still a dream. If you have the means, we hope you will support both our work at Berkshire Grown and connect with your local farmers directly by joining their CSA, shopping at farmers markets, and speaking up for farmers and our food system whenever you can.

Your donations help

Berkshire Grown present programs like Winter Farmer Workshops and our Food Access Programs! DONATE HERE!

Shop for Farm Fresh Food and Products and a mini makers market this weekend! Live Music Included!

The Winter Farmers Markets are made possible through the generosity of our sponsors and the ongoing support of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.

Your donations help

Berkshire Grown present programs like the Winter Farmers Markets! DONATE HERE!

What we are reading:

Massachusetts Farmland Action Plan Released

MDAR update December 4, 2023

The Massachusetts Farmland Action Plan is a long-range strategic initiative intended to address the farmland needs and goals of the Commonwealth including but not limited to increasing farmland conservation and production, addressing farmland access (including urban farmland), food security, climate resiliency, environmental justice, and preserving and expanding the economic and environmental viability of farms across all regions in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Massachusetts’ more than 7,000 farms steward nearly 500,000 acres of farmland (about 10% of the state’s land) and are an economic engine for the Commonwealth, generating $10 billion in economic activity annually. Available farmland is core to the success of farms, and three main issues impact the availability of farmland in Massachusetts:

Protection: Only 15% of existing farmland is protected, and the state lost nearly 60,000 acres of farmland to other uses between 1997 and 2017 alone. The average age of farmers is 60, and many have no plans for how their land will be used after they exit the sector.

Access: Farmland in Massachusetts is among the most expensive in the US. The price per acre increased 21% between 2020 and 2021 alone and now averages $13,700 per acre. This makes it unaffordable to many who wish to farm.

Viability: The best way to protect farmland is through successful farms, but with land, energy, labor, and other input costs higher in Massachusetts than elsewhere, farms struggle to remain financially sustainable.

The Massachusetts Farmland Action Plan is centered on addressing these three challenges through a long-range strategic initiative intended to address the farmland needs and goals of the Commonwealth. It makes policy and fiscal recommendations, enumerates the steps private sector stakeholders can take to support these goals, and builds upon numerous existing frameworks to integrate farmland and farming issues with other key sector and administration priorities. A healthy agricultural sector is essential to food security, climate resiliency, environmental justice, and preserving and expanding the economic and environmental viability of the Commonwealth.

Read the Massachusetts Farmland Action Plan | Mass.gov

Local Farmer Awards Dinner celebrates grants made to 97 Massachusetts farms by Grinspoon Foundation

By Jane Kaufman for The Berkshire Eagle

Farmers were feted in a swanky soiree recently, in which they told 90-second vignettes after gathering over plates of hors d’oeuvres made with local ingredients and a charcuterie board with local cheeses.

The Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation hosted the event at the Smith College Campus Center in Northampton. It was the ninth Local Farmer Awards Farmer Appreciation Night.

Cian Dalzell, owner of awardee Three Maples Market Garden, West Stockbridge

A total of 97 farms in the state's four western counties received $2,500 each in the 2023 funding cycle, or a total of $225,000 for infrastructure improvements. Since 2015, 15 businesses and individuals led by three partners have invested a total of $1.2 million at 260 farms.

In Berkshire County, 16 farms won funding in this cycle. Over the past nine years, 160 projects in Berkshire County have won awards, totaling $392,000.

While Grinspoon, 94, lives in Hampden County, he has a second home in Lee, where he and his wife, Diane Troderman, soak in the culture of the Berkshires.

“My father was a farmer, but he couldn’t make a living as a farmer,” Grinspoon told The Eagle on Wednesday. “All these people, they give so much of their lives to the earth and to sustain farms. I take my hat off. They’re all amazing. What they do for us, how they maintain their farms with the weather ... we owe them so much.”

Ashley Randle, the state’s commissioner of agriculture, thanked the farmers for their work.

Read the full article here.

The Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation made awards to the following Berkshire County farms which includes a number of Berkshire Grown Business Members:

Ayrhill Farms Inc.: Adams, tractor mounted rotary tiller

Full Well Farm: Adams, greenhouse infrastructure

Holiday Brook Farm: Dalton, greenhouse heating unit

Indian Line Farm: of Great Barrington, cultivation upgrade for Alis-Chalmers “G” tractor

Lion’s Tooth Farm: Windsor, perimeter fencing

Many Forks Farm: Clarksburg, dynamic electric greens spinner

Moon in the Pond Farm/Farm Education Inc.: Sheffield, drying-curing hoophouse shed

Musante Farm: Dalton, water lines and frost-free hydrants

Red Shirt Farm: Lanesborough, improving efficiency and profitability of tomatoes

Square Roots Farm: Lanesborough, fenceline mower

Swallowbelly Farm: New Marlborough, new hog feeders for increased efficiency and growth

Sweet Brook Farm: Williamstown, automatic heated water station

Taft Farms: Great Barrington, riding mower for between rows of plastic mulch

The Farm New Marlborough: operation guardian chicken

Three Maples Market Garden: West Stockbridge, no-till covercropping

Woven Roots Farm: Tyringham, reusable vegetable crates

Big Y makes it easy for shoppers to give back to our community during January 2024.

Berkshire Grown will receive a $1 donation to Share the Bounty when you purchase a reusable $2.50 Community Bag during January 2024 at Big Y, 700 Main Street in Great Barrington.

Thank you Big Y shoppers!

Find locally grown food and products from Berkshire farms 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.

Get ready for holiday cooking and look for farms selling pasture raised turkeys and meats and other favorite foods. You can also find the best in locally grown food and products near you by using Berkshire Grown's searchable map!

Shop the (Winter) B erkshire Farmers Markets

Find fresh, local food all year long!

Farmers markets in Pittsfield, North Adams, Sheffield, Great Barrington, 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 frequently asked questions.