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Direct Investment to Grow our Local
Food Economy
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Happy April!
As the weather warms, new lambs and kids play happily in pastures that grow greener by the day. Who doesn’t love the new life spring brings?
As spring fills us with an eagerness for sunshine and spring produce (ramps and asparagus anyone?), BAV thought this was the perfect opportunity to re-introduce ourselves.
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Who is BAV and What Do We Do? |
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We do this by providing flexible financing, and technical and business assistance to our clients in the Berkshire-Taconic region. Our main office is located in Great Barrington, MA, but our service area is not restricted to Berkshire County, MA. We also work in Columbia and Dutchess Counties, NY, and Litchfield County, CT! We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Through our comprehensive financial and one-on-one support, we equip farmers and food businesses with the capital and expertise needed to build long-term, operable businesses and in turn a resilient local food economy.
Although there are a number of ways BAV provides support to our clients, our three main programs include the following:
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Revolving Loan Fund
Through this fund, BAV offers nimble and flexible 0-2% interest loans to local farms and food businesses. Capital within the Revolving Loan Fund is continuously recycled, creating a viable and reliable stream of support for agricultural entrepreneurs. Loan terms are designed to provide targeted support & a flexible alternative to traditional loans.
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Resilience Fund
Grants given out through the Resilience Fund are awarded for a number of different purposes. Part of what BAV prides itself on is the ability to assess critical needs and act quickly in response. (Read an example of our most recent grant to Greenagers below.)
For-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations in the food and agricultural sector are eligible for assistance through our Resilience Fund and BAV accepts grant applications on a rolling basis. We are most likely to award grants for projects that fit within our strategic priority areas. Read more about the Resilience Fund on our website.
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Technical and Business Assistance
We provide comprehensive technical and business assistance to farmers and food entrepreneurs through a combination of in-house expertise, referrals to regional partners, and experienced consultants. This is our most utilized service.
Some examples of eligible areas of assistance include bookkeeping/record-keeping, financial planning, grazing and livestock management, beekeeping, and agroforestry implementation.
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Interested in learning more about BAV’s services? We'd love to hear from you.
We’re happy to help so don’t be shy!
If you're interested in supporting BAV’s work and would like to donate to one of our programs, well... we won’t say no!
The majority of our work depends on donations of any size from individuals. When you donate to BAV we ensure those funds go directly to farmers.
Together we all can sow the seeds of change.
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Resilience Fund Grant awarded to Greenagers! |
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The portion of the grant geared towards April Hill Education and Conservation Center will lead Greenagers apprentices to learn how to re-engage the agricultural land at April Hill Farm. Specifically, they’ll be involved in pasture management, hay production and gain an understanding of how to help operate a diversified farm that includes tree nuts, tree and vine fruits, vegetables, beef, lamb, duck eggs, chicken eggs, conservation nursery stock, pollinator habitat, and honey. How cool is that!?
The other grand funds intended for the Helping Farm Hands project will offset the cost of Greenagers' local farm crews. Crew members will work alongside fellow farmers throughout the summer months and gain firsthand experience in all aspects of operating a small farm. These crew members not only gain a diversity of farming experience but the program addresses the increasing need for labor on small farms.
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"We need more farms and we need more farmers and we need more educated consumers. Helping Hands, by connecting youth with local farms, supports the labor needs of farms--elevating profitability and puts young people on farms. If out of twenty youth that participates, one becomes a farmer and nineteen know more about their agricultural landscape and the power of their food choices, we will be making great strides toward a more resilient and just food system."
-Will Conklin, Executive Director of Greenagers
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Need help on your farm? Hire a Greenager.
Learn more about Greenagers' programs using the link below.
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Farmer & Food Business Spotlight |
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Certified organic,
horse and tractor-powered,
vegetable farm in
New Lebanon, New York.
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Abode Farm is a certified organic vegetable farm in New Lebanon, NY. They work with draft horses and tractors on 20 acres to supply fresh produce to their 180+ member CSA, farmers markets, schools, food pantries, restaurants, and distributors. Abode farming methods aim to balance building the health of soil and ecology while providing the community with nourishing, high-quality, and delicious vegetables all season long.
Sarah Steadman, one of the founding members of Abode Farm grew up in New Lebanon as a member of the Abode of the Message, the spiritual community at the site of the South Family Shakers, who lease Abode Farm their land along with the Darrow School.
Since 2012 their team has been growing, now an adaptive group of young farmers who share a deep ecological sensibility and desire to make healthy food accessible to everyone. They try to honor the past caretakers of the land with their farming practices, from the indigenous Mohicans to the Sufis and feel grateful to farm on a mountain with over 200 years of communitarian history.
Don’t forget to sign up for their CSA!
They offer a sliding-scale model and shares are still available.
Sign up below.
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Food & Farm Jobs in the Berkshires! |
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Check out who's hiring!
Do you have a job position you'd like us to include in our monthly newsletter and on our social media? Email Ciana at ciana@berkshrieagventures.org
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We love what we do. But we can’t do this alone. We need you.
Your investment in our Revolving Loan Fund is 100% used to distribute low-interest loans (0-2%) to local farmers and food producers. That capital continues to grow and is recycled back, creating a viable and reliable stream of support for agricultural entrepreneurs.
So join us and invest in your local food community.
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Special Thanks to Our Supporters
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Berkshire Agricultural Ventures' priority areas for support include strategies that promote regenerative agriculture to help keep farm systems healthy and resilient in the face of climate change; improve land access and make farmland affordable for farmers; create season extension greenhouses and cold storage; fund on- and off-farm processing facilities; and support other means to strengthen the viability and sustainability of local farmers. |
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