Greetings Berkshire!

Hope you are holding up through the heat and humidity. July is always such a busy month, and then you blink and it's August!

Last month, we hosted Commissioner Ashley Randle along with some of the MDAR team for our annual farm tours.

We (Berkshire Ag Ventures and Berkshire Grown) also hosted grazing expert Sarah Flack for a two-day Grazing Workshop. A group of over 40 participants toured 5 livestock farms to explore the complex relationship between livestock and the pastures that sustain them. For more information on Sarah, visit her website.

Here's your monthly collection of updates, events and opportunities in the region!

Please don't hesiate to reach out if there is any way that I, or Berkshire Grown, can be of support.

In this month's farmer newsletter:

• Update on our Winter Workshop Series
• Upcoming Events
• Regional Opportunities

Warmly,

Alyssa VanDurme

Program Manager, Business Members

WINTER WORKSHOP SERIES

We're planning our 2024 Winter Workshop series & want your input!

What workshops would you like to see this year? Is there a topic you'd like to explore, or a business area you'd like support with?

Please use this form to leave your ideas & suggestions:

FARMER & FOOD EVENTS CALENDAR

View our local and regional events calendar that lists various workshops, webinars, gatherings and the like.

Farmers are welcome to submit an event to have it listed on the calendar.

Berkshire Conservation District Native Plant Sale

Online ordering opens July 10th

Pick Up On August 31, 2024 between 10am & 2pm at Holiday Brook Farm (100 Holiday Cottage Road in Dalton, MA). Rain date is Sept. 1.

There will be a limited number of discounted plants available for sale at the end of the day.

Payment accepted on site is cash or check.

Notes on plant sizes: 

• Trees seedlings range from 1′-4′ and are potted in 2 gallon containers
• Shrubs are 1.5′-4′ and are potted in 1 gallon containers 
• Perennials and grasses are potted in 4″-6″ pots

 Pricing:

Trees $25 – $30    

Shrubs $20 – $25   

Perennials, Ferns, Grasses $15 – $20

39th Massachusetts Tomato Contest to be Held on August 20th

Calling on commercial tomato growers! The 39th Massachusetts Tomato Contest will be held at the Boston Public Market on Tuesday, August 20th. Tomatoes will be judged by a panel of experts on flavor, firmness/slicing quality, exterior color and shape. Always a lively and fun event, the day is designed to increase awareness of locally grown produce.

Open to commercial farmers in Massachusetts, growers can bring tomatoes to the Market between 8:45am and 10:45am on August 20th or drop their entries off with a registration form to one of the regional drop-off locations on Monday, August 19th. Drop off locations include sites in South Deerfield, Southboro, North Easton and West Newbury. These tomatoes will be brought to Boston on Tuesday.

For complete details, including drop off locations, contest criteria, and a registration form, click here. Be sure to include the registration form with all entries.

The annual Tomato Contest is sponsored by the MDAR and New England Vegetable and Berry Growers Association, in cooperation with the Boston Public Market. Please consider participating to showcase one of the season’s most anticipated crops!

Questions? Please contact David Webber, David.Webber@mass.gov.

C.R.A.F.T. Farm Tours

The Collabortative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (C.R.A.F.T) has opened their farm tours to all farmers. The tours occur on Monday evenings throughout the season and the region. Each visit includes an overview of the farm as well as a hands-on demonstration of one or two specific topics. Use the link below to view the schedule.

AMERICAN FARMLAND TRUST

CT River Watershed Livestock Soil Health Management Planning Cohort

Free Soil Sampling is Available for Farmers in CT, VT, NH, and MA

Applications for MA and CT farmers due TODAY (August 5th); application will remain open for NH and VT producers until the fall.

Want to learn more about the health of your soil? Get free soil health testing on your farm by participating in our New England Soil Health Survey! Free soil testing is available through this new program from AFT New England and the USDA ARS Food Systems Research Unit. Interested? Complete a social science survey to participate!

CT : All Counties

MA: Franklin, Hampshire, Hamden, Berkshire and Worcester

AFT’s New England Climate and Agriculture team is offering livestock producers in the Connecticut River watershed (select counties in MA, CT, VT and NH) an opportunity to participate in a facilitated peer-to-peer soil health management planning program.  

The course will take place virtually on Zoom; however, there will be some opportunities to meet and gather in person including field days and a soil health assessment field visit from course technicians.  

Participants will:  

·       Complete a soil health plan for their own farm   

·       Build community with other farmers  

·       Receive input from peers on their soil health plans   

·       Learn from local experts to diagnose and address soil health constraints  

·       Learn with a specialist how to collect soil health samples and complete a field soil health assessment  

·       Be guided through a process of thinking holistically about your farm’s mission and priorities   

·       Receive $2500 in financial assistance  upon plan completion  

Cohort timelines: 

·       MA and CT will run from September 2024-September 2025 

·       NH will run from April 2025-April 2026 

·       VT starting winter 2024-2025, with precise timeline coming soon 

Space in this program is limited.