Berkshire Agricultural Ventures

10/13/2026

🐂 Love this!! Thanks to the Eagle for being there to capture this milestone in our farm to school work - so many great partners involved in this project, including Matt Sheffer of Cherry Point Beef! 🎉

10/07/2026

From local pasture to the lunch tray! 🥩🌾

We celebrated a momentous step forward today with the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant project, which aims to build a sustainable local beef pipeline for our K-12 public schools. Students at Lenox Memorial Middle and High School enjoyed their very first local beef meal today: a savory Beef Bulgogi Bowl with pickled veggies and rice. The verdict? Seconds all around! 🎉

This milestone is all thanks to an incredible collaboration between dedicated partners:

➡️Matt Sheffer - Moskowitz Livestock & Cherry Point Beef
➡️Shannon Gagliardo - Nutrition Services Director, Lenox Public Schools
➡️Jake Levin - Program Manager, Berkshire Agricultural Ventures
➡️Massachusetts Farm to School
➡️Marty's Local

Investing in our kids’ nutrition while supporting local livestock producers is a win-win. Thank you to everyone working behind the scenes to make this vision a reality! 💚

10/06/2026

⏰ 1-DAY REMINDER! Round 1 applications for the Connecticut Farm Recovery & Support Block Grant Program close October 7, 2026. The program, administered by the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, provides direct payments to producers who suffered losses from severe weather events in 2023 and 2024.

Details about this program and how eligible CT farmers can apply are available here:

https://portal.ct.gov/doag/adarc/adarc/disaster-relief-resources/farm-recovery-and-support-block-grant-program

➡️There is still time to submit an application - and BAV can help! Contact Ben Crockett today at [email protected] for support with completing your application.

10/02/2026

On a blustery September afternoon, more than 60 farmers and community members gathered in the warmth of the barn at Greenagers' April Hill Farm for our 2nd annual FODDER: Stories from the Fields.🌾

This storytelling event was produced in partnership with Berkshire Grown, BRIDGE, Greenagers, and Berkshire Community Land Trust's Farmsteads for Farmers, with storytelling maven Sheela Clary as our emcee, and made possible with generous support from Edible Berkshires, Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area, Guidos Fresh Marketplace, and The Village Green News.

Farmers from BRIDGE's Solidarity Farm & Garden shared agricultural traditions passed down through their families in El Salvador and Haiti. "I learned to take pride in what I could produce with my hands," one farmer said. Speaking in their native languages, they reflected on reconnecting with the land and finding community with other BIPOC farmers. Two teenagers from BRIDGE's youth leadership programs spoke about working with younger children through The Happiness Toolbox, a summer program offered in partnership with Gideon's Garden at Taft Farms. 🥕

We laughed with Elizabeth Keen of Indian Line Farm as she shared stories from the clumsy, often hilarious early days of learning to farm alongside her husband, Al. Together, they found their footing as stewards of the country's first CSA farm, which today nourishes a community of more than 250 members.

Ashni Sunder of Mumbet's Freedom Farm, whose work is inspired by the legacy of Elizabeth "Mumbet" Freeman, reflected on her Caribbean heritage, ancestral knowledge, and the stories that plants can carry across generations. And Mary Berle of Lila's Mountain Farm transported us into the depths of a Berkshire winter with the remarkable story of rescuing a pregnant ewe trapped in the snow, saving both mother and lamb.🌱

The personal stories shared at FODDER reminded us that a farm holds far more than what it produces. Like storytelling, farming is a creative process shaped by our histories, and rooted in our relationships with the land and one another.

Thank you to everyone who gathered with us, and especially to the farmers and young people who generously shared their stories.❤️

www.lilasmountainfarm
www.mumbetsfreedomfarm.com
https://thevillagegreennews.substack.com

09/30/2026

📢 📢 REMINDER!! Round 1 applications for the CT Farm Recovery & Support Block Program from the Connecticut Department of Agriculture close on October 7. This program provides direct payments to producers who suffered losses from severe weather events in 2023 and 2024.

BAV can help you with your application - please contact Ben Crockett at [email protected] if you're looking for support understanding eligibility, gathering documents, and completing your application by October 7.

📣📣BAV is partnering with the CT Department of Agriculture to spread the word about a new grant program to support farmers impacted by severe weather in 2023/24. See details below! Application deadline is October 7. Don't hesitate to reach out to BAV for help with your application.

🌱Connecticut farmers: help is on the way. The CT Department of Agriculture has launched the Farm Recovery & Support Block Grant Program for producers who suffered crop, infrastructure, or multi-year losses from severe weather in 2023/2024.

☑️The application portal is open now through October 7, 2026. Losses of $500+ from an eligible 2023/2024 weather event may qualify.

☑️Start gathering your tax records (Schedule F), W-9, FSA Farm Number, and
photos/receipts documenting your loss.

☑️Learn more: https://portal.ct.gov/doag/adarc/adarc/disaster-relief-resources/farm-recovery-and-support-block-grant-program

☑️Need help? BAV can offer support in understanding elibility and completing your application. Contact BAV Program Manager Ben Crockett at [email protected].

09/29/2026

🌱CLIMATE WEEK FILM EVENT: For compelling and important stories around small farmers and climate change, join BAV for the Berkshire International Film Festival Environmental Film Focus screening of Fork in the Road on Sunday, October 4, at 3pm at The Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington.

This award-winning documentary, co-produced by Lisa Holmes (a BAV supporter!) and Vivian Sorenson, highlights how small-scale farmers and other innovators are working to heal the land and improve our food system in the face of climate change, economic inequality, and other factors. The film, reprised after a sold-out screening in May, will kick off BIFF's Environmental Film Focus Series, sponsored by The Roaring Brook Family Foundation.

BAV will be introducing the film, and our Climate Smart Prorgram Manager, Ben Crockett, will be in conversation with Elizabeth Keen of Indian Line Farm on a panel following the screening. Light refreshments will follow. Tickets are $15 for the general public. We look forward to seeing you there!

➡️ https://biffma.org/event/fork-in-the-road-environmental-film-focus-series

➡️ https://www.forkintheroaddocumentary.com

09/28/2026

🌿🌱We are thrilled to share this interview with Jen Salinetti of Woven Roots Farm in Tyringham and BAV staff Rebecca Busansky and Dan Carr! It was wonderful to hear how Woven Roots got their start as a garden project and have grown into a beautiful effort to sustainably feed neighbors, cultivate community, and be in reciprocal relationship with the land.

Thanks so much to the terrific team at New England Public Media's Fabulous 413 for facilitating a great conversation - as always! Listen at the link - interview starts about 25:45.

nepm.org/podcast/the-fabulous-413/2026-09-23/woven-roots-farm-farm-business-accelerator-program-poet-amy-dryansky

We also took a dive into BAV's new Farm Business Accelerator, which launches soon! The program is accepting applications now through October 15 from farmers in Berkshire, Columbia, Dutchess, and Litchfield counties.

Interested in learning more? Register for our next Info Session - Wed., Sept. 30, 12-1pm. Sign-up and more info is at the link below:

berkshireagventures.org/farm-business-accelerator

09/25/2026

📣📣BAV is partnering with the CT Department of Agriculture to spread the word about a new grant program to support farmers impacted by severe weather in 2023/24. See details below! Application deadline is October 7. Don't hesitate to reach out to BAV for help with your application.

🌱Connecticut farmers: help is on the way. The CT Department of Agriculture has launched the Farm Recovery & Support Block Grant Program for producers who suffered crop, infrastructure, or multi-year losses from severe weather in 2023/2024.

☑️The application portal is open now through October 7, 2026. Losses of $500+ from an eligible 2023/2024 weather event may qualify.

☑️Start gathering your tax records (Schedule F), W-9, FSA Farm Number, and
photos/receipts documenting your loss.

☑️Learn more: https://portal.ct.gov/doag/adarc/adarc/disaster-relief-resources/farm-recovery-and-support-block-grant-program

☑️Need help? BAV can offer support in understanding elibility and completing your application. Contact BAV Program Manager Ben Crockett at [email protected].

09/24/2026

💰One week left!! Purchasing a reusable bag at the GREAT BARRINGTON BIG Y for the rest of September benefits BAV! For each $2.50 bag purchase, $1 will be given back to our organization.

🌱You can cut down on plastic while supporting the local farmers who grow our food, protect our land, and build our rural communities.

Thanks to Big Y World Class Market for this program and to our community for their support.💚