Work Behind the Scenes-
Berkshire Grown Farmer Programs
by Martha Jackson Suquet
|
|
Jordan Archey, Berkshire Grown Program Manager for Business Members, owns and operates Swallowbelly Farm with her husband and business partner Andrew Ryan. Photo credit: Edward Acker. |
|
A thriving farm economy depends on farmers' hard work that is easily observed: tending their land, crops and livestock, managing CSA pickups, and vending at farmers markets. But it also depends on the behind-the-scenes work you don’t see--farmers spending the winter months developing detailed crop plans and budgets, and taking advantage of the support that organizations like Berkshire Grown provide to help farmers grow and sustain a successful business. While this time of year is quiet for many farmers, it is one of Program Manager Jordan Archey’s busier seasons and we want to highlight the programs she plans for farmers. |
|
Beginning in January, Berkshire Grown’s 2023 Winter Workshops offer farmers the chance to learn about a variety of topics from experienced educators and practitioners. The first workshop of the season focused on diseases of vegetable crops and was taught by Meg McGrath of Cornell Cooperative Extension. Next up is “Making Spreadsheets Work for Your Farm," featuring real-world examples of complex crop planning from Dan Kaplan of Brookfield Farm. Matt LeRoux of Cornell University will discuss meat marketing, highlighting the school’s Meat Pricing Tool and how it can help meat producers succeed. Finally, a day-long “Grazing School” with expert Sarah Flack will provide grass-based livestock farmers with an on-farm example of how to set up and improve their pasture management plans.
|
|
“We try to plan workshops that are focused on specific topics,” says Archey, noting that presenters with a depth of knowledge and hands-on experience are most useful to participants. Last year’s online grazing workshop with Sarah Flack was one of the most popular topics, and Archey lookse forward to the upcoming in-person, pasture-based follow-up workshop taking place at Gould Farm: “I feel like it’s an amazing opportunity to meet with Sarah Flack in person, and it will be a really valuable day for the farmers who participate.”
Other farmer programs aim to offer more specific and personalized support, since each farm and farmer has unique needs. Through Berkshire Grown’s technical assistance program, farmers can get help with all aspects of running a farm business, from improving online sales, to increasing the capacity of a CSA program, to improving grazing rotation practices. Berkshire Grown sometimes provides technical assistance in-house, like offering advice about grant applications, but more often Archey matches the support seeker with an experienced farmer mentor. Archey spends a great deal of time thoughtfully matching farmers with the right mentor and following up throughout the process to keep things moving forward. She says “these hands-on programs require a good amount of time and effort from everyone involved, and require that the farmer seeking support make a significant time commitment which is not always easy for busy farmers.”
Every January Berkshire Grown sends out a Year-end Survey to member farmers. Among other things these surveys provide information about what workshop topics would be most helpful to farmers, how Berkshire Grown’s farmer programs have impacted their businesses, and how those programs could better serve them. Jordan notes that in-person farm visits, which are picking up steam again after a pause during the pandemic, are great opportunities to build relationships, learn more about farmers’ needs, and discuss what sort of support would be most helpful.
The role of the Business Member Program Manager requires an understanding of what farmers need and how to realistically connect them with support. It definitely helps that Jordan Archey is a farmer herself, raising Mangalitsa pigs at Swallowbelly Farm in New Marlborough. Her first-hand understanding about farmers’ limited time and their need for focused support brings insight and creativity to her work at Berkshire Grown. “I’m trying to make these programs more convenient and more enticing to farmers,” Archey says. “Knowing what the farmers’ lifestyle is like and what they have the capacity for has changed the way I approach program development.” These farmer programs are a major part of how Berkshire Grown puts our mission to Keep Farmers Farming into practice. A lot of work happens behind the scenes to provide valuable support for our local farmers who feed our families and steward our natural resources.
|
|
|
|
Shop for local food and farm-inspired crafts at
Berkshire Grown
Winter Farmers Markets!
Mark Your Calendar, next Market:
Saturday, February 18
10am-2pm
|
|
USDA moves to crack down on ‘organic’ fraud
By Laura Reiley, Washington Post
|
|
The Agriculture Department announced new guidelines for products labeled “organic,” a term that has been increasingly abused as shoppers have sought healthier, environmentally friendly food.
The USDA has a strict definition of “certified organic,” allowing the label to be used only for products that meet certain standards for soil quality, animal-raising practices, pest and weed control, and use of additives. The updates issued by the agency Thursday aim to close loopholes that allowed ingredients that don’t meet the criteria to infiltrate the supply chain.
Tom Chapman, chief executive of the Organic Trade Association, said the updates represent “the single largest revision to the organic standards since they were published in 1990.” They should go a long way toward boosting confidence in the “organic” label, Chapman said, noting that the move “raises the bar to prevent bad actors at any point in the supply chain.”
Read the full article here.
|
|
4 Winter Salads That Are Anything but Sad
Winter salads can be just as, if not more, exciting as their summer siblings. A key is roasting the vegetables.
|
|
On a frigid day in the middle of January, at the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket in Brooklyn, Ray Bradley, a farmer from New Paltz, N.Y., was selling local heirloom tomatoes. Tucked next to the muddy celeriac, potatoes and onions, they stood out like a Hawaiian shirt in the snow, a pop of orangy red amid the beige and brown. Except these tomatoes were frozen solid.
“I freeze them in the summer, then bring them out on days like today, because they don’t thaw,” Mr. Bradley said. “People can make them into a sauce or whatever when there’s not a lot of other vegetables going on.”
We’ve reached the cold heart of winter here in the Northeast, the toughest time for vegetables and the cooks who love them. By January, the autumnal thrill we felt for the first teensy heads of brussels sprouts and colorful cauliflowers has waned; the novelty of turnips and cabbages stirs less enthusiasm as the weeks trudge by.
For farmers’ market shoppers, winter’s vegetable arc is the inverse of spring’s, as choices diminish from January to March and farmers run through what they’ve stored. Even in seasonless supermarkets, vegetables that have traveled halfway across the globe are generally worse for wear.
But winter’s adversity can be a gift, both for vegetables and for cooks. The quiet calm of the season can give cooks an opportunity to lavish time and care on the vegetables that remain, taking them to even greater heights. And for many winter vegetables, what they lack in variety, they make up for in quality, turning sweeter as the temperatures drop.
Winter’s nadir is exactly when you should seek out root vegetables like parsnips and Jerusalem artichokes, Mr. Bradley said, adding that leaving them in the ground helps them grow sweeter.
Read the full article here.
|
|
Berkshire Farmers Tell Their Stories |
|
Melissa and Peter Martin, Dandelion Hill Farm
Sharon Wyrrick, Many Forks Farm
Topher Sabot, Cricket Creek Farm
Bruce Howden, Howden Farm
Jim Schultz, Red Shirt Farm
|
|
This 2022 Guide to Local Food & Farms is 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 on Berkshire Grown's searchable map!
|
|
To pay via check or phone, make payable to Berkshire Grown, mail to:
PO Box 983, Great Barrington, MA 01230 or call (413) 528-0041
Contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
|
|
Stay in Touch
Berkshire Grown's e-newsletter comes out monthly.
Margaret Moulton, Executive Director
Jordan Archey, Program Manager, Business Members
Maeve Dillon, Food Access Program Manager
Martha Jackson Suquet, Winter Farmers Market Manager
Sharon Hulett-Shepherd, Membership and Office Manager
Join Berkshire Grown here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
