GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Berkshire Agricultural Ventures (BAV) recently added two new staff members to expand its capacity in two aspects of regional agriculture: meat processing and Climate-Smart Agriculture.

 

Jake Levin is the new Project Coordinator for BAV's Livestock Support Program. In this role, he will help implement and manage programs and services for livestock producers in the Berkshire-Taconic Region. Along with Kitchen Table Consultants, a nationally recognized farm business consulting firm, Jake will work with existing USDA-certified meat processing facilities in the region to expand their processing capacity and improve their profitability, reducing many of the "bottlenecks” common to meat processing. Other plans include exploring expanding regional storage capacity, a community meat locker, and regional branding opportunities.

 

A Berkshire native, Jake has a passion both for meat production and supporting sustainable agriculture. He's managed a whole-animal butcher shop and a USDA-inspected dry-cured pork production facility, and is the author of the 2019 book "Smokehouse Handbook." 

 

Jake sits on the Board of Directors for Berkshire Grown, the Berkshire Food Co-op, and the New Marlborough Land Trust. Jake earned a B.A. from Wesleyan University and an M.F.A. from Bard College. 

 

He lives in New Marlborough with his wife and daughter on the land where he grew up.

 

As Program Manager for BAV, Ben Crockett will develop and implement Climate-Smart Agriculture solutions with farms in the Berkshire-Taconic region. These include methods such as agroforestry, cover cropping, and other practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture while preparing farms for ongoing climate change intensification.

 

Ben has worked in agriculture from a young age, throwing hay bales for local farmers, picking fresh peas with his mom, and helping his dad with apple orchard chores. 

 

In recent years, he has worked as the department chair for the Kennebec Valley Community College Sustainable Agriculture associate degree program. Through UMaine Extension, Ben became a Master Food Preserver and has mentored start-up farm businesses in the Hudson Valley with Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming.

Ben earned his B.S. in Sustainable Landscape Horticulture at the University of Vermont and recently completed the Climate Adaptation Fellowship for farmers and foresters.