GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Berkshire Agricultural Ventures (BAV) announced its inaugural climate smart agriculture event, "Harvesting Hope: Building Climate Resilient Farms in the Berkshire-Taconic Region." 

 

The event took place Thursday, Sept. 21, at Berkshire Botanical Garden's historic Center House. 

 

A panel of local farmers, climate experts, BAV's knowledgeable staff, and concerned community members, gathered and engaged in a dialogue about climate change and its impact on local agriculture.

 

"Harvesting Hope" was scheduled during Climate Week NYC, which coincided with the United Nations' Climate Ambition Summit. Though BAV's event took place over a hundred miles outside of Manhattan, it underscored the importance of collective action, and highlighted the necessity of taking action locally.

 

BAV's climate event was one of many in the region.

 

A panel of local farmers including Meg Bantle of Full Well Farm, Dan Carr of Beavertides Farm, who also serves as BAV's Outreach & Technical Assistance Manager, and Jim Schultz of Red Shirt Farm, joined Program Manager for BAV's Climate Smart Agriculture Program Ben Crockett and the Director of Williams College's Zilkha Center Dr. Tanja Srebotnjak, in delivering presentations that shed light on the local ramifications of climate change and emphasized the pivotal role of sustainable agricultural practices. 

 

"When we started Full Well Farm, we decided to farm differently," said Meg Bantle of their farm in Adams. Full Well Farm implements a number of climate smart agricultural practices championed by BAV's Climate Smart Agriculture Program. "We decided to be a no-till hand-scale farm in part due to what everyone could see was happening with climate change."

 

Farmers shared their firsthand experiences and challenges, providing insights into the real-world consequences of climate change on their farms and communities. 

 

"We are grateful for the overwhelming response," said Rebecca Busansky, BAV's Executive Director. "'Harvesting Hope' demonstrated that our community recognizes the urgency of helping our farmers on the front lines of climate change. Whether it was the late freezes or this summer's relentless rain and flooding, I think everyone in our community increasingly knows we have to do something to help our farmers. The collaboration and commitment on display at the Berkshire Botanical Garden were truly inspiring."

 

The presentation by Ben Crockett highlighted the impacts of climate change in our region; unpredictable precipitation, yield loss due to heat stress, less predictable frost dates, as well as new waves of pests and invasive species, all of which pose serious threats to local farms.

 

"It was really great to see so many people turn out," said Ben Crockett, Program Manager for BAV's Climate Smart Agriculture Program. "But our work is far from done. This is just the beginning. Hearing directly from farmers is such an important first step and BAV's Climate Smart Agriculture Program aims to address their concerns head on. Whether it's through our free climate risk assessments and planning, providing farms with resiliency grants, or technical assistance, BAV is 100 percent dedicated to doing all that we can to ensure our farmers are prepared for an uncertain future."