Join us March 15th at 7 pm to launch the Keep Farming! program at the First Congregational Church, 251 Main Street, Great Barrington. Explore the economics of agriculture, learn more about our access to fresh and local food, plus the impact farming has on the the look of our landscape and on the preservation of natural resources.  

This will be the first community wide meeting in South Berkshire County, everyone is invited!  

If you eat food, produce food or sell food and related products join us Tuesday March 15th at 7 pm!

For more information email coordinator, Nick Stanton, at ngstanton(at)gmail(dot)com or call  Great Barrington Agricultural Commission Chair, MaryBeth Merritt, at 413-528-3079. For more info about Glynwood Foundation's Keep Farming program, please click here. 

A Food Manifesto for the Future
By MARK BITTMAN, for the NY TIMES.com

"For decades, Americans believed that we had the world's healthiest and safest diet. We worried little about this diet's effect on the environment or on the lives of the animals (or even the workers) it relies upon. Nor did we worry about its ability to endure - that is, its sustainability.

"That didn't mean all was well. And we've come to recognize that our diet is unhealthful and unsafe. Many food production workers labor in difficult, even deplorable, conditions, and animals are produced as if they were widgets. It would be hard to devise a more wasteful, damaging, unsustainable system.

"Here are some ideas - frequently discussed, but sadly not yet implemented - that would make the growing, preparation and consumption of food healthier, saner, more productive, less damaging and more enduring. In no particular order: READ MORE 

"Mark Bittman is an Opinion columnist and the Times magazine's food columnist; his Minimalist column ran in the Dining section of The Times for more than 13 years. In 2009, Mr. Bittman, who has been urging Americans to change the way we eat for decades, published "Food Matters," which explored the crucial connections among food, health and the environment....

Mark  Bittman online here 

What We're Reading

"We Stand in Opposition to GE Alfalfa

read what leaders across the country have written:  

"We stand united in opposition to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) decision to once again allow unlimited, nationwide commercial planting of Monsanto's genetically engineered (GE) Roundup Ready alfalfa, despite the many risks to organic and conventional farmers...."

Keep Reading more here
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What We're Watching

Join us at the Project Native Film Festival

 Sunday March 27th,  10 am - 8 pm

at The Triplex Cinema & Mixed Company Theater in Great Barrington, MA 

Visit their website or call for more information 413-274-3433.

Join a local CSA FARM now!  

Buy a share in a local farm so that you can provide a farmer with the money they need now, while they are buying seeds and supplies, and then share in their harvest throughout the growing season.  Click here for a list of farms, click on CSAs to find a local community supported agriculture -- CSA -- farms. Each farm is unique, so call to find out the price of a share and when their season begins. 

Quick Bites

Berkshire Grown Online Farmers' Marketplace

Self-propelled by Berkshire Grown members, the page will benefit those of you who choose to participate in it. Farmers and food producers can post what they have available, and chefs and community members can comment or contact suppliers directly with requests for product or more information.   

Thanks to Chris Blair for the photo of Cricket Creek Farm's Maggie's Round Cheese.  

Berkshire Grown offers this as a networking service and bears no responsibility for transactions.

 If you are traveling through Massachusetts check out this map, support our local farmers throughout the state!

Refrigerated trucking available throughout Berkshire, Hampshire, and Franklin Counties, and soon to be extending to Springfield, and east on the Pike through Framingham.  Very reasonable rates.  Contact Paul at Sidehill Farm; 413 625 0011, or paul@sidehillfarm.net.        Paul M. Lacinski   

LEARN TO GROW YOUR OWN FOOD! 

At The Berkshire Botanical Garden, in Stockbridge MA  

The Home Vegetable Garden

Read more here about the courses and the instructors.

The Berry Patch

or call the Garden at (413) 298-3926

WORKSHOPS at Threshold Farm in Philmont,NY

Pruning Workshop March 5^th, 2011  (snow/rain date March 6^th). This is an intensive day covering the topic of Pruning of fruit trees. It is a hands-on workshop, with discussion, demonstration & active pruning by participants. Limited number of participants!

Location: Threshold Farm, Philmont, NY 12565, 9 am - 5.30 pm. $80 - $100

Call 518-672-5509 or email  (thresholdfarm@gmail.com) for details.

Grafting Workshop March 6^th, 2011  (snow/rain date March 5^th).

Demystifying the ancient art of making fruit trees. Learn about different grafting techniques, selection of rootstocks & apple varieties and take home 5 little apple trees, which you will have grafted. Limited number of participants!

Location: Threshold Farm House, Philmont, NY 12565, 10 am - 4.30 pm.

$80 - $100.  Call 518-6 72-5509 or email us (thresholdfarm@gmail.com) for details.