Berkshire Grown presents the fifth in a nine-week series on the rise and future of the food movement -- see schedule of speakers below and description of the full series here.   

Corporations & the Food Movement: a conversation with author Michael Pollan, and Exec. VP for Walmart, Jack Sinclair, and Jib Ellison who consults to Walmart. 

Walmart Exec. VP says, "everyone deserves to eat healthy food...."  Come hear more.

A taped lecture at the Lecture Center at Simon's Rock College.    More information here.

Map of Bard College at Simon's Rock here.

Jack Sinclair is the Executive Vice President of the food division for Walmart U.S., responsible for the company's overall strategy for food and grocery.

Jib Ellison is the founder and CEO of Blu Skye Strategy Consulting where he leads a small team of strategy experts who work with Fortune 50 companies to transform markets - and to create new ones. 

Thanks to our generous sponsor:  Iredale Mineral Cosmetics! 

 

Meet Berkshire Grown's Farmers   

OCTOBER MOUNTAIN FARM  

by Nichole Calero 

"'This has been an unbelievably fulfilling experience,' says young farmer Rafi Bildner. Located in Becket, MA, October Mountain farm is notable for both its size, and its farmer; Rafi Bildner is fresh out of high school and is farming on just a quarter acre."

Read more here 

October Mountain Farm here 

Photo from summer 2011 by Nichole Calero 

What We're Reading

FARM BILL 101

By Annie Cheatham, President, New England Farmers Union

 

Who gets the biggest portion of Farm Bill dollars?

1) Organic dairy farmers?
2) Large industrial farmers?
3) Nutrition programs?
4) Soil management programs?

 

When asked this question by Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan on her recent trip to western New England, 70% of the audience said that the answer was #2. Take a look at the pie chart below and you will see that the largest portion of farm bill funding goes to nutrition programs. And this pie chart is based on 2009 figures. Today, nutrition programs constitute over 75% of the farm bill's budget.  Read more below, and here 

 

 

 

Of the overall farm bill budget, 14% goes to the farm safety net. Providing a safety net for farmers is an old tradition in our country. For generations our government has agreed that farmers should be provided with some sort of assurance that if disaster strikes, if weather conditions reduce or eliminate their yields, if market prices fall far below the cost of growing crops, we will, as a society, provide some insurance for them so that they can recover and plant again. Farmers produce food for us to eat, and for people of the world to eat. Theirs is the riskiest business there is, without any protection from weather and weather related disasters. Already in 2011, over 40 states in the U.S. have experienced weather related agricultural disasters. A safety net is part of our contract. Farmers grow food for our society; we take care of farmers in emergencies.

Crop insurance and direct payments have been the predominant mechanisms for this protection. Today, the U.S. Congress and the White House are giving intense scrutiny to these and other agriculture programs with the aim of reducing funding to unprecedented levels. In budget and appropriations passed by the U.S. Congress in the last 2 years, agriculture spending has suffered cuts 2 or 3 times deeper than other federal programs. During the next 10 years, the current farm safety net is projected to make up less than 0.28% of federal spending. Programs that have a large impact on New England farmers, the conservation and energy programs, are expected to account for only 0.12% of federal spending. Still reductions continue to be made in programs that help farmers.

READ THE SOURCE HERE 

Cricket Creek Farm in Williamstown is excited to announce a 2011-2012 Farm Pick-Up Winter CSA. Building on their first cheese CSA this summer, they are offering the full range of  products- cheese, raw milk, meat, eggs, and bread.

Each share starts with a base of cheese. From there you can mix and match any of the additional products. So you could create a share that consists of cheese, bread, and raw milk, or cheese, eggs, and meat cuts.

They offer two share sizes. The Regular and Family.

Details on the what is included can be found here.

Additionally, for the first time, they will have glass milk bottles, available only to CSA members. Please note that their milk is raw (unpasteurized).

The Organic Home Orchard 

Michael Phillips, Lost Nation Orchards  

Saturday, November 19  1 - 4 pm  Lecture/field study/booksigning

For information on specifics, contact the garden 413-298-3926

Join holistic orchardist Michael Phillips for an intensive programming on growing all kinds of fruit in the back yard.Confidence to integrate tree fruits into your landscape begins with embracing biodiversity and knowing how to steward system health.   

This program will be useful for both backyard growers as well as small-market fruit growers with a focus on growing healthy organic fruit. Michaels 

Michael Phillips is known across the country for helping people grow healthy apples and understand the healing virtues of plant medicines. His new book The Holistic Orchard published by Chelsea Green Publishing will be hot off the press and available for sale at the lecture. See the "community orchard movement" he helped found.     

For more information contact: Elisabeth Cary
Director of Education
Berkshire Botanical Garden
413-298-3926  [email protected]  www.berkshirebotanical.org  

Quick Bites

DISCOVER THE:  

Berkshire Grown Online Farmers' Market

a 24 hour Farmers' Market! 

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 for the photo to Nicole Calero, taken at Hawthorne Valley Farm   

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

MASSACHUSETTS GROWN...and FRESHER!  

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