Berkshire Ag Ventures nurtures farms into next generation

The cows at Hawthorne Valley Farm in Columbia County are only in the barn when necessary.
Patrick Grego
The cows at Hawthorne Valley Farm in Columbia County are only in the barn when necessary.
GREAT BARRINGTON — With the right support, local farmers can turn a challenging season into a successful harvest.
Neil Chrisman and Joel Millonzi founded the nonprofit Berkshire Agricultural Ventures (BAV) in 2017 to help local farmers in the Berkshire-Taconic area (Berkshire County, Massachusetts; Columbia and Dutchess Counties, New York; and Litchfield County, Connecticut).
In BAV’s sunny office overlooking downtown Great Barrington, Executive Director Rebecca Busansky recalled the origins of BAV.
“Joel told me a story about him and Neil,” she said. “They’d just get in the car and drive around, talking to farmers about their needs, where the gaps were, and how to fill them.”
Seven years later, the group has assisted over 150 local businesses.
BAV’s “core services” are grants, loans, and technical assistance. They’ve provided $2.1 million in low interest loans, $1.5 million in grants, and 2,000 plus hours in technical assistance.
Busansky stressed BAV’s focus on low interest, flexible loans. They lend at 0 to 3%. Typical nonprofits will charge closer to a 7 to 8% interest rate for cost of capital, to pay staff etc.
Busansky said, “We rely on our mix of grants and donors to step up. We subsidize our loan program.”
Other funds come from state and federal grants, foundations, and private donors. BAV is a USDA microlender. They have a system called the Resilience Grant Fund where they can provide up to $5,000 “catalyzing” grants. Busansky said, “The idea with this is to get a farmer over the finish line.”
Fort Hill Farm owners Paul Bucciaglia and Rebecca Batchie, and son, with Dan Carr.Provided
BAV hires grant writers to consult with farmers. Since the pandemic, farmers have seen more grant opportunities; yet without certain knowledge, there’s “not an equal playing field.” Busansky explained, “By pairing farmers with a consultant, we can really make a difference,”
BAV’s specific programs include Local Meat Processing Support, Climate Smart Agriculture, and Market Match Fund.
The Market Match Fund is an initiative in its third year, working towards food access and economic development. It provides a funding stream, based on BAV fundraising, to match SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) dollars at Berkshire farmers’ markets. Customers can match up to $30 in eligible products, including meat, dairy, and even baked goods.
Ciana Barnaba, Community Relations & Resource Development Manager, brought the fund to life, with her experience managing farmers’ markets in New York City. There was a disconnect between farmers’ markets when it came to SNAP, creating a burden for those in charge.
Busansky said, “Market Match is a triple win piece. BAV helps farmers’ market managers, the low income community, and farmers.”
Ben Crockett, Climate Smart Agriculture Program Manager, explained his work, “The Programming for Climate Smart Ag is this huge umbrella of different practices of farm management looking at how farmers adapt to a changing climate.”
Drought ravished 2022. There were extreme floods in 2023. The climate is volatile.
Crockett explained a case he worked on last year. BAV did a risk assessment for Kelley Babbin at Howling Flats Farm LLC. Essentially, Crocket spoke with Babbin about her “biggest risks.”
First, her farm was below sea level, and second her farm suffered unexpected changes from towns shifting water discharge to fields. Impacted by severe flooding, Babbin couldn’t graze.
Crocket said, “We built a plan to amend her soils,” invested in Silvopasture, and paired her with a grant writer. Ultimately those systems improved drainage and reduced flooding consequences.
West Stockbridge Farmers Market.Patrick Grego
BAV also focuses on exploring issues across the broader food system. For instance, how can a farmer use all of a slaughtered animal for products, to reduce environmental consequences and increase economic benefits for food demand?
Bone broth, meatballs, and roving butchers are a part of the answer.
The Local Meat Program started four years ago with a report from Kitchen Table Consultants which found the major barrier for livestock farmers was access to meat processors. Busansky said, “If farmers can’t get appointments to process their animals, they can’t get products out to market.”
BAV developed long-term technical assistance engagements with meat processors, a livestock working group, The Meat Up (a newsletter and Listserv), and a HACCP hotline with Nicole Day of AgriForaging Food Safety for health and safety issues.
Considering new projects, Busansky said, “One area we’re looking at now is this real need to get the next generation of farmers onto farmland.”
On Saturday, Sept. 6, from 12 to 5 p.m., Rock Steady Farm in Millerton opens its fields once again for the third annual Farm Fall Block Party, a vibrant, heart-forward gathering of queer and BIPOC farmers, neighbors, families, artists, and allies from across the Hudson Valley and beyond.
Co-hosted with Catalyst Collaborative Farm, The Watershed Center, WILDSEED Community Farm & Healing Village, and Seasoned Delicious Foods, this year’s party promises its biggest celebration yet. Part harvest festival, part community reunion, the gathering is a reflection of the region’s rich agricultural and cultural ecosystem.
Rooted in justice and joy, the event will feature over 25 local vendors and organizations, live performances, healing workshops, family-friendly activities (yes, there’s a bouncy castle), and abundant local food. And while the festivities are certainly reason enough to show up, organizers remind us the purpose runs deeper.
“This isn’t just a party. It’s a place to build the kind of relationships that keep our food system alive,” said Maggie Cheney, Rock Steady’s co-founder and worker-owner. “We’re creating space where farmers, growers, families, and community organizers can connect, celebrate, and support one another.”
Proceeds from the event support Rock Steady’s POLLINATE program for queer and trans BIPOC beginning farmers, as well as Catalyst Collaborative Farm’s food justice initiatives. With sliding-scale tickets from $5 to $250, the organizers aim to make the event accessible to all, including free entry for children under 12 and volunteer options for those who want to pitch in.
For those who’ve attended before, it’s a welcome return. For newcomers, it may just feel like coming home.
More info and tickets: rocksteadyfarm.com/farm-block-party
Waterlily (8”x12”) made by Marilyn Hock
It takes a lot of courage to share your art for the first time and Marilyn Hock is taking that leap with her debut exhibition at Sharon Town Hall on Sept. 12. A realist painter with a deep love for wildlife, florals, and landscapes, Hock has spent the past few years immersed in watercolor, teaching herself, failing forward, and returning again and again to the page. This 18-piece collection is a testament to courage, practice and a genuine love for the craft.
“I always start with the eyes,” said Hock of her animal portraits. “That’s where the soul lives.” This attentiveness runs through her work, each piece rendered with care, clarity, and a respect for the subtle variations of color and light in the natural world.
After painting in oils earlier in life, Hock returned to art when she retired from working as a paralegal with a goal: to learn watercolor. It wasn’t easy.
“Oils and watercolor are opposites,” she explained. “With oils, you build your darks first. In watercolor, if you do that, you’re in trouble.” She studied online, finding instructors whose approach clicked, and adapted to the delicacy of the medium.
“When I’m working, everything else falls away,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what’s going on in life. While I’m painting, time disappears.”
Her studio, formerly a home office, is now her sanctuary and the pieces in this exhibition are the result of three years of that devoted studio work. While this is her first full public show, Hock previously tested the waters at a small fundraiser at Noble Horizons, where one of her pieces sold. That experience — and the consistent encouragement from her family, especially her husband — pushed her to pursue a full exhibition. With gentle encouragement from her husband and family, Hock reached out to the Town Hall’s curator, Zelina Blagden. “My husband kept saying, ‘You’re as good as all those other people out there, why not show your work?’” And so, here it is.
All paintings in the show are for sale, though Hock admits a few are priced high — not because of their size or complexity — but because she’s not quite ready to let them go. “There are a couple I’ve priced high because I’m not sure I want to part with them. But we’ll see,” she laughed. “It would be nice to support the habit a little bit.”
As for aspiring artists or anyone hesitating to begin something creative, Hock’s advice is simple: “Go for it. If it fails, toss it in the basket and start over.”
The exhibit will be on view at Sharon Town Hall through Oct. 31 with an opening reception on Sept. 12 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.
Carissa Unite, general manager of Oblong Books in Millerton.
Carissa Unite of Millerton, began working at Oblong Books 16 years ago as a high schooler. She recently celebrated her eight-year anniversary as the general manager.
Unite’s journey at Oblong began even before she applied for her first position.An avid reader from a young age, she was a frequent customer at the store. During those years, Unite bonded with a former employee who encouraged her to apply for a position after connecting over their shared love of reading.
As a teenager, Unite enjoyed reading Ellen Hopkins, John Green and Ann Brashares. With the busyness of adulthood, she now favors the convenience of audio books. In the past year, however, she has made it a point to read more physical books.
With a preference for contemporary fiction, she raved about “Atmosphere” by Taylor Jenkins Reid. The story, set in the 1980s, follows two women who become astronauts at a time when women were not widely accepted in the field. A beautiful love story emerges between the two characters. Unite described the writing as sensational and commended Reid’s ability to tackle complex themes without them being muddied.
Unite has developed a deep appreciated for classic literature. Her two favorites are “Giovanni’s Room” by James Baldwin and “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde. She was amazed by the philosophical nature of both words and the way their dialogue challenged her perspective.
In an effort to read beyond her preferred genre, she recommends the following:
“Some Desperate Glory,” by Emily Tesh, “Midnight Rooms,” by Donyae Coles and “Clear” by Carys Davies.
For Unite, the beauty of reading lies in its power to develop perspective, empathy, and compassion. Through books, readers learn that everyone is fighting different battles and no two stories are the same. She encourages people to choose kindness because you never know what someone else is facing.
Above all, reading brings Unite peace. If offers transcendence to another world, a pause from outside noise, and for Unite, it is where she feels most at home.
For anyone hesitant to being reading, Unite suggests: just do it! Read 10 pages a day and find the book that speaks to you. Any Oblong staff member would be happy to offer recommendations.
Oblong is located at 26 Main St., in Millerton and 6422 Montgomery St. in Rhinebeck.