SU FYI

1. Get Well Soon!

Warm wishes for a speedy recovery to Karen Marshall

2. Berkshire Agricultural Ventures (BAV)

By Patrick Grego

[This] July has been both a vibrant growing season for our farming communities, and one of extreme weather and unpredictable precipitation.

As flooding, extreme heat, air quality and tornado warnings become alarmingly more common in our region, one thing is increasingly clear: we must prepare our farms for climate change.

Berkshire Agricultural Ventures (BAV) can assist in building on-farm resilience that helps safeguard agribusinesses on the front line of climate change with technical assistance, professional support, low-interest loans, and small resiliency grants.

f you are a farmer in need of resources and information, refer to BAV's emergency response page on our website to learn what support is available.

One of several services BAV provides through our Climate Smart Agriculture Program are free climate risk assessments for farms in our service area of Berkshire, Litchfield, Columbia, and Dutchess counties.

These assessments are a prevention tool that aid in the process of identifying climate related risks to current and future farm operations. BAV will even help develop a risk management plan and provide guidance for implementation.

Interested in learning more about this offering? Contact Program Manager Ben Crockett, about how BAV can help you conduct a climate risk assessment on your farm.

BAV is pleased to announce we recently welcomed Patrick Grego as Communications & Development Associate. Patrick previously served as a Communications Assistant for The Olana Partnership. He is a passionate storyteller who won the 2021 New York Newspaper Publishers Association award for distinguished feature writing.

Patrick will tell the stories of our farmers, farms, and food businesses in our community.

3. Save-the-date Laurel Hill Day, August 26, 2 PM

For the past 170 years local Stockbridge residents and other friends have gathered in front of a rock outcropping in Laurel Hill Park located behind the Stockbridge Town Offices. This year the keynote address will be delivered by Starling (Star) Childs.

Childs has spent a lifetime managing forest lands and teaching young people about the challenges facing them.

"We are delighted to have Star speak at Laurel Hill Day" said association president Hilary Somers Deely. "He has had a distinguished career as a hands on forester and as an advisor to his alma mater's Yale Forest School. Star's expertise, insight, and easy, humorous manner guarantees that our program will be especially engaging this year."

For Further Information Contact Phil Deely at www.laurelhillassociation.org

Photo: Lionel Delevingne