Denise Barstow Manz of Barstow’s Longview Farm, Diary Store, and Bakery in Hadley joins Phil, Monte, and Kaliis to talk about their farm and the significance of this moment for local farms around the region.

Barstow’s has your last minute holiday gift and goodie needs covered! See their bakery menu, store items, and more here.

Kakhtiranova came to the U.S. in 2003 from central Russia. Despite being married and having children in this country, immigration protections were removed under the last president, forcing Kakhtiranova to seek sanctuary in order to remain with her family. The congregation became her second family, providing sanctuary for almost three years.

As Kakhtiranova considered work options she could do in her situation, a friend suggested she consider selling her pierogi. Elders in the congregation helped Kakhtiranova set up a system of making pierogi and getting them out into the community, initially at River Valley Co-op and Cornucopia Natural Wellness Market. The business was born, and P’Frogi was named by her son, whose malapropism became the family food business brand.

Irida Kakhtiranova, owner of P’Frogi, makes Pierogi’s that she sells in various stores and farmers market in the valley.

Kakhtiranova says, “I grew up with pierogi, which comes from Polish origin. Instead of making farmer’s cheese or sauerkraut filling, the Russian people filled them with fruit, like cherries, plums, or prunes. I grew up watching that. I never really made it on my own until I came to the states and had my own kids. Then I learned my mother’s techniques for making them by watching her on Skype.”

Raised Muslim, if Kakhtiranova had remained at home, arranged marriage was part of her family culture. She notes, “when you get married, one of the tests that you face by your mother-in-law is how thin you can roll out your dough and cut noodles.” Although Kakhtiranova avoided an arranged marriage by coming to the U.S., she brought the art of rolling out fine dough with her. It took a couple of years to perfect thin dough on a professional scale. Most commercially available pierogi has thicker dough than P’Frogi products. She adds, “My clientele love that my dough is very thin, so you can experience the flavor of the filling.”

P’Frogi, pierogi sold in various stores and farmers market in the valley.

Local, farm-fresh produce helps P’Frogi products stand apart. “For me, it has always been important to go to the farm to buy potatoes. In Russia, we went to farms to buy our vegetables. When I came to the States, grocery store food didn’t taste as good to me,” says Kakhtiranova.

She continues, “Once I moved to this area, I saw that there are many opportunities to get potatoes and cabbage. While I lived in the church, there were volunteers who came from Deerfield. They brought me potatoes and cabbage from Teddy Smiarowski Farm on their way home. As I found out what they had at the farms, I got more produce. I even had a farm share with Mountain View Farm at one time,” says Kakhtiranova.

The seasons inspire the flavors available throughout the year. One specialty flavor, farmer’s cheese and apple pie filling made with Clarkdale Fruit Farms apples, is available at Clarkdale Fruit Farm. While the co-op carries an array of flavors in their freezer case throughout the year, some additional flavors are available at farmers’ markets.

Popular flavors include carrot and onion, butternut squash, cabbage, farmer’s cheese, and potato and mushroom. She even makes spinach and feta or bacon and cheddar. “While some customers want traditional pierogi, I have clients that love what I do,” says Kakhtiranova.

Irida Kakhtiranova, owner of P’Frogi, fills the Pierogi she makes with a bacon and cheddar filling.

While the public has received the products well, “people have come up to me and said, ‘oh, you’re not Polish, why are you making pierogi?” Kakhtiranova continues, “You don’t have to be that nationality to enjoy the food and introduce it to other people. You just have to be a foodie person to know that bacon cheddar might not be Polish, but it’s going to taste so darn good in the pierogi. The dough turns brown, just because of how much bacon I put in them.”

Being a mother, Kakhtiranova learned that creative fillings are one way to get kids to enjoy vegetables. She notes, “If someone wants kids to eat their veggies, my pierogi are filled with veggies. When picky eaters enjoy my pierogi, I know I’m doing something right. Seeing people’s faces happy and bringing their kids to meet me makes me happy, but when that child comes back next week and wants more, it brings me joy.”

Kakhtiranova gets her ingredients from several local farms, including Teddy C. Smiarowski Farm, Red Fire Farm, Clarkdale Fruit Farms, and Randall’s Farm. Farmers have been a source of information and support as P’Frogi continues to grow. The local businesses and restaurants right in Florence and Northampton have been very helpful in sharing experiences and answering questions as they come up for Kakhtiranova.

P’Frogi is a family business. Bryan Johnson is Kakhtiranova’s husband who works alongside her in all aspects of the business, except rolling the dough. Their son who coined the business name is currently at Smith Vocational studying culinary, inspired by his mother.

The family goes to farmers’ markets, offering samples, talking to customers. They have repeat customers who follow P’Frogi on social media and find them. “I enjoy very much what I’m doing. It makes me very happy to learn why they’re enjoying my food,” says Kakhtiranova. “I find it important to connect with my customers. No one will describe my food with as much passion as I do. If someone has questions, I’m right there.”

There is more great food to P’Frogi than pierogi. Kakhtiranova makes golumpki (stuffed cabbage), hand pies and rice dishes. The family does events, and have their sights set on building up their wholesale sales.

Irida Kakhtiranova, owner of P’Frogi, cooks the cabbage used in Golabki’s she makes and sells in various stores and farmers market in the valley.

P’Frogi pierogi and golumpki are available at River Valley Co-op, Pekarski’s Sausage, Clarkdale Fruit Farms, and the winter farmers’ markets in Northampton, Easthampton, Belchertown, Forest Park Springfield, with more sites added frequently. Check the P’Frogi website and social media for holiday catering menus and pre-ordering.

Lisa Goodrich is communications coordinator for Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture, (CISA). Learn where you can buy local food and gifts for the holidays in our online guide at buylocalfood.org.

Image Credits: Carol Lollis, Daily Hampshire Gazette

Learning from the floods: To prepare for an unpredictable future, Valley farmers think big

By Jacob Nelson

“So much was just about to bloom,” says Suna Turgay of Flowerwork Farm in Northampton. “And then the flooding came.”

Warmer, wetter, and less predictable weather are all on the rise in New England as our climate changes. The idea of normal is constantly evolving, as each year seems to bring new challenges forcing local farmers to adapt.

Last summer’s persistent rainfall and catastrophic flooding left many farmers scrambling to keep their farms intact and businesses afloat. Dedicated farmers, individuals, community organizations, and public officials rallied in support in their hour of need. Now that waters have receded, many are reflecting on what lessons can be learned from last year’s ordeal.

Suna Turgay and Stacia Potter of Flowerwork Farm harvest bouquets at the end of a difficult season (Gazette photo/Carol Lollis)

It is worth noting that while flooding made the most headlines, local farmers contended with examples of extreme weather fueled by climate change on several fronts this year. Cold snaps in February and May destroyed peach buds and other fruit and berry blossoms, respectively. Meanwhile, many farms that were not flooded still faced low yields and rampant fungal disease caused by the rain.

However, the lessons learned from flooding raise ideas that are applicable to other challenges farmers face from extreme weather events.

With future growing conditions becoming both riskier and less predictable, building generalized resilience is becoming more important than ever. On the farm level, farmers are reassessing how they work with their land. At a community level, greater collaboration may help.

At a societal level, many are starting to question why farmers, who grow the food we need to survive, are not supported on par with other professionals who protect our basic needs and safety.

A flood in July?

The relatively new Flowerwork Farm sits on an eighth of an acre of leased land within the Northampton Community Farm run by Grow Food Northampton. There, next to the Mill River, Turgay and her farming partner Stacia Potter grow a mix of annuals, perennials, and herbs that become materials for floral arrangements sold locally or used in grand designs they create for weddings and other events.

Suna Turgay harvests flowers in October, which were replanted after flooding in July (Gazette photo/Carol Lollis)

“Stacia is more the artist, and I feel like a farmer growing the art supplies,” Turgay says. “We follow permaculture principles —  growing within nature’s patterns — and we don’t use any herbicides and barely any fertilizers, just compost.”

The farm’s layout is carefully designed to maximize yield in a small space while providing a welcoming habitat for wildlife and humans alike. With a differently abled child and a desire to welcome visitors to volunteer and learn, accessibility is central to Turgay’s vision.

The farmers knew flooding was a risk, but neither predicted anything like the events that unfolded on July 10. As Grow Food Northampton’s Michael Skillicorn describes, “When the Mill River jumped its banks that day, it flooded approximately 40 acres of our farm in just 20 minutes. Nine out of ten farmers on the land were affected, some with a complete crop loss and some with less. About three-quarters of the 320 community garden plots were also submerged.”

What was shocking about this flooding was the timing. In the Northeast, rivers and streams often swell past their banks in the spring when melting snow oversaturates the soil. The nutrients laid down by seasonal flooding of the Connecticut River and its tributaries are what make this region’s soils so coveted, and Indigenous and settler farmers have reaped the benefits of this fertility while accepting the somewhat predictable risks for thousands of years.

Yet as climate change shifts weather patterns, flooding is much less predictable. A warmer atmosphere is holding more moisture and letting loose more intense storms throughout the year. In fact, the Fifth National Climate Assessment just released by the federal government shows that days with 2-plus inches of rain have increased by almost 50% in the Northeast since the 1950s, while days with 5-plus inches of rain have doubled.

Now that this increased risk of flooding has gone from probability to reality, many local farmers have clearer ideas about how they can better prepare for the next one.

Farming smarter in a floodplain

“If I had gotten things in earlier, I would have had some harvest beforehand.”

That was Turgay’s first thought as she grappled with what the July 10 flood took from her. This past spring, she delayed planting until maintenance on the Northampton Community Farm’s water lines was complete, then rushed to plant everything right away, making up for lost time. As a result, many flowers were poised to bloom at the same time right before flooding destroyed them.

“It was a huge lesson in timing,’ she says. “Farmers are always thinking about succession planting (planting one crop after another in the same space to stagger the harvest) as a sales strategy, but reducing risk is a whole other reason to do it, and we learned that.”

Spreading out the harvest is one strategy that creates generalized resilience to any extreme conditions. Diversifying the kinds of crops planted is another. In a floodplain specifically, Turgay notes that perennial trees and shrubs with more established roots have a survival advantage, pointing to Smith College researcher Piyush Labhsetwar’s pawpaw orchard on the same community farmland, which mostly survived.

Piyush Labhsetwar speaks with lawmakers after flooding hit his research farm in July 2023. His pawpaw trees and perennial grains fared better than many neighboring farms’ veggie crops (Paul Shoul photo)

Another takeaway is that nonedible crops are a safer investment on flood-prone farmland. Since floodwaters are often contaminated by chemicals and pathogens, farmers cannot sell anything edible that gets submerged, and must wait weeks or months to replant, depending on the crop. Growing flowers, Turgay could use what survived and replant immediately.

Stepping back a bit, flooding has also highlighted equity ramifications of who farms where. As the Valley’s fertile river bottom land floods more often, less-resourced and historically marginalized farmers cultivating smaller areas are the least able to absorb losses. The footprint of a small farm might be entirely within a floodplain, while a larger farm has greater flood resilience simply because they spread across more land with differing levels of vulnerability.

It is much less likely that flooding completely wipes out a large farm, but smaller farms might lose everything. With less resources behind them, historically marginalized and smaller farm owners are also less able to move out of harm’s way.

Addressing these inequities is complicated, yet crucial to the pursuit of justice in our food system. Says Skillicorn, “As land stewards, we are grappling with the responsible and appropriate use of land, including which farms and people are using it. Ideally, the farmers working with flood-prone land should be able to better withstand the impacts of a flood.”

Thinking beyond the next flood

As climate change brings more risk of flooding, adapting farming strategies will be important. The same goes for addressing the disproportionate impact flooding has on the most vulnerable farmland — and the most vulnerable farmers. But flooding is just one concern of many.

Courtney Whitley of Ras Farm, located on the Northampton Community Farm, speaks to elected officials in front of his flooded fields (Paul Shoul photo)

“Next year we could have a late frost, or a drought,” Turgay says. “And farmers like me don’t have the resources to prepare for big disasters. Small disasters, maybe. But it’s hard when there’s so much to consider.”

And her comments are only about weather patterns. In recent years, economic volatility has also been a considerable burden on farmers, particularly rising costs for basic materials. From COVID-19 to avian flu, health emergencies added further complications. All these challenges were possible. None of them were forecast.

How do you prepare for a future you can’t predict? That is the core question in farmers’ efforts to persevere and keep feeding everyone.

“And it can’t be just a question for farmers to figure out,” says David Fisher, a farmer at Natural Roots in Conway. “We’re such a small, overworked, underpaid slice of the population. It has to be a question society answers as a whole.”

Natural Roots lost over 95% of their harvest last July when three floods swept through their cropland in the span of 12 days. Between efforts to keep the business afloat and to feed the farm’s community-supported agriculture members, Fisher has given this conundrum a lot of thought as well.

Leeks laid bare by floodwaters at Natural Roots (Paul Shoul photo)

Farming has always been uncertain, and with climate change the risk and probability of weather disasters is increasing. Plus, these impacts are global, wreaking havoc on farms everywhere. Importing more food grown elsewhere when local farms struggle is a less reliable strategy every passing year. Yet farming remains one of the most vulnerable jobs on the planet. As Fisher puts it, “We can’t back our work up to the cloud.”

This makes disaster relief a critical part of any strategy to ensure a reliable food supply in the age of climate change. In 2023, it’s unknown how many local farm businesses would have been pushed over the edge if not for incredible support from lawmakers and community members, particularly through the philanthropic Massachusetts Farm Resiliency Fund and the state-designated Natural Disaster Recovery Program for Agriculture. Together, both funds distributed over $23 million to embattled farmers, ensuring they could remain in business and keep feeding their communities.

“At the same time,” Fisher says, “disaster relief is like treating symptoms of an illness rather than working towards intrinsic health and resilience. What does an intrinsically healthy farm economy look like? I don’t know myself. But when I don’t have answers, I look to other models that seem to be working better.”

David Fisher of Natural Roots directs volunteers helping with flood clean up (Paul Shoul photo)

One familiar model Fisher points to is how communities support fire departments. Like farms, fire departments protect a basic human need, in this case shelter rather than food. But communities don’t invest in food security the same way they do public safety.

“My Conway Fire Department is funded by the community no question, no matter the circumstances,” he says. “Come hell or high water, they will be here to keep us safe. We don’t fund them based on how many fires they put out.”

Fisher and others acknowledge that these ideas might feel new, but they are not unprecedented. Many European countries provide farmers with far more assurance, funding resilience for farm businesses, the local food supply, and the environment. These policies are not aimed at enriching small and mid-size farmers. Instead, they provide a floor that prevents farmers from sinking into ruin.

“Eventually,” Fisher says, “I would like to see farmers and farmworkers financially supported so we can take care of the land, take care of ourselves, and feed our community without being squeezed for all we can sacrifice.”

In an age of big challenges, pursuing a brighter future might mean leaving behind some long-held strategies and ways of thinking and embracing new ideas. No one has it all figured out, but when it comes to the food system, local farmers have a ground-floor view of what might work.

Jacob Nelson is communications coordinator for CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture). To learn more about CISA’s work and ways to support local farms confronting the impacts of climate change, visit buylocalfood.org/climateaction.

More aid to region’s farmers

Farm disaster fund disburses round of $3.3M in grants; state announces another $20M

By JAMES PENTLAND, Staff Writer
Daily Hampshire Gazette, December 12, 2023

NORTHAMPTON — Western and central Massachusetts farmers are being bolstered by $23.3 million in disaster relief from a philanthropic fund set up in the wake of July’s devastating floods and further state aid announced Monday by the Healey-Driscoll administration.

The Farm Resiliency Fund, established by the United Way of Central Massachusetts and Healey’s office after heavy rain across the region in early July caused riverside fields to flood, including hundreds of acres along the Connecticut River, has emptied its coffers and distributed a second round of grants to farmers in need.

In all, the fund has distributed $3.3 million to 228 farmers as of Dec. 4, the Community Fund of Western Massachusetts announced.

At the same time, the state is awarding farmers $20 million in disaster relief, with 94 farms in Hampshire County, southern Franklin County and Holyoke directly benefiting from the program.

“It’s helped immensely, all the farmers,” said Wally Czajkowski of Plainville Farm in Hadley, one of the beneficiaries of the Farm Resiliency Fund.

“We all have large bills through the end of the year.”

Czajkowski said the flooding reduced his winter squash crop to half what it should have been, and left soil-borne diseases that mean those fields can never be used to grow squash again.

Squash, tobacco and asparagus — which likes wet weather — are the farm’s main crops, with fields in Hampshire and Franklin counties.

The Community Fund and Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) have helped to administer the fund, which had collected more than $3 million by September from more than 650 individuals and businesses.

An initial round of grants went out Sept. 1 to 214 eligible farmers who submitted qualified applications. Almost all the applicants received $10,000, according to Philip Korman, CISA’s executive director, unless their need was less. A second round of grants, totaling approximately $1.2 million, has now gone out to some 70 farms, Korman said. Applicants in this round were screened on the basis of need. “You couldn’t get money in second round if you got money in the first round unless the need was $80,000 or more,” he said. Many of the 70 farms did receive money in both rounds because the need was so great, he said. Amounts distributed were between $5,000 and $35,000. “We knew (the fund) wouldn’t cover all the losses,” Korman said.

Community Fund CEO Megan Burke said communities came together quickly to help soften farmers’ losses. “We are grateful for the hundreds of donors that have given to the Massachusetts Farm Resiliency Fund in support of our hardworking farmers,” Burke said in a statement.

Tim Garvin, president and CEO of the United Way of Central Massachusetts, said the fund at this point has given out all the dollars given and pledged, but that’s not to say its work won’t continue. “When we were asked to stand up the fund it was with the awareness that this will not be the only weather event to affect Massachusetts farmers,” he said.

The partnership and the structure remain, he said, and if more donations come in, they will be held in readiness for the next area of need. Garvin said administering the fund “was a labor of love,” making special note of the letters of appreciation he had received from farmers.

“None of us knew what to expect when we got involved,” he said. “We soon recognized we were great collaborators, kindred spirits and friends. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.”

Czajkowski said he thought all the farmers would like to thank the governor, Legislature and the organizations involved in the relief effort. “And thanks to all the people of Massachusetts, because that’s who bailed us out,” he said.

Crop loss fund

The United Way fund was focused only on flood damage. State government set up its own Natural Disaster Recovery Program with $20 million from the Legislature’s supplemental budget.

That fund is intended to reimburse farmers for all weather-related crop losses, which included freezes in February and May that blighted the peach and apple crops.

On Monday, Gov. Maura Healey announced that immediate assistance would go to 347 farmers in Western and Central Massachusetts who experienced significant crop losses.

Applicants were required to be a Massachusetts- based agricultural operation growing field crops, hay and forage crops, or produce crops. Eligible farms had to demonstrate that they suffered losses of greater than 15% of their total planted acreage during one of the 2023 natural disasters.

State Rep. Natalie M. Blais, D-Deerfield, said the storm damage experienced by farms over the summer was unfathomable. “This direct financial assistance will go a long way in helping to ensure the continued viability of our farms, thereby maintaining the bedrock of our local food system,” Blais said. “I stand alongside our farmers in deep gratitude for the prompt response of the Legislature and the Healey-Driscoll administration.”

Nearly $6.7 million from the state’s program is helping farms in the Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester district, said Sen. Jo Comerford, DNorthampton. “Today, $20 million is being delivered to farmers statewide to assist with recovering and rebuilding from natural disasters,” Comerford said. But that fund, too, will be insufficient to cover the losses.

Phu Mai, communications director for the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, said the state had received 356 applications from farmers reporting losses valued at $65 million and requesting $42 million in aid.

In August, MDAR estimated at least 148 farms had been impacted by flooding, with over 2,700 acres in crop losses

Payments made to hundreds of farmers impacted by freezes, floods

Lenita Bober of Blossoming Acres Farm in Southwick talks with Jacob, Kaliis, and Monte about 

• Their farm (80 acres in Southwick) and farm stand (produce, local food, bakery, gifts and more!)
• Their market style CSA – essentially a discounted, prepaid charge card to use on anything they produce themselves. Join for 2024 now for early bird pricing! 
• Challenges this year, and what helped get them through

This weekend SANTA is coming to Blossoming Acres’ farm stand at 249 College Highway in Southwick, December 16th from 11-2 & 17th from 12-3 (see post here). The event is free, with donations of hygiene products to the Southwick food pantry strongly encouraged.

A New Winter Farmers’ Market Sets Up Shop

With considerable effort from organizers, a new winter farmers market is coming to Hadley this year. Located on the grounds of Wancyzk Nursery at 166 Russell St, it will run every Saturday from 10 – 2. The market will offer local farms and businesses a critical sales point during the colder months and provide shoppers with one more access point for enjoying local food.

The launch comes on the heels of the previous Winter Farmers Market at the Hampshire Mall’s decision not to continue this year. Knowing that, the same team that runs the longstanding Amherst Farmers Market all summer stepped in to fill the void. Their new venture aims to blend vendors and customers from both markets into something new, just in time for the holiday shopping season.

“Farmers markets are very social places,” says market manager David Machowski. “Some people are on a mission to buy and leave, but most people come to loiter. We’re hoping for a decent turnout that generates attention and good sales for the vendors, and for the nursery.”

Machowski has been managing farmers markets for a long time. He led the Amherst summer market from 1986 to 2002, then returned to the helm in 2017. During his tenure, that market has flourished.

“On a good Saturday we can get upwards of 4,200 people shopping at the summer market,” he shares. “Flatteringly, the town has told me we are the third-largest economic driver for town of Amherst.” The hope is to carry some of that momentum over to Hadley this winter.

The choice to hold the market at Wanczyk Nursery emerged from Machowski’s friendship with owner Mike Wanczyk. The location’s large parking lot and central location on route 9 also make it well equipped to handle visitors coming by car or public transportation.

At their first market last week, vendors were set up outside in a clear area that during warmer months is otherwise filled with trees and nursery plants. The familiar Amherst Farmers Market pop up tent marked the entrance to the market, in front of which pre-cut Christmas trees, outdoor holiday decorations, and a fire pit greeted visitors. The nursery’s main sales building and greenhouse of houseplants and poinsettias sits right beside. A similar arrangement is planned for today’s market.

In the coming weeks, they hope to move the market into one of the nursery’s other heated greenhouses. However, that hinges on permitting and approvals from the town of Hadley, followed by work to modify utilities in the space. While those plans are in motion, the outcome is not yet certain.

“Hopefully we’ll have about 30-35 vendors from the summer market following us over to the winter market,” Machowski says. Local produce farms will anchor this agrarian display, including Red Fire Farm from Montague and Granby, Quabbin Hill Farm from Pelham, and Carrot Corner Farm from Amherst. Locally raised meat, eggs and cheese will also be available, along with a variety of baked goods, value-added products, and clothing and household items crafted by local producers.

“Berkshire Mountain Bakery and Bread Euphoria will be there with baked goods,” says Machowski. “Park Hill Orchard from Colrain will be there with all their pies and jams. Chase Hill Farm from Warwick will be there with meats and cheeses along with maple syrup and products from Justamere Tree Farm in Worthington.”

Other producers will offer a range of items from skin care products to herb and tea mixes to clothing made from local alpaca fiber.

For many businesses who attend local farmers markets, selling directly to their customers is how they make ends meet. Selling direct, rather than wholesaling at a lower price to an intermediary retail business, means producers can charge retail prices themselves. That means more of customers’ dollars go straight back to them.

Direct sales also give business owners an opportunity to meet their customers face to face. This helps them understand who they’re reaching, learn what customers want, and gain a clearer sense of market potential. These interactions also build trust and personal connections between the maker and buyer, which can inspire coveted word-of-mouth marketing.

For these reasons and more, the chance to sell at farmers markets can be crucial to the success of a local farms and food business, particularly for smaller and beginning business owners who haven’t developed other sales channels yet or aren’t big enough to do so. For them, the strength and abundance of farmers markets in the Valley has been a real asset, championed by energized community members and organizations like Mass Farmers Markets and Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA). Indeed, there are several winter markets operating this year, up from a low point during the early days of COVID. At the same time, the fate of any market still matters a lot to its hopeful community of vendors, particularly in storied agricultural communities like Amherst and Hadley.

“I hope the community will stand with us as we get this market figured out. I hope they come out to support their neighbors and local producers,” says Machowski.

“This is their livelihood,” he continues. “Giving them a place to showcase themselves during the slower winter months is the biggest reason I took this on. I would have been perfectly happy laying on the couch watching Manchester United every Saturday morning. But this is important. So, we’ll be there with bells on and see what happens.”

Jacob Nelson is communications coordinator for CISA. To see what farmers markets are up and running near you any time of year, visit buylocalfood.org/find-it-locally.

Dick Conner of Red Barn Honey Company joins Phil and Kaliis to talk about:

• What do bees do in the winter?
• Collaborating with local farms – bees do some pollinating, other farms sell Red Barn’s honey.
• Plus: becoming honey sommeliers! They taste different kinds of honey – a light and a dark.

See, where are you can find Red Barn Honey Company’s, honey, beeswax, candles, and other products at their website. (Hint: the Northampton Winter Farmers’ Market is the best place to start!)

By Jacob Nelson

In many ways, farming is an act of faith. Faith that nature will provide for a harvest, and a farmer’s faith in themselves to figure out whatever challenges arise. Some years bring bumper crops, others disappointment, but with climate change fueling more volatile and extreme weather, losses are becoming bigger, more common, and harder to predict.

Inflation, supply disruptions, and rising costs to access land don’t help. Many farmers are adapting well, yet many also say today’s safety nets don’t acknowledge how risky farming has become.

David Fisher speaks with legislators and reporters while volunteers clean up fields flooded during July 2023 rains (Paul Shoul photo)

After this year’s flooding, Massachusetts residents and lawmakers stepped up and set a new precedent for supporting farms in crises. Still, bureaucratic change moves slowly. When farmers need help in the moment, it’s often other farmers who rise to the occasion. After catastrophic flooding last July at Natural Roots, a farm in Conway, the support of fellow farmers saved their season – and maybe their farm.

Natural Roots is a small, diverse farm on the banks of the South River. They grow veggies, fruit, and herbs, raise chickens for eggs, and farm with horses instead of tractors. Through their CSA (community supported agriculture) program, they feed over 240 families who pay upfront for regular shares of the harvest throughout the season. A small on-site farm store open to the public also carries their produce and eggs, along with meat, bread, dairy and staples from other local farms.

Owner David Fisher always wanted to connect more deeply with nature and people while exploring how the two could exist in harmony.

“I’ve found some of that through farming,” he says, “and I want to share that. To invite people to the farm to connect with the earth and each other, and (through the CSA) to take some degree of responsibility for the farm.”

It’s been a hard but rewarding life. With a few longtime employees and a rotating cast of apprentices, they made it work. They survived serious flooding from Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. But even that didn’t compare to July 10, 2023.

Flooding and a flood of support

For days, persistent rain saturated the soil of the South River watershed. That day’s forecast didn’t call for much more precipitation, but the ground could not absorb it. Instead, it flowed into the river, which built into a raging torrent.

Plants of all kinds were flattened by the South River during July 2023 flooding at Natural Roots Farm in Conway (Paul Shoul photo)

“We didn’t realize how little rain it would take to dramatically flood,” Fisher says. “Before we knew what was happening, machinery was getting washed down the river. Chickens were floating by, and we were catching them and wading to higher ground, arms full of chickens. We just rescued anything we could.”

Thanks to a quick response by farmers and draft horses, most of their chickens and critical equipment were saved. Yet the receding water unveiled severe damage. Roads were washed out. Many plants were completely uprooted by floodwater blasting by. Anything edible left standing was ruled unsafe to sell or eat due to contaminants in the water — a devastating blow so close to harvest time. In all, Fisher estimates they lost over 95% of their crops.

Looking over a revised budget post-flooding, the outlook was grim. They had limited cash on hand and no vegetables to distribute. Anything they planted would not be ready for weeks. No veggies meant no CSA pickups, and a big drop in farm store sales.

Potatoes uprooted and contaminated by floodwaters (Paul Shoul photo)

“We were five weeks into a 22-week summer CSA,” Fisher says. “Our customers sign up to stick with us through thick and thin, but offering our customers nothing from then on would be extreme, and we weren’t in a position to refund everyone.”

“We weren’t expecting much,” he relates, “but we asked neighboring farms if anyone had extra produce we could glean from their fields to feed our customers. The response was … incredible.” They had more offers from neighboring farms than they could handle. As news spread, support poured in from farms as far away as Boston and the Hudson Valley.

“The generosity was staggering,” Fisher says. “And it was a little hard too, asking for help. Would we keep asking every week through November? Initially that felt uncomfortable. But over time, we realized many farmers seemed genuinely fulfilled to offer something. It was a positive experience for them, too.”

Rachel Foley and Isadora Harper, apprentices at Natural Roots Farm in Conway, harvest greens donated to their CSA from Hart Farm in Conway (Gazette photo/Carol Lollis)

One of those farmers was Ray Young, owner of Next Barn Over Farm in Hadley, who made produce available to Natural Roots Farm throughout the summer and fall.

Says Young, “Our season was challenging — we were mostly spared from flooding, but wetness led to disease that damaged several of our crops. That said, those that made it through were quite beautiful, and we were grateful to be able to pass on so much to Natural Roots as well as the organizations we typically donate to.”

Adds Fisher, “Max and Kerry Taylor at Brookfield Farm in Amherst also gave us so much. Gideon Porth and his crew at Atlas Farm in South Deerfield offered acres for gleaning. Old Friends Farm in Amherst gave us salad mix. Stone Soup Farm in Amherst, Riverland Farm and Kitchen Garden Farm in Sunderland, and Red Fire Farm in Montague and Granby have all helped us out, and so many others, too.”

The culture of farmers helping farmers is already strong in western Massachusetts. For example, some farmers share specialized equipment so neighboring farms don’t need to buy their own. Other farms share or lease land to each other in different configurations each season. Most are willing to share advice and techniques to help their neighbors succeed.

A chalkboard in Natural Roots’ CSA barn shares which farms donated produce for members; weekly shares (Gazette photo/Dan Little)

Farms in our region also benefit from longstanding community support. Those connections are another resource farmers can tap when things get tough. In Natural Roots’ case, press coverage and strong ties to their customers and community helped them fundraise almost $92,000 to rebuild.

“People have said and their actions have clearly shown that they want this farm to exist,” Fisher says. “But even with all this support, it’s still really hard to make it work.”

A piece of the puzzle

While their experience makes for a heartwarming story, as Fisher implies it’s not the whole solution. The support system woven by relationships between farmers and community members isn’t foolproof. There are holes, not everyone is connected equally, and there are limits to the kinds of help social networks and generosity can provide.

Farmers and farm support groups gathered in September 2023 to discuss present and future needs as extreme weather intensifies

After 26 years of farming in Conway, Fisher is well networked among his peers. “But when I went to the event CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture) put on for farmers to talk about disaster relief,” he says, “I looked out and thought, I don’t know most of these people.”

Bringing together farmers and supporting groups to network and collaborate is one way CISA helps strengthen the local farm support system. Other organizations help farmers market products together or advocate collectively for policy change. At a very grassroots level, many local farmers connect with their peers through a farmers-only email listserv — the one Natural Roots used to coordinate gleaning and food donations.

These networking opportunities are helpful, but also limited by technological barriers and whether everyone feels welcome. For example, a seventh-generation dairy farmer might be more comfortable speaking their mind in a group than a recently resettled refugee. Both may have difficulty with listservs and video calls.

A farm’s business model also impacts its access to these relationship-based safety nets. “We are extremely privileged that our community feels so connected to us through our CSA,” Fisher says. “Farms that sell wholesale and don’t talk directly to customers are much more alone when they struggle. Not because they aren’t worthy, they just operate differently.”

The big picture

Neighborliness only goes so far, especially when extreme weather and other impacts of climate are increasing and becoming more widespread. Says Next Barn Over farmer Ray Young, “I’m a firm believer in mutual aid, but our local capacity is limited, especially since extreme weather tends to affect farms across entire regions. As we look forward facing climate change, we will need broader safety nets than our local networks.”

Elected leaders and MA Department of Ag officials survey flooding damage and discuss their response (Paul Shoul photo)

When individual action can’t support basic needs — like reliable access to food — that’s often when collective action and governments step in to uphold the public good. In Massachusetts, this is already starting to happen.

Last summer, local officials heard farmers’ need for grants to keep businesses afloat, not just loans options that would put them further into debt. Within weeks, the Natural Disaster Recovery Program for Agriculture was written into the state’s supplemental budget, making $20 million available to cover crop losses from both flooding and the freezes that decimated peaches in February and berries and early veggies in May.

Among those leading the charge were local politicians, Rep. Natalie Blais and Sen. Jo Comerford.

In contrast to Massachusetts’ quick response, efforts to strengthen federal support programs are moving slowly. Most of these are funded by the Farm Bill, a sprawling piece of legislation typically revised and renewed by Congress every five years. Amid congressional disarray, a new bill was not finished on schedule this fall. Instead, most 2018 Farm Bill programs were extended through September 2024 — a win for program continuity, but a missed opportunity to address new needs exposed by worsening climate change, COVID, and other recent events.

Tim McVaugh of Deerfield and his son Liam, 4, pick up produce from the Natural Roots CSA on Saturday in Conway (Gazette photo/Dan Little)

Advocates like the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, which represents mostly smaller and more diversified farms like those common in Massachusetts, are already lobbying for changes to the new bill. One change the coalition proposes is “fixing a flawed farm safety net and restoring fair competition” by reforming crop insurance programs to work better for new and smaller farms, not just large farms growing commodity crops. Other suggestions emphasize better support for farmers adapting growing practices for a changing climate.

Farming amid climate change and economic uncertainty is a tricky puzzle. At times, Fisher has felt quite alone trying to solve it.

“I used to think it was just me struggling, and I just needed to get smarter or work harder,” he says. “But I’m realizing that farmers are struggling all over the place. We’re facing some real challenges.”

While society organizes around big-picture solutions, local farmers have each other’s backs. By shopping locally, donating to relief funds, or with other acts of goodwill, the local community shows they stand beside them.

To learn more about supporting the local food system as it adapts to climate change, visit buylocalfood.org/climateaction.

Jacob Nelson is communications coordinator for CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture). As a frontline supporter of local food and farms in western Massachusetts, CISA helps farmers get the help and funding they need to thrive, even amid challenges like climate change. Learn more at buylocalfood.org/climateaction.

Kale harvest at Atlas Farm. IC: Atlas Farm

Farms within the three counties of the Connecticut River Valley feed our local community while supplying food to our Commonwealth and the New England region. With farmland concentrated on the western side of the state and the population densest on the eastern side, food naturally flows from our region to the larger cities. Local farms in western Mass. are uniquely positioned, with a responsive market at home and easy highway access to Boston and New York City for expanded distribution.

Two business owners see the landscape of how the Valley contributes to the regional food system. Gideon Porth is the owner of Atlas Farm, LLC, an organic mixed-vegetable farm in Deerfield that sells wholesale. “I think our region has a long history of being a vegetable basket for the Commonwealth and beyond. We’re one of the best areas in New England for this vegetable farming due to our soils. I think selling to larger markets has existed for a long time, with many of the growers here in western Mass. sending their products to the Boston area and the wider region,” says Porth.

Mike Foti on Myers Produce truck. IC: Elise Gilchrest.

Atlas Farm handles its own deliveries and also Myers Produce delivers some Atlas produce. Myers Produce is a woman-owned regional trucking company, with hubs in New York City, northern Vermont, and in a new warehouse in Hatfield at the former site of The Food Bank of Western Mass. Owner Annie Myers adds, “As far as Myers goes, a significant portion of the food we buy comes from the Pioneer Valley—almost half—and we sell to customers in the greater Boston area. The farmers we work with here demonstrated a need for someone to help them sell to and deliver to customers in eastern Mass.”

Porth got his start farming in eastern Mass. before starting Atlas Farm in 2004. Already connected to Boston farmers’ markets, Porth naturally began selling in familiar spaces. As the wholesale side of the business grew he says, “It was pretty evident that the demand was there. There’s a lot of support for local businesses here in the Valley, but there are more mouths to feed on the other side of the state.”

The Farmers’ Market at Copley Square was a mainstay for Atlas Farm for seventeen years. The markets in the city are run by Massachusetts Farmers’ Markets, who prioritize Mass. farmers, so few vendors were out-of-state. Porth observed that at least half of the vendors at those markets were from west of Worcester.

Annie Myers and son, Abel. PC: Annie Myers

Myers Produce began ten years ago, with Kitchen Garden Farm as their first customer. Word of mouth helped the service grow in the early days, as farms recognized a desire to expand their markets. For Myers, “The vast majority are retail customers. We deliver twice a week, with everything grown and produced in New England. Local is all we carry.”

Myers continues, “Our customers care a lot about where food is grown, the story behind it, and where their money is going. That includes the farm, Myers Produce, and all employees in between. Our customers are values-driven, where quality and ‘buy local’ is highly valued.”

By selling to larger markets, many local farms have thrived. For Atlas Farm, the benefit of selling to a broader population has allowed his farm to expand. Porth notes, “I started as a small market garden, a one-man show with a couple of acres, a pickup truck, and a rototiller. Very quickly, I learned that doing a little more brought us more efficiency. Agriculture has always been an industry of scale. If you can produce on a larger scale with better systems, it pays off.”

The flow of products creates natural efficiencies, such as Myers trucks bringing produce to Boston, and reloading with frozen wild blueberries from Maine or cranberries to deliver to other customers within their network. Myers illustrates the cycle of food succinctly, “We bring tomatoes down to Brooklyn, and they make tomato sauce, then we bring jarred sauce back up to this area for our customers.”

The model Myers Produce uses offers two services: distribution and freight. The distribution service involves buying food from growers and producers, then reselling and delivering to businesses. The freight service involves simply trucking refrigerated products from origins to destinations, leaving buying and selling between the shipper and receiver. Through that service, Myers Produce supports local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms with delivery to drop off points in larger metropolitan areas.

The businesses emphasize relationships as central to their farms and food businesses. Whether collaboration with farmers, restaurant owners and small market owners, or farmers’ markets, people remain central to the equation of food and farming.

Porth explains how farmers work together, “We definitely collaborate with other farms for distribution. My farm might have

Atlas potato harvest. Pictured: Denzil Davies, Gideon Porth, Everald Forbes. PC: Jim Gipe/Pivot Media

baby tomatoes mid-season, while another farm has baby lettuce to bring to market. If my farm can’t serve an opportunity, we work together to ensure another farm takes it.”

Myers explains, “Collaborating with local farmers to get food to the world is what we do. The reason we started our company was to provide a service to farmers that is truly helpful, and it’s exciting to see our business have a positive effect in real time. We get feedback from farms that our operation has allowed farms to grow differently or focus on their farm, and that is satisfying.”

A broader distribution network supports local farms, feeds people, and continues to care for the land. With his foundation in ecology and despite the size of his farm and channels for distribution, the close connection of food coming from the land still inspires Porth, “It still fires me up. Growing food still feels like an important thing to do,” he says.

Lisa Goodrich is communications coordinator for Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture, (CISA). – Try our online guide at buylocalfood.org to help you buy local this season for ingredients, prepared foods, and gifts.

Kara Peters, owner of Ahlbin’s Homemade Fire Cider, tells Phil, Monte, and Kaliis all about what this magical mixture is, and the delicious and healing ways you can use it. They talk about:

• Sourcing a bunch of ingredients locally, including cider vinegar from Apex Orchards and ginger and turmeric from Old Friends Farm
• Kara’s perseverance starting her own food business
• Fire cider in salad dressing, marinades, Bloody Marys…and ice cream? Yup! So many ways to use it in the kitchen!

Taste test verdict from Monte: “Spicy…with a hint of sweetness” See you can find Ahlbin’s Homemade Fire Cider at ahlbins.com/find-us.