Technical Assistance Opportunities for Farmers
Berkshire Grown has funding to provide individualized technical assistance to beginning farmers and direct market farmers in the form of business and marketing support. The technical assistance can include business growth/planning strategies, including website construction, e-commerce set-up, marketing/advertising, and other business planning needs. The technical assistance can be a single session with a Berkshire Grown staff member or with an external consultant.
Mentorship Opportunities for Beginning Farmers
For beginning farmers looking for a long-term mentorship opportunity, Berkshire Grown is pleased to offer a one-on-one mentorship program. This lightly-structured program will take place over a period of 5 months and include 5 hours of conversation/support from an experienced farmer.
Seeking Producers to Mentor New and Aspiring Farmers
Are you an experienced farmer interested in mentoring a beginning farmer? Berkshire Grown is seeking mentors from diverse agricultural industries and with expertise to provide in-depth mentorship to beginning farmers. A stipend is provided to mentors for their time. This program has a time commitment of 5 hours over a period of 5 months.
If you are interested in receiving technical assistance support, or in acting as a farmer mentor, please email Ian Brunell at
ian@berkshiregrown.org.
Local Food and Farming events happening throughout the Berkshire region are on the calendar below.
Events displayed in red are open and of interest to the general public; those in green are appropriate for farmers and food businesses.
To subscribe to one or both of the calendars, click on the “+ Google Calendar” button at the bottom right-hand corner. Your calendar will open and you can choose which Berkshire Grown calendar you wish to add – “Community Events” or “Farmers and Food Business Events.” The button looks like this:
Berkshire Grown hosts our own events throughout the year. For a sampling, see the list below and visit the appropriate month on the calendar for details.
Farmer Workshops (January-March)
Spring Supper (March/April)
Summer Event (varies)
Harvest Supper (September)
Indoor Farmers Markets (Williamstown Nov & Dec, Great Barrington Nov-April)
Click here to submit an event to the calendar.
Market Match helps make farmers markets more affordable.
Most Berkshire County farmers markets participate in at least one of the following benefit programs:
- SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)
- HIP (Healthy Incentives Program)
- WIC Farmers Market Coupons
- Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FNMP) Coupons
In addition, many markets provide incentive programs to increase the value of these benefits. The Market Match brochure helps people find the days, times, and locations of the markets that accept their benefits.
Markets that have a matching program are designated with the “Market Match” logo. Programs vary at individual markets, so visiting the Market Manager is the best way to get the details of each market’s program.
Berkshire Farmers Markets’ Market Match
Berkshire County HIP vendor list is now available.
Thanks to a joint effort from the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts and Berkshire Grown, we now have a comprehensive list of all HIP vendor locations in Berkshire County. Listed by town, you can find the farm or market name, vendor type (CSA, Farm Stand, or Farmers Market), location and operating hours. Click the link to see the list!
Berkshire County HIP Vendor List