Part of BNRC’s Strategic Response to the Berkshire Farming Crisis
CLARKSBURG, Massachusetts—Berkshire Natural Resources Council (BNRC), a nationally accredited land trust serving the Berkshire region, has partnered with a conservation-minded farm business owner, an experienced regional farmer, and financial contributors, to preserve Many Forks Farm in Clarksburg.
BNRC—which has long protected farmland across the Berkshires—is stepping up its agricultural preservation efforts to counter the recent loss of regional farmland to non-agricultural purposes.
Other concerns include the urgent need for farmer succession plans throughout the Berkshire farming community and the rapidly rising cost to local growers of acquiring secure access to whole-farm infrastructure.
“A generation of farmers are aging out of their profession,” said Mackenzie Greer, Director of Public Programs at BNRC. “Younger farmers struggle to secure farmland at reasonable prices, as the cost of Massachusetts farmland is rising as quickly as any in the country.”
Many Forks Farm, previously owned and operated by Sharon Wyrrick using a community supported agriculture farm share model, generously sold the farm to BNRC at a bargain price for conservation purposes.
Molly Comstock of Colfax Farm has signed a lease to be the Many Forks succeeding farmer—and Molly will take ownership of the farm at an affordable, preservation-reduced price of entry within a few years. As part of the conveyance to Molly, BNRC will place the entire farm into legal conservation status, so that Many Forks Farm will continue in perpetuity as a working farm in its local community and region.
Donors to the BNRC Berkshire Farms Fund make this kind of local farm protection possible.
“I’m grateful for Sharon’s stewardship and generosity, for Molly’s resolve and vision, and for all the donors who make agriculture in the Berkshires possible,” said Jenny Hansell, BNRC president. “BNRC is proud to play a unique role among an impressive and inspiring cast of farm-forward organizations that are working in the Berkshires to protect and promote the farming traditions of this special, beautiful region of the world.”
Learn more about donating to BNRC’s Berkshire Farms Fund at bnrc.org/bff or contact Rich Montone, BNRC director of development, at rmontone@bnrc.org.
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Established in 1967, Berkshire Natural Resources Council is a nationally accredited land trust that protects and preserves the natural beauty and ecological integrity of the Berkshires for public benefit and enjoyment.
BNRC conserves land, protects wildlife and habitat, supports local farmers, expands climate resilience, actively cares for over 25,000 acres, and provides free access to the Berkshire outdoors for everybody—thanks to the help of donors and volunteers. More about BNRC properties and trails, conserving land with BNRC, and BNRC’s free Berkshire Trails app, can be found online at bnrc.org.
This land, and all the present-day Berkshires, are the ancestral homeland of the Mohican people who were forcefully displaced to Wisconsin by European colonization. These lands continue to be of great significance to the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Nation today. To learn more visit mohican.com.
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For more information contact Rich Montone at 413-499-0596 x114 or rmontone [at] bnrc [dot] org.
Berkshire Natural Resources Council
309 Pittsfield Rd, Suite B, Lenox, MA 01240