Our neighbor organization, the Berkshire Community Land Trust, sent the following enewsletter to its members. We are sharing it with friends of the Schumacher Center to encourage a spirit of land gifting into community land trusts as a way to broaden and diversify land access.
We have many exciting developments with Farmsteads for Farmers to share. Here is a bit of a backstory on this campaign and updates on securing River Run Farm for Berkshire Community Land Trust and Off the Shelf Farm.
Farmsteads for Farmers, an initiative of Berkshire Community Land Trust (BCLT), was formed in 2021 to address the insecurity our small-scale Berkshire farmers are experiencing relative to access to land and housing. Our mission is to support the preservation of agricultural land and livelihoods, ensuring the vitality of communities and the environment for generations to come.
On September 11th, 2023, Berkshire Community Land Trust signed a purchase and sale agreement for the 79-acre site at 200 North Plain Road in Great Barrington, known as River Run Farm. The agricultural site is part of Great Barrington’s “breadbasket” of prime farmland. The site includes approximately 3,800 feet of frontage along the meandering Housatonic River with its rich ecosystem of flora and fauna. The purchase also includes the farmhouse on the site to ensure that affordable housing for farm staff remains close to farm operations in perpetuity – a prime objective of Farmsteads for Farmers.
Once River Run Farm is acquired, BCLT will lease the site through a 98-year lease to Anna Houston and Rob Perazzo, owners of Off the Shelf Farm. The lease will be modeled on that developed for Indian Line Farm, in which the land is held in trust by BCLT, while the farmers build equity by owning the buildings and other improvements on the site. Secure access to the site will permit Off the Shelf Farm to consolidate previously scattered operations and invest in infrastructure to support the production of eggs and meat for sales and distribution to local markets and food pantries without the added cost of land debt. Anna and Rob can then get on with what they do best – producing food for the local food economy.
As is true at Indian Line Farm, the use of the site by the farmers will be determined by the Land Use Plan attached to the lease. A draft land use plan is included below. It shows an approximate 12-acre “homestead” area where residence, barns, and greenhouse will be concentrated. An additional 32 acres of prime agricultural land will be kept in pasture for the chickens and lambs using regenerative rotational grazing methods that contribute to soil health. The remaining 35 acres comprise forest land, wetland, river frontage, scenic vistas — land for wildlife and nature preserve.
Philanthropist Jane Iredale purchased the site last year to save it from development and hold it for repurchase by BCLT. Meanwhile, she invested significantly in the site, removing invasives along perimeters and improving the house to be safe, functional, sustainable, and welcoming.
On May 19th, a community celebration attended by over 200 persons and sponsored by 20 different organizations was held at River Run Farm, announcing the intention of BCLT to purchase the site and lease it to Off the Shelf Farm. A two-minute video of highlights from the celebration captures the high energy and community spirit.
In a further welcome development, on July 20th, 2023, Governor Healey announced that the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Food Security Infrastructure Grant Program approved a grant of $497,519.20 to Off the Shelf Farm.
These grant funds were available using federal assistance provided to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by the U.S. Department of the Treasury under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), which established the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund (FRF). The grant approval came as a welcomed surprise to all involved.
Off the Shelf Farm will use the funds to construct a 30′ by 60′ barn with an egg-washing station, refrigeration capacity, storage space for cartons, and room for operations at River Run Farm.
Construction will include upgraded electrical service and the digging of a new well. In addition, the grant will fund the construction of a 63′ by 160′ greenhouse large enough to hold 3,000 chickens through the winter with automated watering and feeding capacity. The two buildings, to be located in the “homestead” area, will significantly increase the ability of Off the Shelf Farm to supply a dependable source of protein to local markets and food pantries, thereby strengthening the region’s food system.
The buildings must be completed and grant monies spent by June 30th, 2024. Motivated by this urgency, on September 11th, 2023, BCLT signed the purchase and sale agreement referred to above to purchase the site for $1,650,000 with a closing date of February 15th, 2024.
Also, on September 11th, BCLT submitted a proposal for funding to Great Barrington’s Community Preservation Committee. At its meeting on September 15th, the Committee approved a recommendation for a $300,000 grant to BCLT to help purchase River Run Farm. Voters will act on the proposal at the town meeting on October 23rd.
Great Barrington’s Community Preservation Plan identifies the protection of the Housatonic River frontage and the protection of critical agricultural lands as a high priority.
The Open Space protection category for CPA funding includes the following land acquisition purposes:
The purchase of River Run Farm by the Farmsteads for Farmers initiative will protect this exceptional agricultural site, its sensitive ecological areas, and its extensive river frontage. Of the total 79 acres, 12 will be for agriculture, with the remaining 67 being grasslands, fields, forest land, wetland, river frontage, scenic vistas, land for wildlife or nature preserve.
A note on Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding – the source of funds is a mandated surcharge on property taxes. This surcharge is matched, in part, by state funding raised by recording fees at the registry of deeds. So, the baseline property tax assessment is not affected when voters approve recommended distributions of CPA funds. The Town is collecting the surcharge whether there is a CPA project or not. The Town Meeting vote is to allocate funds already being collected to a project that the Community Preservation Committee believes meets the purposes of the CPA law and local Great Barrington priorities.
The breakdown of how BCLT will raise the purchase price of River Run Farm follows:
Land to protect existing and future well-fields, aquifers and recharge areas, watershed land, agricultural land, grasslands, fields, forest land, wetland, river, stream, lake and pond frontage, land to protect scenic vistas, land for wildlife or nature preserve, and land for recreational use.
We request your support of this unique community-based project that meets multiple objectives, including preserving river frontage, conserving farmland, protecting workforce housing, and forwarding local economic goals.
Help secure River Run Farm
Tax-deductible donations may be sent to:
Farmsteads for Farmers
Berkshire Community Land Trust
P. O. Box 276 | Great Barrington | MA 01230
Credit card donations may be made at: https://berkshirecommunitylandtrust.org/donate-to-the-berkshire-community-land-trust
If you would like to privately discuss a contribution to Farmsteads for Farmers for purchase of River Run Farm, you may contact Beth Carlson at: farms@berkshirecommunitylandtrust.org