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Today, Harrison talks about getting the greenhouse ready to begin seeding! If you like the video please give it a thumbs up, subscribe to our channel, and hit that notification bell to see more videos like this one :)
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Today, Harrison shows us how he does a quick high tunnel turnover in the late winter months! If you like the video please give it a thumbs up, subscribe to our channel, and hit that notification bell to see more videos like this one :) Today, Harrison talks about soil retention and cover cropping! If you like the video please give it a thumbs up, subscribe to our channel, and hit that notification bell to see more videos like this one :) The Farm Stand Over the past two years we have explored having a manned farm stand to offer expanded customer service, value added products, and several convenient options to pay for goods and services. This year we are implementing a new honor system with a Square Self-checkout Hub. It will be at the main desk at the rear of our tent and although the farm stand will not be manned this season, you will still be able to purchase items with cash, check, credit, and debit cards. The same beautiful tent that protects our product and our valued customers during inclement weather will be there with the addition of NEW farm stand tables and we can't wait for you to see them! In addition, we are streamlining our offerings to vegetables, fruit, flowers, and fall ornamentals only. This change will make it easier for our limited staff to focus on quality and be more consistent. We pride ourselves on the products we grow, and believe this is the best option for a more manageable season. CSA Farm Share The relationship between a CSA member and a farmer is a very unique one. Both benefit from the experience in many different ways and we’ve learned a lot over the last few years. Some of these things include the share sizes we sell, the quantity of produce needed for 7 solid meals, and the quality it takes to give you an enjoyable experience from week to week. Although, we want to emphasize the risk vs. reward is still very real from season to season, we should always be focused on this. With that said, we will be offering subscribers a “small share” only. This is our most popular size and will be a beefed-up version of the small share we provided in 2021. It will feed up to 2 people and you will receive 7 to 9 vegetables each week. If you have more than 2 people in your family you will have the option to purchase an additional share or two at a discounted rate to double or triple the amount of food you receive. This new system will…
Farmers' Markets In early 2021 we were invited to participate in a brand new farmers’ market in the city of Chicopee to help bring fresh local food to its townspeople. This would be our first farmers’ market ever! After a short time, word got out and we were asked to attend multiple markets in the area to do the same, 3 markets in total. We learned, if done correctly, this was very lucrative for our farm. Some of the planning process this winter is to expand this part of our business with its own manager and crew. These new markets will give us the opportunity to build the Bardwell Farm name, sell our product in multiple areas, and reach more people who are lacking the availability of access to fresh food. Farm Layout & Management
2021 has taught us so many lessons. We have taken these winter months to regroup and focus on what it takes to run all the different parts of Bardwell Farm. As we all know, labor is the most crucial part of any business. This season we will be shifting our workforce to where we find it most important; in the fields, packhouse, and retail spaces where true production happens. We work to fulfill a strong crew this season that is verse in all areas of our business to bring the best service to your table. Wholesale has also become an important part of our business as well. As we continue to expand our customer base, just like the retail side, we see this as an essential part to keep our farm viable. Streamlining growing practices, harvesting, and logistics to a larger scale of operation will help with rising labor costs and sustain our business for years to come. Our farm will continue to adjust to the adverse climate but new challenges will also come this season. Our business is growing and there will always be ups, downs, and struggles. We will do our best to meet all of these goals. But, it is our ultimate goal to present you with the best possible product and service we can 365 days a year. We are here for you. If you have any questions or concerns please call (413) 800-5583 or message us at info@bardwellfarm.com. Thank you for your support! Owner Harrison Bardwell Today, Harrison gives us a spring onion update! If you like the video please give it a thumbs up, subscribe to our channel, and hit that notification bell to see more videos like this one :) This week Harrison shares his finished crop plan! If you like the video please give it a thumbs up, subscribe to our channel, and hit that notification bell to see more videos like this one :) Today, Harrison talks about winter crop planning and why it's super important to have one in place before starting the growing season! If you like the video please give it a thumbs up, subscribe to our channel, and hit that notification bell to see more videos like this one :) Valley Bounty: Winter Farmers Market nourishes farm-to-table connection
By Sabato Visconti | Daily Hampshire Gazette | January 14, 2022 There’s more to farmers markets than meets the eye. They’re places to buy your favorite locally grown food, along with handmade treats and crafts. For socialization and entertainment. Even places for fighting hunger. Thanks to the hard work of market organizers, elected officials and other supporters, farmers markets are woven into the very center of civic life in many communities. Organizers like Jodi-Lyn Manning, owner and manager of the Farmers Market at Forest Park in Springfield, are working to draw more people toward that center to experience the benefits these markets have to offer. Between summer and winter markets, the Farmers Market at Forest Park runs 11 months out of the year. Even in the winter, a diversity of local food abounds, Manning says, from “eggs, to cheese, milk, honey, maple syrup, mushrooms, chicken and duck, so much produce, and treats like wonderful German pastries, too.” And for produce, “it’s not just turnips and potatoes,” she says. Though there are plenty of the traditional winter staples, each produce vendor grows something year-round. “There’s always fresh lettuce, spinach, microgreens, broccoli — things like that.” “Most of our vendors have been here at least 10 years, some 20,” says Manning, who has moved back into the Forest Park neighborhood she grew up in. “There’s definitely loyalty, camaraderie and respect, and I’ve really enjoyed getting to know and work with them.” Manning started managing the Farmers Market at Forest Park last May, taking the reins from Belle Rita Novak, who founded it in 1989. Before doing so, she says, “I never realized the magnitude of this industry. Managing a farmers market isn’t just setting up vendors in a parking lot. I’ve had a huge learning curve, while also educating the public on what an essential resource we are.” Essential resource or critical infrastructure — whatever you call them, farmers markets earn the title by providing strong, broad and direct links among local farmers and a diverse cross-section of the community. Explaining how markets like Manning’s in Forest Park work to combat hunger is a great way to show this. Hunger in western Massachusetts has skyrocketed during the pandemic, as Manning shares in a sobering statistic: “just in our ZIP code, 01108, between August 2020 and August 2021, the number of people on SNAP (the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) doubled.” Happily, mutual aid and several state-funded programs exist to supplement SNAP and support people who’ve been financially squeezed by the broader economy. HIP, the Healthy Incentives Program, gives all state residents with SNAP an extra $40 to $80 each month to spend on fresh produce grown by local farms. Meanwhile, during the summer, Senior Farmers Market coupons provide eligible residents 60 and older $25 a year for use at certain farm stands and farmers markets, and those who qualify for WIC (the Women, Infants, and Children program) are mailed an extra $30 a year to spend specifically at farmers markets. These must be spent by October. All three programs recognize the opportunity to improve nutrition, public health and the local economy simultaneously as they require spending these benefits on fresh produce directly from local farms. Farmers markets are already meeting places where local farmers and shoppers gather. When their vendors are set up to accept payment via SNAP, HIP, WIC or Senior Farmers Market coupons, markets become powerful focal points for realizing these synergistic benefits. The Farmers’Market at Forest Park accepts all of these programs — and people are using them. “We have one of the highest rates of return of Senior Farmers’Market Coupons of any region in the state,” says Manning, meaning more coupons distributed in Springfield (by senior centers and service agencies) are actually being used at the Farmers Market at Forest Park than compared to other regions and farmers markets in Massachusetts. Still, there are many more who could use these programs but don’t, leaving money on the table. “The number of people on SNAP who understand and use HIP is still very limited,” Manning says. State data puts the rate of Hampden County SNAP recipients using HIP in November at 6%. It turns out if you build it, but not enough people know about it, they won’t come. To that end, “when I took official ownership of the market in August,” Manning explains, “our goal was to become a nonprofit with a much larger outreach and education component.” In November, with help from local politicians, the Farmers Market at Forest Park secured $75,000 in state funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to support just that. “We’re looking to partner with other agencies, and also to hire someone,” says Manning, who is also putting together an advisory committee of vendors and community representatives to guide the market and how this money is spent. In many ways, the market is a community endeavor, and Manning is glad to collaborate and receive help from others. “I would not be here without CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture),” she says. “Most times when I’m stressed about something — whether it’s a legal question or a grant application — I call and they say, ‘Oh, we can help you with that.’ Between CISA and Mass Farmers Market especially, I have good support.” In the future, Manning also hopes to give the market a more consistent home, so people will always know where and when to come. “Going into our 24th year, I’m advocating for a permanent, year-round pavilion, hopefully still in Forest Park,” she says. “I think we have tremendous possibility to be a much larger, more vibrant market, and I’m excited to see what the next five years looks like for us.” The Winter Farmers Market at Forest Park runs every second and fourth Saturday from Jan. 8 through March, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the Shea Building accessed from Sumner Avenue. Masks are required and physical distancing is observed. Jacob Nelson is communications coordinator for CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture). To learn more about winter farmers markets near you, visit buylocalfood.org/find-it-locally. Harrison talks about the importance of removing snow from the high tunnels! If you like the video please give it a thumbs up, subscribe to our channel, and hit that notification bell to see more videos like this one :) Harrison talks about insulating the high tunnel end walls during the cold winter months! If you like the video please give it a thumbs up, subscribe to our channel, and hit that notification bell to see more videos like this one :) |
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