2025 Climate Change & Farming Week is a wrap! 

CISA’s third annual Climate Change and Farming Week wrapped up a few weeks ago and saw widespread interest and participation by nearly 150 farmers, students, technical assistance providers, and the general public in diverse events hosted by eleven local farms, organizations, and colleges from the Berkshires to the heart of the valley.  

The week is an opportunity to draw attention to the innovative solutions being implemented throughout western MA to make our local food system more resilient in the face of increasingly erratic and extreme weather. The events allow farmers to see what other farmers are doing to plan and prepare and consumers to learn about where their food comes from and what it takes to keep farming as New England becomes warmer and wetter. The events also allow technical assistance providers to learn about new resiliency practices that are being tried out and working (or not) on area farms.   

This year’s hosts included Berkshire Ag Ventures, the UMass Dining Services Sustainability program, Hampshire College Farm, Greenfield Community College’s Farm and Food Systems program, Barstow’s Longview Farm, CISA, Big River Chestnuts, Long Game Orchard, Firefly Farm, North Quabbin Garlc & Arts Festival, Meadowfed Lamb and Carr’s Ciderhouse & Preservation Orchard. Many thanks to all of them for their exemplary work and for opening their doors to the public! 

For more information on this year’s events or to discuss hosting an event next year, scheduled for Sept 20-26, 2026, contact stephen@buylocalfood.org.