GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass (NEWS10) — Berkshire Agricultural Ventures’ (BAV) announced two new grants. The first will be a $3,020 matching grant to Shaker Creek Farm located in Stephentown, and the second will be a $5,000 matching grant to Smoke & Honey Co., a socially and environmentally conscientious beekeeping and farm-based business located in the Berkshires and the Hudson Valley.

The grant for Shaker Creek Farm will help provide up to 3,000 chicks, staggered batches of 500 at a time, who will be raised on pasture land with local grain, organic, soy-free grain feed. This grant also allows the farm owners to purchase and build five new chicken tractors.

The tractors allow a chicken flock to move around their pasture, constantly having fresh vegetation and allowing used sections to be fertilized by chicken waste. 

Shaker Creek Farm will be offering fresh and frozen pasteurized whole chickens by order or at the New Lebanon Farmers Markets, Hudson Valley Farmers Markets, and Random Harvest Market.

The grant for Smoke & Honey Co. advances educational programming by providing free hives, bees, and beekeeping lessons to aspiring beekeepers of color in the Berkshires and the Hudson Valley.