Business Technical Assistance
BAV provides comprehensive technical assistance to farmers and food entrepreneurs through a combination of in-house expertise, networking with regional partners, and experienced consultants.
Technical assistance projects are cost-shared; typically, BAV covers 80% of costs and the applicant is responsible for 20%. See some examples below of technical assistance BAV has provided, and submit an inquiry to learn how BAV can support you! If you are a non-farm agricultural business, please read these guidelines to learn more about your eligibility for BAV services.
Eligible areas of assistance can include, but are not limited to:
Bookkeeping / record keeping
Business & financial planning
Business expansion & enterprise analysis
Value-added product development
Marketing & branding
Grant application assistance
For agricultural businesses, we also support the following activities:
Holistic farm planning
Livestock management plans
Soil health management
Climate change adaptation planning & strategies
Water system efficiency and run-off mitigation
Berkshire-Taconic Dairy Cohort
This exciting project brings together eight dairy farmers across BAV’s service area to collaborate on the issues faced in the dairy industry and the business opportunities available to overcome those challenges. Launched in the fall of 2024, the project’s goal is to support and sustain dairy farming and the dairy economy in the Berkshire-Taconic region.
Cohort members are meeting regularly over the course of two years to achieve the following:
Utilize business planning professionals’ expertise to strengthen the long-term viability of each participating farm.
Help more Berkshire-Taconic Dairy farmers win grants and access programs to improve their farms.
Strengthen the Berkshire-Taconic region’s farmer-to-farmer dairy network amongst a variety of dairy farms to increase knowledge sharing and generate creative solutions.
Overarchingly, support and sustain our Berkshire-Taconic working landscape and our farming community.
Read our press release about the Dairy Cohort here! If you have any questions about this work, please feel free to contact us.
Client Stories | Technical Business Assistance
Square Roots Farm
Square Roots Farm has been operating since 2010. The farm offers fresh chicken and turkey, grass-fed beef, pasture-raised pork, and local eggs.
“When we approached BAV looking for technical assistance for our rebranding, we were really stuck. With help from BAV, we were able to work with a designer who really listened to us and helped us revise our logo and our branding in ways that authentically reflected our vision for our farm. This TA project really helped us out of a point of being stuck to where we can keep moving on our own.”
—Michael Gallagher, Square Roots Farm
Red Shirt Farm
Red Shirt Farm is a diversified family-owned farm. They raise vegetables using regenerative methods, as well as pastured heritage-breed animals for eggs and meat.
“BAV’s support was instrumental in helping us turn our farm store and commercial kitchen from vision to reality. Thanks to this guidance, we opened a store that’s not only beautiful and efficient, but built to last. We’ve gained skills, strategy, and confidence that will serve us for years to come. This wasn’t just technical assistance—it was the right help at the right time from people who truly understand what farms like ours need to succeed.”
—Jim Schultz, Red Shirt Farm
Chaseholm Farm Creamery
Located on the multi-generational Chaseholm Farm, Chaseholm Farm Creamery makes small-batch, artisanal cheese. It is one of only a handful of farmstead creameries in New York.
“The Technical Assistance BAV has made available to us has been top notch, helping us secure two winning grants. BAV’s support and participation has been the key ingredient in realizing our forward-looking growth and expansion plans. We expect to be able to more than double our output over the next several years and feel we have secured our business’s viability over the next decade and beyond. We would not have been able to achieve any of this without the crucial support BAV has provided.”
—Rory Chase, Chaseholm Farm Creamery
Support BAV
Help BAV support our farmers and strengthen our local food system. Your gift makes it possible for BAV to offer high-impact business assistance and flexible loans to local farmers and food producers.