GREENFIELD — Business leaders came together at the monthly Franklin County Chamber of Commerce breakfast on Friday morning to discuss how they can continue to support the region’s farmers amid the increasing challenges they face.

With about 830 farms in Franklin County, agriculture makes up a large portion of the economy. According to state Department of Agricultural Resources Commissioner Ashley Randle, the county ranks first in the state for producing vegetable crops, second in the state for dairy and third in the state for aquaculture.

“Farming and agriculture is more than just a critical economic driver. It really is a literal life source. Farming truly feeds our economy,” said Jessye Deane, executive director of Franklin County Chamber of Commerce and Regional Tourism Council. “Our farmers are heroes.”

Farms and farmers not only contribute significantly to the Franklin County economy, they also help shape the character of the region.

“Farms are responsible for the attributes of the quality of life and beauty in this region that benefit all of us,” said Margaret Christie, special projects director at Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA).

“It is easy for us to have a connection to the seasonality of food, which brings us a connection to the land and the people who live here,” Christie continued. “If we don’t support it, we won’t keep that.”

The overarching theme of the breakfast focused on how the connection between businesses and farms has kept the agriculture sector of the economy alive. This is especially true as extreme weather resulting from climate change has affected farm production almost every season in recent years.

“Agriculture is a challenge in the best of times, let alone what we saw in the past couple of years,” Deane said.

Growing up in Deerfield, Randle said she has witnessed how agriculture across the state has changed over time. But, she said, what has stayed consistent is the “constant community support for agriculture.” She explained it takes an entire community to keep agriculture strong in western Massachusetts and Franklin County.

The challenges farms face, Christie said, are similar to the ones faced by all businesses. Farms in particular have come across the challenges of dealing with supply chain disruptions, difficulties in attracting and keeping a skilled workforce, and rising production costs. While businesses face weather-related disruptions like rainy weekends that impact customer turnout, farms experience that same hurdle, dealing with heavy rains, frost and other weather events that destroy their crops.

With all of that adversity, Christie said, the community comes together to continue to keep all the businesses alive in this challenging time.

“Farms are left feeling a mixture of an enormous amount of gratitude to the community and a lot of uncertainty still of how they are going to continue to farm in this increasingly unstable climate,” Christie said.

CISA has led many projects to help farmers, including launching its “Local Hero” campaign, helping people to access Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) benefits and launching a Growing Resilience Campaign.

“We will look back at 2023 and say, ‘That was a terrible year, but we put in place systems that we are now relying on as we see these disasters more and more,’” Christie said.

Also speaking at the breakfast was Michael Nelson, president of the Franklin County Agricultural Society. He explained this exact philosophy was why his society was founded 175 years ago. Its creation marked farmers coming together to support each other.

“It was the OG trade show of agricultural planning,” Nelson said.

As the Franklin County Fair continues to grow, the agricultural exhibitions continue to be a major component. The Franklin County Agricultural Society runs the fairgrounds on Wisdom Way in Greenfield.

Nelson said fair organizers have chosen “Rooted in Our Community” as the 175th fair theme, showing the continued commitment to the community.

Ben Clark, of Clarkdale Fruit Farms in Deerfield, and Angie Facey, of Bree-Z-Knoll Farm in Leyden and the Our Family Farms dairy cooperative, also spoke about continued support from the community. Clark explained because the peach crop was destroyed this year and apples were severely damaged, the community support has sustained his farm. And Facey said dairy is a local economic powerhouse, keeping money and production all in the area.

“If you give back to the community, then the community supports you. That is a good summation of agriculture,” Clark said.

Just Roots Executive Director Laura Fisher explained her farm operates on a similar model in Greenfield. She said the farm’s philosophy is, “If we invest in our soil and the land we steward, we build the wealth in our community. We build the wealth in our locality. We contribute to the community’s well-being.”

With this philosophy, Just Roots offered more than 500 farm shares this summer, with the largest portion of shares being held by people who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

“We are building a resilient, diffuse, diverse local economy,” she said.

Bella Levavi can be reached at 413-930-4579 or blevavi@recorder.com.