Current News

ASA is Hiring!

ASA is seeking a full-time Membership and Office Coordinator to advance membership development, manage the membership database, support the Executive Director and provide office administration. The ideal candidate will have strong organizational and communication skills, be a team player, and have solid knowledge of MS Access. Competitive salary and benefits. Send resume, cover letter and brief writing sample by May 19 to ASA, 28R Main Street, Greenwich, NY 12834 or email to renee@agstewardship.org.

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Farmers are Invited to Apply for State Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) Funding

Pre-Applications Due to ASA by May 15, 2008

Are you a farmer with a viable commercial operation in Rensselaer or Washington County? Are you looking to expand, diversify or transfer your operation to the next generation, retire farm-related debt or develop a retirement “nest egg”? If so, the state’s Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) program may be able to assist.

State Grants Record $2.5 Million to Protect Farms in Washington and Rensselaer Counties

ASA to assist with conservation of 1,916 acres on farms in Easton, Jackson, Hoosick, Petersburg, Pittstown and Schaghticoke

ASA partnered with two counties and three towns to prepare applications on behalf of eight farms in the 2007 round of New York State Department of Agricultural and Markets Farmland Protection Program Grants. A record seven farms were awarded more than $2.5 million in funding. ASA’s executive director, Teri Ptacek, said “We are very pleased with the success of our applications this year. These are all excellent farms that play an integral role in our farming community. Conserving them will help ensure their continued success and availability for future farming.” Read more...

ASA Helps Landowners Protect Three Properties in
Jackson, Hoosick and Kingsbury at the End of 2007

Hanf Farm The Agricultural Stewardship Association (ASA) assisted landowners with the protection of three properties totaling 448 acres at the end of 2007. In each case, landowners chose to donate a conservation easement which protects the agricultural and forestry characteristics by permanently restricting the type of non-agricultural development that can occur on the land. Read more...

Rensselaer County Protects its First Farm From Development

July 26, 2007 - The Weir Dairy Farm is the first farm in Rensselaer County to be protected in partnership with state and federal farmland protection programs. The 328-acre farm is located in the Town of Schaghticoke and has been protected by a permanent conservation easement held by the Agricultural Stewardship Association. Read more...

Four Farms on Batten Kill Are Permanently Protected

January 26, 2007 - Drive down Skellie Road in the late summer and you will see lush fields of corn and alfalfa. The rich river bottom soils along this stretch of valley, deposited by the Batten Kill and Black Creek, make it extremely valuable for raising a variety of crops. Members of the Skellie family have been farming here since the early 1800s, successfully adjusting to a changing rural economy. Now, Jay and Kim Skellie, and Jay’s cousin Tom Jilek and his wife Diane, have ensured that this rich land will forever be available for farming. Read more...