ASA Project Awarded Grant for Purchase of Development Rights
Greenwich, NY - Congressman John Sweeney is pleased to announce the award of $85,705 from the Federal Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program to the Agricultural Stewardship Association (ASA). This money, together with a state award, will be used to purchase the development rights and acquire an easement on the 244 acre Tiashoke Farm in Washington County.
"This is great news!" said Teri Ptacek, Executive Director, "We now have full funding and can move ahead on the Tiashoke Farm project."
In March of this year ASA secured $297,337 in state funding for the project, which covers 75 percent of project costs.
Owned by Franklin and Theresa Ziehm, Tiashoke Farms is a dairy farm located on Morris Road in the Town of Cambridge. It is the original site and home farm of the overall 600-acre Tiashoke Farms, LLC operation. This operation operates a second site on NYS Route 40 in the Town of Easton which is owned by the Ziehm's sons. Tiashoke Farms in Cambridge is where the milk cows and milking facility are located. Between the two facilities there are 625 head of milking cows and 473 head of young stock.
Tiashoke Farms in Cambridge consists of two parcels containing 164 acres of prime and statewide significant soils and nearly one mile of river frontage along the Hoosic River. Protecting this farm facilitates the transfer of this farm and milking facility to the next generation.
The Agricultural Stewardship Association is a non-profit land trust founded in 1990 by local farmers, agribusiness representatives, and conservationists to protect land for agricultural use in the Washington County, New York region. We believe having farms and farmland is vital to our future. We accomplish our mission through our land conservation and stewardship programs and public education efforts. To date, we have protected over 4,400 acres of farmland in the Washington County area and are in the process of protecting another 1,850 acres.
To learn more about ASA, visit our web site at www.agstewardship.org.
