State Grants Record $2.5 Million to Protect Farms in
Washington and Rensselaer Counties
December 12, 2007/ News archive
ASA to assist with conservation of 1,916 acres on farms in Easton, Jackson, Hoosick, Petersburg, Pittstown and Schaghticoke
December 12, 2007 --The Agricultural Stewardship Association (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.”
State Agriculture and Markets Commissioner Patrick Hooker, who announced the awards today, said, "New York loses valuable farmland every year to development, and we cannot afford to lose anymore. New York's farms and farm families are at the core of many rural communities. The land they utilize contains some of the richest and most productive soils in the world, and because many farms are located in scenic areas of the State, they are in high demand for development."
Working with Washington and Rensselaer counties, ASA successfully submitted an innovative bi-county application to protect two farms located in the towns of Jackson and Hoosick. Dairy farmer Guy Clark rents a fertile section of land just north of the Village of Cambridge along Route 313 in Jackson and the Stearns Farm located in Hoosick and Petersburg. Both parcels are integral to his operation and their owners were retiring and wanted to sell. ASA’s conservation partner, Castanea Foundation, purchased the Jackson property and a portion of the Stearns property. Funding was granted to protect both farms as well as a portion of the Clark Family Farm. This will enable Clark to purchases both farms at their more affordable agricultural value and result in the conservation of 521 acres.
The 324-acre Slocum Farm is a productive and well-managed farm that straddles Route 40 in Easton overlooking the Hudson River Valley. It is surrounded by more than 1,000 acres of protected farmland and is an integral part of the local agricultural community. Three neighboring farms depend on using portions of the land for raising crops, calves and heifers, and pasturing dry cows.
Funding has also been granted to purchase development rights on the Stewart Farm on Route 40 in Easton. The Stewarts are a multigenerational dairy farm family who protected a portion of their highly productive farm in 1999. Now, funding will enable them to complete the conservation of their entire farm and prepare for a transition to the next generation.
The Hooskip Farm is a multigenerational dairy farm that has protected the 371 acres it owns in Vermont with agricultural easements. New York State funding will enable them to protect their remaining 335 acres located in Petersburgh. The farm is part of a 1,327 acre contiguous block of farmland along the Hoosic River valley that is protected or is in the process of being protected.
The 355-acre Cannon Cattle Ranch Farm in Pittstown is located along Otter Creek, a major tributary of the Tomhannock Reservoir. Owners Matt and Peggy Cannon rent a 33-acre field from a neighbor who is nearing retirement and wants to protect the land with an agricultural easement before selling it to the Cannons. Funding will be used to purchase development rights on both properties to protect this productive land which serves as a buffer to Troy’s drinking water supply.
The Robe-Jan Farm in Schaghticoke is a 115-acre family operated dairy farm with a large percentage of high quality soils. The farm is located along Mill Hollow Brook and Kidney Creek, both tributaries to Hudson River, and it overlooks two other farms which have been protected with agricultural easements.
“We are so pleased to be working with ASA”, said Ken Herrington, Chair of the Rensselaer County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board. “Their expertise in preparing these applications combined with the excellence of the farms made for a very successful round of grant applications. This is a major win for farmland protection in Rensselaer County.”
“It’s gratifying to see the efforts of several municipalities working together pay off in such a big way”, said Chair of the Washington County Board of Supervisors, JoAnn Trinkle. “These farms are an important part of the fabric of our region and I am glad to know they will be protected for generations to come.”
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