Why Saving Farmland Is Critical Now
Washington County and adjacent lands in Rensselaer County are bordered on the east by the Taconic Range and the Green Mountains of Vermont, on the west by the Hudson River, Lake Champlain at the north and to the south by the Capital District. The rolling countryside is dotted with productive farms, many of which have been in production for over 200 years.
The character of the Washington County Region is identified by its agricultural history, traditions and culture. The region's agricultural industry remains healthy and viable due to the combination of sufficient farmland and farm size, skilled and knowledgeable farmers, and the surrounding agricultural infrastructure. It is the only remaining region of this type in the Hudson Valley. Washington County, the core of the region, is its agricultural anchor. Remaining farms in nearby Saratoga, Warren and Rensselaer Counties as well as farms in western Vermont, northwest Massachusetts and Connecticut rely on Washington County for this vital infrastructure support.
Sprawl, the scourge of many formerly productive ag regions, is now a serious threat to the Washington County Region. The productive land, the agricultural way of life, the beautiful vistas and the healthy environment are threatened by nearby and internal development and real estate price pressures. With its proximity to the expanding communities of the Capital District and with lower real estate costs than neighboring southern Vermont, Washington County is experiencing significant development pressure.
Within the region, first and second home owners are buying and developing farmland for mainly residential purposes. Upstate New York is experiencing the phenomenon of "sprawl without growth"-while the population grew less than 3 percent between 1982 and 1997, urbanized areas grew 30 percent during the same period. It is estimated that Washington County alone is losing 3,500 acres of productive farmland each year. The county's farmers are concerned that if greater action is not taken to protect the land base, the present agricultural viability of the region will lose its critical mass and begin to collapse.
