Meadowpond Farm
Farmland Protection Brings Peace of Mind
OVER THE 31 YEARS that Melissa Charest has lived on Meadowpond Farm in Brunswick, her appreciation for the beauty of the 176 acres she calls home has only deepened. However, over that same stretch of time, she’s become increasingly concerned about the encroaching development.
“Where there used to be just fields and forest, my view now contains rows of houses,” says Charest. “I can’t undo the development that’s happened, but I sure can do something to protect at least a piece of the area’s natural beauty for the future.”
Towards that end, Charest recently donated a conservation easement to ASA on her entire farm. Charest will continue to work the farm, raising livestock including beef cattle, breeding ewes, lambs, goats and chickens, as well as producing hay for her own use and sale to other local dairies and horse farms.
“This farm has been in continual agricultural production since 1810,” says Charest. “It gives me peace of mind to know that I was able to do something to ensure it will continue to be a working farm even after I’ve moved on.”
Thank you to Melissa Charest for donating this conservation easement. The transaction-related costs were funded in part through ASA’s Forever Farmland Fund.
