Dutchess County: Fund Conserves Farmland
Dutchess County has a long history as a fertile farming area. In 1999 County Executive William R. Steinhaus proposed an Open Space and Agricultural Protection Fund to protect its natural and farmland resources. The county legislature approved a $1 million bond to match public and private funding available for the purchase of development rights on open space and farmland. More recently the county has increased its funding to $2 million annually.
New York City Watershed: Protecting Farms and Water Quality
New York City residents obtain 90 percent of their drinking water from reservoirs and streams in the Catskill region, where much of the water flows through farmland. In 1998 New York City began funding a conservation easements program, administered by the Watershed Agricultural Council (WAC), which conserves agricultural and forest land in the Catskills to protect the city's water supply. The city also provides financial and technical assistance for watershed farms to implement environmentally sound farming practices.
The Town of Red Hook: Conserving Critical Farms
In 1998 Scenic Hudson protected more than 1,000 acres of farmland in the Dutchess County Town of Red Hook, including three crop farms and four orchards. Grants from a private charity funded the purchase of conservation easements, which safeguard more than 12 percent of Red Hook's farmland. By conserving neighboring farms in a "block," Scenic Hudson's goal was to preserve the rural character of the community, while maintaining the social and economic environment necessary to keep farms viable.
Rensselaer County: Planning for Farmland Protection
New York's 1992 Agricultural Protection Act launched the drafting of county farmland protection plans statewide. The plans identify threats to important farmland and pinpoint strategies to keep the land in agriculture. Rensselaer County, a rural county on the fringe of the Capital Region, has designed a unique plan that places special emphasis on the role of towns in protecting farmland.
Rockland County: Open Space Plan Saves Farmland
By 1999 only 10 percent of the land in suburban Rockland County remained undeveloped. Facing the total loss of its farmland, the county developed an Open Space Plan and dedicated $10 million to acquiring four properties outright, including two farms. Additional county funding purchased an 80-acre orchard and leased it back to the former owner, under a 25-year leased designed to keep the land in farming.
Saratoga and Washington Counties: Partnership Promotes Agriculture
Washington and Saratoga counties, located on either side of the river in the upper Hudson Valley, have partnered on a unique initiative to strengthen their agricultural economies. In 2000 the counties received funding from New York's Farmland Viability Program to hire a specialist in agricultural economic development. The specialist advises farmers on new products, services, marketing and management, and helps integrate agriculture into existing county economic development efforts.
The Town of Stuyvesant: A Model Community
Stuyvesant in Columbia County was one of the first towns accepted into the Hudson River Greenway Communities Council's "model communities program." The program provided funding and technical assistance for Stuyvesant to develop a comprehensive plan, which identified agriculture as the town's primary land use. The town has since implemented a right-to-farm law and a farm building tax relief program, and has been awarded several state farmland protection grants to purchase development rights on farms in partnership with Scenic Hudson.
The Town of Warwick: Residents Vote for PDR
In November 2000, residents of Warwick in Orange County voted to use town funds for the purchase of development rights on farmland. The PDR initiative will protect 3,000 acres - nearly five square miles - of the town's farmland and open space, much of which is threatened by sprawl. Without the program, Warwick's continued development would cost taxpayers an estimated $4 to $5 million per year in additional school taxes.
Westchester County: Farmers Join Together
In response to intense development pressure, farmers in Westchester County banded together to urge county legislators to establish an agricultural district. The district, approved in 2001, offers farmers benefits such as agricultural property tax assessment and protection from intrusions of sewer and water lines, which often result in residential and commercial development in agricultural areas. The Westchester County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board supported the agricultural district proposal on the grounds that it will encourage farmers not to sell their land for development. |
|
 |
 |
|
| Throughout the Hudson Valley, farmers and
communities are working together to protect farmland. |
|
