Land Protection FAQ
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        Farmland Protection

   

Photo by James Bleecker The Columbia Land Conservancy is dedicated to protecting farmland and committed to supporting the region’s agricultural economy.  During the past 20 years, the Conservancy has served as a primary resource for towns and individual farmers interested in exploring farmland protection options available through federal, state, and local programs.  The Conservancy works with landowners who wish to voluntarily protect their farms with conservation easements in an effort to ensure that important agricultural soils remain intact.  Approximately one-third of the 20,000 acres CLC has  protected with conservation easements is working farmland.    For information on other incentive programs available for owners of farmland, click here to download the latest New York Landowner Guide from American Farmland Trust.   Farmer Landowner Match Program   Farmland in the Hudson Valley is no longer affordable to most farmers looking for land to either expand or start up a new operation.  Yet thousands of acres of Valley farmland are owned by non-farming landowners.  To help facilitate connections between farmers and landowners, CLC has started a new program that will centralize this information in a database.    If you are looking for land, or have land you would like farmed, you can fill out our application form and we will enter your needs into our database.        This project was recently featured on CCSCOOP.  For additional information on farmer-landowner issues and example lease documents visit Land For Good's resource page.    You can view our list of farmers looking for land, or landowners searching for farmers here, and for more information please contact Marissa Codey 518 392-5252 ext. 211.    New Agricultural Potential  Assessment Program,  We are looking for your input:   As part of our on-going efforts to help landowners find farming partnerships, the Columbia Land Conservancy is in the process of developing a service for landowners that would allow them to meet with volunteer  farmers to help them better understand their land’s agricultural potential, and possibly assist with potential lease discussions.  We have developed this short survey to help us assess your interests, needs, and thoughts. New York State Farmland Protection Program  Funding for this program is in jeopardy.  If you want to help us help local farms,  take action- click here.  Through the New York State Farmland Protection Program, the Conservancy has helped to secure more than $6 million in state and private funding on behalf of towns and local farmers, ensuring the protection of approximately 5,280 acres of working farmland through the placement of conservation easements on these lands.  While protecting farmland soils and other important resources, the easements allow for home occupations and rural enterprises.  In addition, these easements offer the flexibility current and future farmers may need to modify and diversify their operations as agriculture practices and trends change.    "The state program provided an opportunity to protect our farm, and at the same time, provided funds for our retirement", said Frank Bitel, who sold the non- agricultural development rights on his farm (above) through the state farmland protection program. The State Farmland Protection Program awards 75 percent of the total project cost; the remaining 25 percent local match requirement can be accomplished by a variety of techniques such as a bargain sale—the landowner could sell his/her development rights at less than the appraised value and take the donated value as a tax deduction against the payment for his/her development rights.  Similarly, a neighboring farm owner could donate his/her non-agricultural development rights as the local match. The Conservancy has successfully written numerous grants on behalf of local farmers and towns (such as Ancram, Kinderhook, New Lebanon and Stuyvesant) to protect the county’s working landscape.  These projects often involve partnering with other conservation organizations, such as the Open Space Institute or Scenic Hudson Land Trust, or generous neighboring landowners to provide the local match requirements.

Columbia Land Conservancy · P.O. Box 299 · 49 Main Street · Chatham, NY 12037 · (518) 392-5252