Hudson Valley Receives Grants to Protect At-Risk Farmland

Hudson Valley farms will benefit from $20 million worth of grants that Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday.

The funds will be administered through the Hudson Valley Agricultural Enhancement Program to help local farmers protect at-risk farmland from future development.

More than 5,600 acres of active farmland on 28 farms in seven counties will be protected through permanent conservation easements, according to Cuomo.

During the last 25 years, the state has lost almost a half million acres of farmland to subdivisions, strip malls and other development.

Cuomo said the program will ensure that farms can remain as farms today and in the years ahead.

“Agriculture remains a key driver of our economy, and I am proud that we are continuing to support and protect New York farmers throughout the Hudson Valley,” he said, in a prepared statement.

The awards include:

• Columbia County: $4.16 million (5 projects)
• Saratoga County: $3.14 million (7 projects)
• Dutchess County: $3.01 million (4 projects)
• Orange County: $2.83 million (4 projects)
• Rensselaer County: $2.55 million (4 projects)
• Westchester County: $1.84 million (1 project)
• Washington County: $860,000 (3 projects)

Included in the grants are $1 million for Ronnybrook Dairy in Ancramdale, Columbia County; $1.8 million for Stuart’s Fruit Farm in Granite Springs, Westchester County, and $1.8 million for Sycamore Farms in Wallkill, Orange County.

Senator Terrence Murphy said he remembers visits to Stuart’s with his four siblings.

“This has been a decade in the making and I am proud to partner with the Westchester Land Trust and the Town of Somers to finally deliver this farmland protection grant,” he said. “We have now ensured it will remain as one of the most important agricultural, environmental and economic resources in the lower Hudson Valley.”

For a complete list of all the awards, go here.

Photo credit: Ronnybrook Dairy website.