Rockland Farm Alliance Needs County Funding For Cropsey Farm

NEW CITY, NY — The Rockland Farm Alliance is seeking $50,000 from Rockland County to help maintain the Cropsey Community Farm. Organizers said they need contingency funding while the historic barn is being renovated, and would also like to receive ongoing supplemental support as do several other non-profits in the county.

RFA officials ask supporters to come to the next Rockland County Legislature meeting to show their support for Cropsey Farm, its programs and the county residents who benefit from it.

WHEN: 7 p.m. Tuesday

WHERE: Rockland County Legislature, County Office Building, 11 New Hempstead Rd, New City, 10956

"We are a non-partisan organization which serves all residents of Rockland County and our funding should not be used in a politically motivated legislative fight," organizers said in a letter to their community. "From its inception, RFA has not received, nor asked for any county funds. Now we are asking, and if you would like to see the farm continue operating, we need your support to petition your elected officials."

The $1.5M renovation of the the Revolutionary-War era New World Dutch barn at the Cropsey Farm property is currently underway, a joint project conceived by the county and the town of Clarkstown. A 2015 engineering report found that the historic barn would require significant restoration to preserve it. The barn, one of the few remaining structures from the 1700s in Rockland, was showing visible signs of its age, including some tilting walls and damaged foundation areas.

Rockland County legislators unanimously supported the restoration.

"Every resident of Rockland should feel a sense of pride when they visit or even drive by Cropsey Farm," Legislature Chairman Toney Earl said at the time.

However, the renovation has made it impossible for the RFA, the non-profit, 800-member Rockland Farm Alliance formed in 2005 to farm the Cropsey property, one of its main sources of income, or even offer most of the group's educational programs.

"The result is a huge loss in revenue," the Rockland Farm Alliance organizers said. "At the same time we have ongoing overhead expenses, the most costly of which is the maintenance of the entire 25-acre property. If RFA does not receive funding soon for the upkeep of the Cropsey property we will likely have to close."

Cropsey Community Farm is a 12-acre USDA Certified Organic vegetable, herb, and flower farm on land that has been preserved by the NY Open Space Conservation Plan. The farm supplies produce for more than 200 members of its community-supported agriculture farm-share program, as well as vegetables for sale at Nyack Farmers' Market on Thursdays and the Cropsey Farm Stand on Saturdays during the season. The farm also sells to local stores such as Hungry Hollow Co-op in Chestnut Ridge, and its produce is on the menu at many local restaurants. What is not consumed by paying customers is donated by the thousands of pounds annually to local food pantries and charitable organizations.

The Cropsey family farmed in New City for more than 100 years. The initial deal between farmers Jim and Pat Cropsey, the town of Clarkstown, Rockland County and the RFA preserved Cropsey Farm as open space, gave the retired Cropseys lifetime rights to live in their farmhouse, and contracted with the RFA to cultivate the farm and develop a comprehensive agricultural educational program geared toward school children about the processes of farming and the county's agricultural history.

SEE:

• Revolutionary-Era Barn Renovation Deal Signed At Cropsey Farm
• A New Generation of Farmers Comes to New City's Cropsey Farm