Land Trust Seeks New Tenant Farmer For Boesch Farm

Land Trust members are putting out a Request for Proposal (RFP) for Boesch Farm this week, with hopes of having a new tenant to farm the land before fall, according to president Steve Whitney.

The action follows the earlier this month, who had held the lease since 2004.

At a meeting last week, Land Trust members heard from four residents who spoke about the importance of maintaining a working farm at Boesch.

“They actually produced a ton of produce,” said Donna Dyer of the first few years of the Ledge Ends CSA. In a CSA (community-supported agriculture), subscribers pay upfront, essentially buying a share in what the farm produces that year.

Donna and her husband were former subscribers of the CSA run by Eacker. That ended two years ago.

“I saw the quantity and the quality of the product decrease,” she said. “I thought I would just go to the farmers market and pick out what was good.”

For Dyer and the others who attended the meeting, it was about the produce but also about having a community resource and gathering place. They spoke fondly of harvest festivals early on, and cooking classes held outside under the giant formosa tree beside the house.

“It was the most wonderful place the first few years,” said Dyer. “We used to volunteer there. We used to go at night and weed in the dark. I would say the first five years were wonderful.”

Steve Whitney, president of the Land Trust, wrote in an email that the board was grateful for the residents’ comments.

“We received some good feedback from the public and people were very supportive of the Land Trust and the goal to have the community involved in some form in an agricultural endeavor at the farm. The public education component is something that people would like to see more of,” Whitney wrote. “We were encouraged that people took the time to come out.”

The members discussed what would be in the RFP during the meeting. They will look for an applicant who will live on the property and make “significant use of the land and structures,” Whitney wrote. A new tenant would offer public access and participation and educational programs, in addition to running an agricultural operation and maintaining the property.

“We hope to have enough information to select a candidate at the July 26 meeting, and then we would negotiate a contract. Ideally someone could be in place sometime in August,” said Whitney.

“While the past couple of months have been a difficult transition at Boesch, we are encouraged by the feedback from the public and several potential applicants, and are looking forward to an exciting future that hopefully gets more residents involved with one of the true treasures in town.”