June 2009 Update

In partnership with the town of Rochester, OSI in early May acquired a conservation easement on the historic Domino dairy farm, owned by Margaret DeWitt and managed by members of the DeWitt family. The easement allows for dairy operations to continue on the farm, but ensures that the land will not be developed. Domino Farm is one of only four remaining dairy farms in Ulster County.

The preservation project is part of OSI’s ongoing Two Valleys Campaign, which focuses protection efforts on working farms in the Rondout and Wallkill valleys, an area of scenic beauty and abundant farmland. To date, OSI has protected six farms in the Rondout valley totaling approximately 1,240 acres, helping to preserve an important component of the region’s local economy as well as its traditional rural character.

In addition, adjoining landowners plan to donate a conservation easement on their property—which they currently lease to the DeWitts—protecting 93 more acres, bringing the amount of protected land to approximately 242 acres.

Purchased by the DeWitt family in 1955 and named “Domino” for the black and white patterns on Holstein cows, it has developed into one of the preeminent dairy herds in the country. Its 175 cows and 150 heifers, mostly Jerseys now, ranked among the top 10 in the nation for herds of its size. In the future, the DeWitts anticipate selling value-added milk products such as butter and cheese locally. In addition to the dairy operation, the farm cultivates corn, alfalfa and grass. More than half of the property contains fertile, high-quality soils of statewide significance.

Three-quarters of the cost of the Domino farm easement was funded by a Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) grant awarded by the New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets Farmland Protection Program. OSI provided the balance of the funds.

The 54-year-old farm is situated in the foothills of the Shawangunk Ridge at the edge of the Catskill Mountains and enjoys a spectacular view of the Sky Top Tower and lands of the Mohonk Preserve.

Domino Farm is located nearby other farms protected by OSI, including the 268-acre Paul Farm in the town of Hurley, the 93-acre Osterhoudt Farm and the 320-acre Davenport Farm in the town of Marbletown, and the 361-acre Davis Farm on Route 209 north of Kerhonkson.  

In each of these farmland protection deals, OSI is purchasing the development rights to the farm through use of an agricultural easement agreement but leaves the farm in the private ownership of the farmer. What does this mean?  It means that the farm remains private property; stays on the local tax rolls; and continues as a productive business in the Rondout Valley, generating income for the farmer and his family and fresh, local products for local residents.

In all of these deals the farmer agrees in a legally binding document not to subdivide his property for housing developments, commercial strip malls or other uses.  It is truly a win-win: the farmer gets paid for the development rights, so he has the cash to retire debt, allow parents to retire, rebuild the farm or go into a new line of farming.   

And the beautiful farming landscapes of the Rondout Valley remain beautiful farming landscapes, rather than housing developments and commercial strip malls.

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Osterhoudt Farm

APRIL 18, 2008 In our ongoing campaign to protect farms in the Rondout and Wallkill Valleys, OSI has just announced progress on two projects: 95 acres of the Osterhoudt Farm  is now permanently protected, and 45 acres of the Misner Farm have been sold to a farming family to work the land.

The Shawangunk Ridge drops down on both sides into two pastoral valleys—Wallkill Valley to the southeast and Rondout Valley to the northwest—dotted with picturesque farms that grow food which is sold to both local and urban markets.

These rural historic valleys are part of America’s most productive, yet most endangered, farmland. The scenic farms are an integral part of the history and beauty that attract visitors to the region, but their value goes well beyond their charm; they create a wealth of products, from fruit and vegetables to milk and wine that contribute generously to the local and regional economy.

OSI’s work along the Shawangunk Ridge since 1984 has resulted in the protection of more than 25,000 acres of land and generated cooperative relationships with local land trusts and town governments. The ridge, a spine of gleaming white rock and pitch pine barrens, crevasses and ice caves, wetlands and wild lands, is all just a half-day’s drive from 20 million Americans.

Throughout this remarkable region, OSI has protected lands of ecological, scenic, recreational and historic significance, including the Sam’s Point Preserve, the Lundy Estate, substantial portions of Minnewaska State Park Preserve, the Trapps Gateway, and thousands of acres of state forest on the Ridge.

OSI in the Shawangunks

While the 2006 New York State Open Space Conservation Plan lists both the Wallkill and Rondout Valleys as priority landscapes for protection, the State’s Farmland Protection Program has only made limited grants to Ulster County recently. Several years ago, OSI began to actively protect working farms in the Rondout and Wallkill Valleys. Utilizing a variety of conservation tools, OSI has preserved almost 2,000 agricultural acres in this area to date. Despite these successes, the farmland and open fields of the Wallkill and Rondout Valleys visible from the ridge remain vulnerable to increasing development threats.

Along with furthering OSI’s general mission, preserving farmland in the valleys will also safeguard OSI’s investment of more than $40 million along the Shawangunk Ridge. The tens of thousands of productive farmland acres in the two valleys afford OSI the opportunity to make a significant impact on a landscape-wide level, from valley to ridge to valley again. OSI has already laid the groundwork for specific transactions that make this a ripe opportunity to act. Local government officials and conservation groups have expressed a willingness to partner with OSI, and residents have shown a strong commitment to preserving farmland in the valleys.

Because of rising land prices, encroaching development, economic hardships facing local farmers, and the absence of state farmland protection funds in the region, a successful Two Valleys program must use every tool available going forward. OSI’s first line of defense is the acquisition of agricultural easements that protect the land base. After that, multi-faceted planning and outreach initiatives will further help protect the two valleys. In addition to conserving land, OSI’s plan includes providing conservation loans and creating new partnerships as well as building on established ones.

OSI’s Conservation Goals
OSI is currently working on farmland projects in the two valleys that will protect 3,200 acres at a cost of more than $7.3 million. The bulk of the work is in the towns of Marbletown, Wawarsing, Rochester, New Paltz and Gardiner.

To complement our 40 years of conservation efforts in the region, OSI will continue to work with local, state and federal agencies to create partnerships, educate landowners and the general public to set future policy.

• General Public Education: OSI will help to educate local stakeholders about agricultural and conservation easements and the associated financial incentives.
• Farmers, Local Land Trusts and Local Governments: Three towns in the region—New Paltz, Marbletown and Gardiner—have recently passed bond acts, bringing $5.5 million in conservation funding to the region. OSI is assisting in establishing the process and criteria for use of these funds.
• State Farmland Protection Program: OSI staff is part of a key working group created by New York’s Department of Agriculture and Markets that is working on improving the State’s Farmland Protection Program. OSI is seeking increased Purchase of Development Rights). PDR funding for projects in the Rondout and Wallkill Valleys, and is promoting Ulster County as a critical priority area for PDR funds In addition, we are working with the state to examine new tools to protect farmland.

OSI’s Needs
OSI has resources to further our farmland protection goals, however they fall far short of the funds that are necessary to make a significant impact on threatened farms in the Wallkill and Rondout Valleys. We estimate that at least $7.3 million will be necessary to accomplish our goals in the two valleys. OSI is actively seeking funds from public and private sources. Our goal is to raise $4.3 million from bond act monies, State PDR grants, and private sources, which OSI will match with $3 million over the next three years. We are seeking commitments totaling $1.5 million from private sources toward the total goal of $4.3 million.

Our Commitment to Two Valleys
OSI has made a strong commitment to this region and has set ambitious goals going forward—ambitious, but clearly attainable with strong public and private support. Saving farmland in the Rondout and Wallkill Valleys is of paramount importance. The very nature of the region depends on it.