A $60,000 grant from The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, awarded to and administered by Scenic Hudson, will help the nonprofit move toward its goal of protecting 25,000 acres of high-quality farmland as part of its Saving the Land That Matters Most campaign.
Since 1992, 8,000 acres have been protected in five mid-Hudson Valley counties. This is the first time the Duke Foundation has given a grant to Scenic Hudson.
One Hudson Valley livestock producer was one of several farms that benefited from the campaign this year. The 378-acre McKeon Farm in Red Hook was aided in acquiring conservation easements for the cattle farm”™s pastures and hay fields used to feed its livestock.
“The generous grant could well be the catalyst for taking farmland protection in the region to a whole new orbit,” said Ned Sullivan, president of Scenic Hudson. “Time is of the essence in conserving productive farmland, so important to our economy, food supply and heritage. The 17 land trusts partnering in Saving the Land That Matters Most are achieving important successes in working to preserve it.” Sullivan said the grant will help the nonprofit and its partners create strategies to secure funds that will significantly increase farmland protection efforts.
Farms add more to the region than pastoral beauty. They also contribute to the $4.7 billion tourism industry and support local economies by paying more than they require in municipal service taxes. Hudson Valley farms now make up 80 percent of the vendors actively participating at Green Market Grow NYC, the farmers market in Manhattan”™s Union Square.
“The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation seeks to foster a local, sustainable food system for New York City and the surrounding region,” said Andrew Bowman, director of the foundation”™s environment program. “Building support for farmland preservation is essential for protecting the region”™s agricultural land base and economy; we are pleased to support Scenic Hudson in this important endeavor.”
Scenic Hudson estimates 50 acres of productive farmland were bought every day for suburban development prior to the Crash of 2008, leading the American Farmland Trust to designate the Hudson Valley region as one of the country”™s 10 most threatened agricultural areas.
The downturn in the real estate market has provided unique opportunities to protect land at relatively lower prices and has motivated farmers to seize the opportunity to sell development rights to bring enhanced capital into their agricultural operations and help promote farming. Other farmers see opportunities to buy land subject to conservation easements at prices not likely to occur again.
Securing new funding sources is critical to take advantage of all of these opportunities, said Sullivan, adding the grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation will allow the nonprofit to work with farmland-preservation experts at all levels to overcome local, state and federal constraints hampering farmland protection.
