Ulster County helps protect two farms

By Hallie Arnold , Freeman staff Daily Freeman March 26, 2005

Two Marbletown farms will be preserved as agricultural land for future generations, thanks in part to Ulster County's pending purchase of development rights for just under 400 acres of top-quality farmland in the Esopus Valley.
A $279,000 supplemental grant from the state Department of Agriculture and Markets, announced this week ,will be used to buy development rights on the Davenport and Misner/Palmatier farms.
The two farms initially were to become part of the county program about three years ago, but during the time between when the grant was applied for and when it was awarded, the property values in the county increased to the point where the county no longer had enough money to close the deal, according to county Planner Dennis Doyle.
"We were extremely fortunate that the state recognized that that was important and got us about $279,000 to complete the transaction," he said.
The county also is in the process of working out a development-rights purchase of about 268 acres of the Paul Farm in Hurley, Doyle said.
The county's Farmland Protection Program aims to keep farms in agriculture by compensating farmers for the difference between the value of their property as an agricultural business and the value if it was sold for development.
Those values depend on a number of factors, including the size of the parcel, road frontage and existing zoning statutes. Doyle said prices to buy development rights have been as low as $800 per acre and as high as $15,000 per acre.
The state grants cover 75 percent of the cost of the purchase, so Ulster County has partnered with Scenic Hudson and the Open Space Institute, which have been paying the remaining 25 percent as a local match for the grants.
To date, the county has received $3.3 million in farmland protection grants and $1.1 million in local matching funds from its partners, allowing it to preserve more than 1,400 acres of farmland.
Farmers wishing to participate in the next round of grant applications should contact Lydia Reidy, executive director of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County, at (845) 340-3990.

©Daily Freeman 2005

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