Cherry Valley Farm Among Those To Receive Farmland Protection Grants
COOPERSTOWN—Farming has been a way of life for many in the Otsego region, but farm consolidation, high prices for inputs, and changing climate patterns are taking a toll on many farms. While the growing challenges of small-scale agriculture have led some farmers to sell their land for non-agricultural uses, the Otsego Land Trust is working to keep farmland in active agricultural use, preserving the farms that feed us and the traditional rural character.
To support local agriculture and farmland, Otsego Land Trust worked directly with farm families to submit four applications for the purchase of development rights through the Farmland Protection Implementation Grants program of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. Governor Kathy Hochul announced on June 6 that all four OLT applications have been successful.
