State money protects farmland near Ithaca

Recently, New York State’s Farmland Protection Program awarded $23 million to permanently protect more than 8,000 acres on 27 farms in New York State. Now the number of acres protected by the program totals more than 72,000.

What does that mean for us?  Here's the breakdown for Ithaca and the Central New York region, summarized from a NYS report:

*Town of Ithaca received $205,224  to protect Indian Creek Farm, which was founded in 1998. It's a 42-acre u-pick fruit and vegetable farm with a nursery and cider press, located on Route 96. The farm has agriculturally important soils, adjoins a deed-restricted winery, and has 1,900 feet of forested riparian corridor along Indian Creek. The Town will contribute $66,708 toward the protection.

*Town of Dryden received $451,808  to protect Wideawake Dairy, founded in 1924.  It's a 374-acre dairy farm with agriculturally important soils and boundaries along the Virgil Creek trout stream.

*Schuyler County received $440,700 to protect Argetsinger Farm, founded in 1883, in partnership with the Finger Lakes Land Trust. The farm is a  70-acre vineyard with both prime and agriculturally important soils. It also borders Tug Hollow Creek.   

*Cayuga County received $2,322,152 to protect two farms in partnership with the New York Agricultural Land Trust. One of the farms, Green Valley  Farms, founded in 1985, is a 760-acre cash crop operation with a soybean roasting enterprise that has agriculturally important soils.  The farm adjoins two previously protected farms and has 11,000 feet of stream frontage. The second farm, Allen Farms (South), which was founded in the mid-1800s, is a 527-acre dairy operation with prime soils. It lies partially within the upper Yawger Creek watershed and has an additional 780 acres under contract to be protected.

*Onondaga County received $2,322,152 to protect two farms in partnership with the New York Agricultural Land Trust. One of the farms, Burgett Farms is a 194-acre dairy operation with prime soils and 1,500 feet along a tributary into the West Branch  Tioughnioga River. The second farm, Hourigan Farms, is a 1,258-acre dairy operation with both prime and agriculturally important soils. It has a mile of frontage along West Branch Carpenter’s Brook.  The landowners will donate a perpetual conservation easement on 392 acres of this farm.