TAGHKANIC – The 83-acre Delapenta Farm in Taghkanic has been preserved with a conservation easement on the third-generation dairy farm.
Scenic Hudson, the Columbia Land Conservancy and Equity Trust worked with the Zapp family to secure the permanent availability of the property for agricultural use.
The Delapenta Farm has operated since 1913 as a Holstein operation providing milk to the Northeast Dairy Producers Association cooperative.
The land consists of more than 40 acres of USDA Prime farmland and is adjacent to other land previously protected by the Columbia Land Conservancy.
By granting a pre-emptive purchase right, the Zapp family ensured the land’s permanent availability for agricultural use and also provided long-term stability for their own operations.
Funds from the conservation easement and the pre-emptive purchase right will also support the family’s plans to transition to an all-organic operation and enable them to update dairy infrastructure and invest in on-farm processing of their milk for direct sale to local and regional consumers.
Delapenta Farm (Scenic Hudson photo)
