Freedom Hill Farm, Mount Hope
GOSHEN – Eight farms in Orange County have been proposed for protected farmland with state grant funding. If approved, it would add over 1,000 acres of protected land to the 7,100 acres that are already protected in the county.
County Planning Commissioner David Church said they hope that many, if not all, of the farms could benefit from a one-time state cash infusion.
“The state has made a unique $20 million available as a one-time opportunity in the Hudson Valley so we worked with our partners and identified at one time 12 to 15 potential projects, but in the end, eight were submitted,” Church said.
If they are all approved for the state farmland protection funding, they would consume about one-third of the total $20 million, Church said.
The eight homes proposed for the agricultural enhancement program are:
Yarosz Hill Farm, 108 acres, in the Town of Crawford
Freedom Hill Farm, 111 acres, in the Town of Mount Hope
Cieslewicz Farm, over 138 acres, in the Town of Wallkill
Crestline Dairy, over 159 acres, in the Town of Wallkill
Smith Farm/Sycamore Farms, over 202 acres, in the Town of Wallkill
Brown Farms, over 89 acres, in the Town of Warwick
Luft Farm, at almost 79 acres, in the Town of Warwick
Oprandy, at over 171 acres, in the Town of Warwick
