Pitts: “… fresh, healthy local produce”
HAMPTONBURGH – The 70-acre former Nemeth family farm on Maybrook Road in Hamptonburgh is being considered for a large processing and distribution center for West Coast produce.
The company, AMPCO Distribution, would receive shipments of produce,
clean and process it, and then ship it out to the region by truck.
The property, which Orange County owns because of the previous owner’s failure to pay back taxes, is adjacent to the 142-acre Windfall Farms. The owner of that farm, Morse Pitts, last week signed a conservation easement to preserve the land in perpetuity for agricultural use.
Pitts told Mid-Hudson News on Wednesday that while his farm received just under $1 million from the state to preserve the land for agriculture, the proposal for the Nemeth farm is contrary to that.
“On land that is close enough to New York City that young farmers can afford to start farms there and sell produce in New York City, which is what supposedly what everybody wants is fresh, healthy, local produce,” Pitts said. “Instead we get old, West Coast produce and eliminate the farming jobs in the local region in favor of California.”
Orange County economic development officials could not be reached for
comment on Wednesday.
In our earlier story, we incorrectly identified the company as Railex.
COO Woody Dunkum said they have no plans to locate in Hamptonburgh. We
regret the error.
