WARWICK – Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus and County Legislator Paul Ruszkiewicz met on Thursday with a number of black dirt farmers in Warwick to discuss a produce distributor’s proposal to establish a facility in Hamptonburgh.
The company, identified by county officials as AMPCO Distributors, would purchase the 70-acre former Nemeth farm that the county now owns because the former farming enterprise defaulted on property taxes.
Neuhaus said it is very early in the process for the proposed business. “What we decided to do is try to set up a meeting with the proposed purchaser and try to flush out any of the questions the growers or the county have in relation to the project,” he said.
Some farmers are concerned that the new company would import produce from other parts of the country, which would impact on local farmers’ businesses.
