POUGHKEEPSIE – Funding through the Dutchess County Partnership for Manageable Growth is going to help permanently protect two farms in Dutchess County. The Brookby Farm in the Town of Dover and the Destined Wind Farm in the Town of Amenia will receive a total of $651,781 to preserve agriculture.
“Agriculture is a vital, diverse and growing economic engine in Dutchess County, and our Partnership for Manageable Growth Program allows us to strategically preserve farming as an industry,” said County Executive Marcus Molinaro.
Both farms are family operated.
Brookby Farm is a 49-acre property that is home to a 200-year-old, seventh-generation dairy farm. It is licensed to sell raw milk and includes a farm store where eggs, chicken, beef and pork raised on the farm are sold, as well as products from other area farms including honey, maple syrup and locally roasted coffee. The farm also leases another 750 acres and altogether, the farm yields 600 round bales of hay, 6,000 square bales of hay, 300 tons of corn silage, and produced 450,000 pounds of milk last year.
The total estimated cost of the acquisition of a conservation easement at Brookby Farm is $266,792. The county’s funding will provide 50 percent of the cost, $133,792, and the Dutchess Land Conservancy is working with partners to secure the remaining 50 percent.
Destined Wind Farm is a 232.5-acre, dairy farm that includes an active 100-plus cow dairy, 75 acres for hay production, 53 acres for corn production and 23 acres for pasture. The farm produces over one million pounds of milk each year, and sells to Marcus Dairy. The farm also yields about 600 tons of haylage, 800 tons of corn silage, and 150 to 200 round bales each year, which is used to support the farm.
The total estimated cost of conservation easement is $1,727,950 with the county funding 30 percent, at $518,385. The Dutchess Land Trust will seek funding for the remaining 70 percent, or $1,209,565, from the state Department of Agriculture.
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