Yates Couty Farm is First to be Permanently Protected through Conservation Agreement
01/15/2009
Penn Yan, NY – Cornell Cooperative Extension of Yates County and the Finger Lakes Land Trust today announced their successful partnership with landowners Dale and Karen Hallings to permanently protect their 219-acre farm located in the Town of Milo, just south of Penn Yan.The project involved the purchase of a permanent conservation easement that will ensure the Hallings’ Hallpine Farms remain in agriculture and will not be lost to development. The agreement provides guidelines for future use of the land and is binding on all future owners of the property. Funding for the project was provided by New York State’s Department of Agriculture & Markets with additional support from the Partridge Foundation of Cleveland, Ohio.
Hallpine Farms is a diversified operation which grows a variety of field crops, including hay, corn, and other grains. Lands protected through the agreement contain soils that are considered to be prime for agricultural use. The farm is located on both sides of State Route 14A and its fields provide a scenic backdrop for travelers to the region. The farm also provides valuable open space within the watershed of the Keuka Lake Outlet
“Dale and Karen Hallings of Hallpine Farms are the first farm in Yates County to protect their land through the use of an agricultural conservation easement” says Peter Landre, executive director of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Yates County and co-chair of the county’s Agriculture & Farmland Protection Board. “They have shown tremendous vision, patience, and leadership by protecting their family farm for future generations.”
Dale Hallings adds that “my family and I are proud to say the lands my father and grandfather farmed will never be lost to development. Farmland is a precious resource and it cannot be replaced.”
“Farmland is vital to the future of Yates County and the entire Finger Lakes Region,” says Land Trust executive director Andrew Zepp. “We are grateful for the commitment Dale and Karen Hallings have made to both the land and their community. We also greatly appreciate the support of Yates County, New York’s Department of Agriculture and Markets, and the Partridge Foundation. Each of these partners was essential to making this project possible.”
Yates County and the Land Trust are already working on their second farmland protection project, which involves the purchase of an agricultural conservation easement on the James Henderson Farm – a 500-acre tract which is adjacent to Hallpine Farms.
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Yates County (CCE) provides educational and program support to the Yates County Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board. CCE is also the county’s link to Cornell University and the Land Grant System, providing timely, research-based information and expertise to solve real-life problems in the areas of agriculture, natural resources, youth and family development. For more information on CCE and the Yates County farmland protection, visit the web site (http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/yates/AFPB.html) or call the CCE office at 315-536-5123. CCE provides equal employment and program opportunity.
