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Farmland Protection on the way
By Francesca Olsen
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
COLUMBIA COUNTY — Columbia County is one of the only counties in New York without a Farmland Protection Plan approved by the state Department of Agriculture and Markets, but a change is on the horizon.
On Tuesday, the Planning and Economic Development Committee passed a resolution to apply for state grant funding for developing a Farmland Protection Plan, with matching funds to be provided by the Columbia Economic Development Corporation (CEDC).
Several grants are awarded by the Department of Agriculture and Markets each year for up to $50,000. With a strategic vision outlined in such a plan, the county can receive additional grant funding for conservation and farmland projects.
CEDC will manage the grant application as well as the development of a plan. The Columbia County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board has submitted drafts of a plan to the state Department of Agriculture and Markets, but it was not approved.
“There have been multiple drafts, none of which have been approved by the state. We need to make sure the plan meets the state’s criteria as well as the county’s expectation,” said Todd Erling, deputy executive director of the CEDC.
Erling said the state wants to see specific recommendations for implementable action items, as well as identified areas for conservation and protection.
“Among all of our peers, or neighboring counties, including Westchester, we are definitely the last one in the valley, if not the last in the state” to implement a plan, Erling said.
Supervisor Betty Young, R-Taghkanic, serves as a supervisors’ representative on the farmland protection board and worked on the development of a farmland protection plan draft presented in 2005. “For whatever reason, it didn’t have all the bells and whistles,” she said, adding that there was no budget for the development of the plan.
“We’ve accomplished as much as anybody else has without having the plan,” Young said during the committee meeting.
Young said she was happy the concept would be revisited. “We have no problem with that. We now have a whole committee behind it, whereas before we were out there in left field.”
County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board Chair Marian Dunbar said forming a plan was first discussed by her board in 2001. “Nothing has changed. Nothing has been refused without it,” she said, adding that New York Ag and Markets law says a county “may” make a plan. “It’s not required as a legal thing.”
Dunbar said her board reviewed similar plans from dozens of other counties, but didn’t spend money on surveys “because it had already been done.”
“We really tried to do a lot of background on it,” she said. “It’s not what they wanted.”
With the creation of such a plan, there’s a lot of room for public input, which can lead to an increasing awareness of the importance of agriculture in Columbia County.
Columbia Land Conservancy Executive Director Peter Paden said he was looking forward to the social effects of public input on the plan. “It’s a huge consciousness raiser, and it’s a huge boost to people’s recognition of the importance of farming and the potential for farming here,” he said.
“The previous draft is not really a plan as that term is understood by this program,” said Paden. “It just doesn’t have the basic requirements that the statute requires in this plan.”
“Substantially, I would hope that we’ll bring good benefits by way of potential state funding, but I really believe the process of doing a plan is going to be one of the major benefits.”
“I don’t see this as, ‘Oh, we’re finally getting (a plan),’” said Erling. “I see it as ‘Hey, let’s look at this as a pep rally for agriculture. Let’s look at this as a way to bring agriculture and planning and land use issues right to the surface and have the public aware of them… have our community residents participate in part of the planning process.”
To reach reporter Francesca Olsen call 518-828-1616, ext. 2272, or e-mail folsen@registerstar.com.
On Tuesday, the Planning and Economic Development Committee passed a resolution to apply for state grant funding for developing a Farmland Protection Plan, with matching funds to be provided by the Columbia Economic Development Corporation (CEDC).
Several grants are awarded by the Department of Agriculture and Markets each year for up to $50,000. With a strategic vision outlined in such a plan, the county can receive additional grant funding for conservation and farmland projects.
CEDC will manage the grant application as well as the development of a plan. The Columbia County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board has submitted drafts of a plan to the state Department of Agriculture and Markets, but it was not approved.
“There have been multiple drafts, none of which have been approved by the state. We need to make sure the plan meets the state’s criteria as well as the county’s expectation,” said Todd Erling, deputy executive director of the CEDC.
Erling said the state wants to see specific recommendations for implementable action items, as well as identified areas for conservation and protection.
“Among all of our peers, or neighboring counties, including Westchester, we are definitely the last one in the valley, if not the last in the state” to implement a plan, Erling said.
Supervisor Betty Young, R-Taghkanic, serves as a supervisors’ representative on the farmland protection board and worked on the development of a farmland protection plan draft presented in 2005. “For whatever reason, it didn’t have all the bells and whistles,” she said, adding that there was no budget for the development of the plan.
“We’ve accomplished as much as anybody else has without having the plan,” Young said during the committee meeting.
Young said she was happy the concept would be revisited. “We have no problem with that. We now have a whole committee behind it, whereas before we were out there in left field.”
County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board Chair Marian Dunbar said forming a plan was first discussed by her board in 2001. “Nothing has changed. Nothing has been refused without it,” she said, adding that New York Ag and Markets law says a county “may” make a plan. “It’s not required as a legal thing.”
Dunbar said her board reviewed similar plans from dozens of other counties, but didn’t spend money on surveys “because it had already been done.”
“We really tried to do a lot of background on it,” she said. “It’s not what they wanted.”
With the creation of such a plan, there’s a lot of room for public input, which can lead to an increasing awareness of the importance of agriculture in Columbia County.
Columbia Land Conservancy Executive Director Peter Paden said he was looking forward to the social effects of public input on the plan. “It’s a huge consciousness raiser, and it’s a huge boost to people’s recognition of the importance of farming and the potential for farming here,” he said.
“The previous draft is not really a plan as that term is understood by this program,” said Paden. “It just doesn’t have the basic requirements that the statute requires in this plan.”
“Substantially, I would hope that we’ll bring good benefits by way of potential state funding, but I really believe the process of doing a plan is going to be one of the major benefits.”
“I don’t see this as, ‘Oh, we’re finally getting (a plan),’” said Erling. “I see it as ‘Hey, let’s look at this as a pep rally for agriculture. Let’s look at this as a way to bring agriculture and planning and land use issues right to the surface and have the public aware of them… have our community residents participate in part of the planning process.”
To reach reporter Francesca Olsen call 518-828-1616, ext. 2272, or e-mail folsen@registerstar.com.
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