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Home Page   Local News   Local Sports   Community Calendar   Opinion   Editorials   Columns   Letters to the Editor   Archives   News Archives   Sports Archives	1-03-2007 Springfield dairy farm gets land protection grant Staff report Spitzer recently announced funding awards from the state's Farmland Protection Implementation Program, including $650,025 to protect Ringwood Farm, which is a dairy farm located in the Town of Springfield. According to a press release sent by planner of the Otsego County Department of Planning and Solid Waste Psalm Wyckoff, the funding enables Otsego Land Trust to negotiate the purchase of the development rights on one of the finest dairy farms in the state. The press release said the dairy will remain in active operation, but the rights for further commercial and residential development will be limited through a conservation easement. "As a dairy farmer, I'm encouraged to see farmland being preserved for the future," said Jennifer Huntington, dairy farmer with Cooperstown Holstein Corporation and board member of the Otsego Land Trust. Ringwood Farm is a 316-acre dairy operation owned and operated by the Bartlett family. The family said, "This is a very proud moment at Ringwood Farm. Fulfilling the dreams of our grandfather and father to see the farm remain forever in agriculture is very rewarding." According to the press release, the farm was founded in the early 1900s and purchased by the Bartlett family in 1932. The press release also said the farm property has a high percentage of high quality soils and an active sugar bush, making it ideal for productive agriculture. The farm has scenic views of Otsego Lake, making it a valuable part of the landscape, according to the press release. Ringwood Farm also provides protection for Cripple Creek that flows through the Goodyear Swamp to Otsego Lake, so that protecting the farm from development will aid in protecting the rural character of the area, and will help ensure an agricultural, working landscape in the future, said the press release. Otsego County Planning Department and Otsego Land Trust implement farmland protection efforts in Otsego County in partnership with the Farmland Protection Board and American Farmland Trust. Otsego County Department of Planning will serve as fiduciary agent, and Otsego Land Trust will negotiate the transaction and manage the conservation easement. Otsego Land Trust is a non-profit conservation organization founded in 1988. To date, the Land Trust manages over 40 easements that protect nearly 4,500 acres in the Otsego Region. The press release said The Farmland Working Group, which includes Herkimer & Otsego County Soil & Water Conservation Districts (SWCD), Cornell Cooperative Extension, USDA Farm Service Agency, Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), SUNY Biological Field Station, and Otsego County Conservation Association, provided valuable input on the successful funding proposal from Otsego County. Otsego County Planning Department and Otsego Land Trust plan to host an informational meeting about funding associated with the New York State Farmland Protection Implementation Program and other farmland protection opportunities in the coming months. Those individuals who wish to receive information about the meeting are directed to contact Otsego County Planning Department at 547-4225.
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