The Agricultural Stewardship Association (ASA) is accepting pre-applications from farmers in Washington and Rensselaer counties that wish to apply to the state farmland protection program. Pre-applications are due by Friday, May 13 to ASA’s office.
[private]The state program provides financial compensation to farmers who want to protect their farms by selling their non-agricultural development rights. ASA, with the endorsement of the Washington and Rensselaer counties Agricultural and Farmland Protection Boards, writes the grants free of charge and submits them to the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets for consideration. The state ranks the proposals on a regional basis.
Pre-applications can be downloaded from ASA’s website at www.agstewardship.org, by emailing asa@agstewardship.org, calling (518) 692-7285 or stopping by the office at 2531 State Route 40 in Greenwich. Pre-applications are only requested once every year or two, so don’t miss your chance! Any pre-applications received prior to 2016 are not considered. You must fill out a new pre-application if you wish to be considered for a future funding round.
To date ASA has protected nearly 17,000 acres on 108 properties. ASA actively promotes public awareness of farmland conservation and encourages policies which support and enhance agriculture. Learn more at www.agstewardship.org[/private]