Securing fresh food and our region’s heritage by protecting nearly 20,000 acres of farmland on more than 135 family farms since 1992.

Farms are part of the Hudson Valley’s DNA. Native Americans grew corn, beans and squash in its fields. During the American Revolution, it was the breadbasket of the 13 colonies. 

Today, the valley’s family farms, some dating back three centuries, feed Hudson Valley residents and are also part of New York City’s “foodshed.” Like a watershed, which outlines how water drains into a specific geographic area, a foodshed illustrates where a region’s food supply originates and where it goes. 

To meet the growing demand throughout the region for fresh, local food, Scenic Hudson partners with farmers to conserve their fields and orchards — enabling them to grow their operations, sustaining the agricultural economies of rural communities, supporting the growing agri-tourism and farm-to-table movements, and maintaining an essential part of our region’s heritage and scenic beauty. 

To achieve our successes, we also depend on support from fellow land trusts as well as state and federal funding. Since 1992, we have conserved 18,000 acres on more than 125 family farms in six counties. We pioneered a “critical-mass” approach — conserving clusters of farms in communities whose prosperity depends on agriculture. 

In addition, we have developed an innovative, collaborative strategy, a foodshed conservation plan to ramp up farmland protection in the region, critical for meeting the growing demand for healthy, local food. And we’re currently exploring ways to encourage farmers across the valley to embrace regenerative agriculture — methods that not only reduce a farm’s carbon footprint but make its soils more productive and climate-resilient. 

To verify the ecological and climate impacts of regenerative farming, we continue collaborating in research at the Scenic Hudson Soil Lab on Old Mud Creek Farm in Livingston in Columbia County. Abby Rockefeller, who worked with us to protect the farm in 2015, founded this visionary project with Benjamin Banks-Dobson.

Learn more about this type of farming and how we’re supporting it in our report, The Climate-Resilient Agriculture Initiative: Cultivating Climate Solutions in the Hudson Valley.

Success Stories

Kelder Farm (Kerhonkson, Ulster County)

We partnered with the family who has farmed this land for 200+ years to protect 157 acres that sustain their popular agri-tourism destination. 2022

Lansing Farm (Colonie, Albany County)

Partnering with the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy, Equity Trust and a local friends group, we conserved this 20-acre farm, a Capital Region food staple owned by the same family since 1788. 2021

Saulpaugh Farm (Chatham, Columbia County)

By protecting these 121 acres with the Columbia Land Conservancy, the property became affordable for purchase by long-time leaseholders. 2020

East Heartland Farm (Ancram, Columbia County)

Generous landowners donated a conservation easement on 171 acres of productive, scenic and ecologically important farmland. 2020

Chester Agricultural Center (Orange County)

Protecting these 165 acres in the Black Dirt region helps sustain an operation providing long-term affordable leases to six farms. 2019

Esopus Agricultural Center (Ulster County)

Farms on these 211 acres we conserved near Kingston provide fresh produce to local and New York City markets. 2019

Farmer’s Daughter Farm (Otisville, Orange County)

Young farmers Matt and Trish Southway were able to purchase this 196-acre farm after we partnered with Orange County Land Trust and Equity Trust to acquire an easement on the land. 2019

Farm at Miller’s Crossing (Claverack, Columbia County)

We partnered with the Cashen family, Columbia Land Conservancy and Equity Trust to conserve these 400 acres used to produce organic vegetables, raise a small beef herd and make maple syrup. 2019

Nemeth Farm (Hamptonburgh, Orange County)

To prevent the planned development of 72 acres of productive farmland, we joined with GrowNYC, Equity Trust and Orange County Land Trust to conserve it. 2018

GEM Farm (Schodack, Rensselaer County)

To prevent development adjacent to this popular park, we protected 2.6 acres. 2011

Fishkill Farms (Fishkill, Dutchess County)

We added 105 acres to this historic farm and protected 240 acres of woods and wetlands by partnering with Dirt Capital Partners, Dutchess Land Conservancy and Hudson Highlands Land Trust. 2018

Chaseholm Farm (Pine Plains, Dutchess County)

Along with milk, this third-generation dairy farm produces artisanal cheese. We partnered with the Chase family, Columbia Land Conservancy and Dutchess County to conserve the 175-acre property. 2018

Artemis Farm (Chatham, Columbia County)

Farmer Cynthia Creech helped rescue a historic and near-extinct breed of cattle. We partnered with her, Columbia Land Conservancy and Equity Trust to conserve her 120-acre farm. 2018

Thompson Finch Farm (Ancram, Columbia County)

This 210-acre organic berry farm attracts pickers from three states. To conserve it, we partnered with the Columbia Land Conservancy, Equity Trust and the fifth-generation owners. 2019

Taliaferro Farms (New Paltz, Ulster County)

These 32 acres sustain one of the valley’s oldest organic CSAs. We partnered with the Taliaferro family, Wallkill Valley Land Trust, the county and the town to conserve them. 2018

Millerhurst Farm (Ancram, Columbia County)

We partnered with the Miller family and Columbia Land Conservancy to protect 189 acres on this dairy farm owned by the family since 1770. 2018

Potts Farm (Red Hook, Dutchess County)

The Stickle family grows fruits and vegetables on their 73-acre farm. We partnered with them and the Dutchess Land Conservancy to protect it. 2017

Doyle Farm (Austerlitz, Columbia County)

The land on this 500-acre farm is both productive and scenic, which is why we partnered with the Doyle family and Columbia Land Conservancy to protect it. 2017

Duncandale Farm (North East, Dutchess County)

We conserved 158 acres of productive and scenic fields by partnering with Dutchess Land Conservancy, Dutchess County and the Duncan family, owners of the farm since the 1700s. 2017

Ronnybrook Farm (Ancram, Columbia County)

To help sustain the operations of this iconic dairy, we partnered with Columbia Land Conservancy and the Osofsky family to protect 210 acres. 2017

Laughing Earth Farm (Brunswick, Rensselaer County)

Farmers Zack and Annie Metzger were able to acquire this 175-acre farm, on which they operate a CSA, thanks to our partnership with the Agricultural Stewardship Association to protect it. 2016

Walt’s Dairy (Copake, Columbia County)

To protect this 350-acre farm, a founding member of the Hudson Valley Fresh milk cooperative, we partnered with Columbia Land Conservancy and the fourth-generation owners. 2016

Clermont Farmland (Columbia County)

A generous landowner donated a conservation easement to us on 18 acres of productive farmland. 2016

Delapenta Farm (Taghkanic, Columbia County)

The owners of this third-generation dairy farm plan to transition to an all-organic operation thanks to the easement that we and Columbia Land Conservancy acquired from them on 83 acres. 2015

Old Mud Creek Farm (Livingston, Columbia County)

By conserving these 390 acres with Columbia Land Conservancy, we enabled the land’s new owner to restore the soil’s health after years of industrial use to test pesticides. 2015

Janesko Farm (Stuyvesant, Columbia County)

We completed the conservation of a 10-farm, 1,500-acre tract of contiguous protected farmland by partnering with Columbia Land Conservancy to preserve these 130 acres. 2015

Whistle Down Farm (Claverack, Columbia County)

To protect this 59-acre sustainable vegetable operation that sells produce locally and supplies four NYC food pantries, we partnered with Columbia Land Conservancy. 2015

Dutch Hollow Farm (Schodack, Columbia County)

These 143 acres are vital to a dairy farm with one of NY’s largest herds of Registered Jersey cows. We partnered with the farmers and Columbia Land Conservancy to protect them. 2015

Copake Agricultural Center (Copake, Columbia County)

By protecting these 189 productive acres with Columbia Land Conservancy and Northeast Farm Access, we supported creation of a groundbreaking initiative to make farmland available for young farmers. 2015

Wyda Farm (Greenport, Columbia County)

The protection of these 62 acres enabled their purchase by a collective of young farmers supplying fresh food to local and NYC markets. 2015

Riverhill Farm (Esopus, Ulster County)

We ensured the permanent protection of 80 acres of farm fields and woods prominently visible from Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site. 2014

Pleroma Farm (Greenport, Columbia County)

This 95-acre poultry and cattle farm is prominently visible from Olana, which is why we partnered with the Open Space Institute, Omega Institute and The Olana Partnership to conserve it. 2011

West Park Winery (Esopus, Ulster County)

These 84 acres of meadow and woodland habitat contribute to iconic views from the FDR-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites. 2011

McKeon Farms (Red Hook, Dutchess County)

Protecting these 378 acres of agricultural land not only helped sustain the operations of this family-owned farm, but preserved wetland habitats and frontage on an important trout-fishing stream. 2009

Nutten Hook Farm (Stuyvesant, Columbia County)

To preserve outstanding views and productive farm soils, we protected 60 acres of meadows and wooded ravines adjacent to the Nutten Hook State Unique Area. 2009

Stuyvesant Farms (Stuyvesant, Columbia County)

By conserving these 69 acres of picturesque meadows and forest along a Hudson River tributary, we safeguarded prime agricultural land and bird habitat. 2009

Stuyvesant Woods (Stuyvesant, Columbia County)

By protecting these 52 acres of forest and grasslands along a Hudson River tributary, we conserved prime bird habitat and agricultural land. 2008

Robert & Lewis Allen Farm (Stuyvesant, Columbia County)

To help sustain a local dairy operation, we partnered with a farm family to protect 355 acres of fields, steep ravines, woods and streams. 2008

BBTT Farm (Stuyvesant, Columbia County)

Working with the family operating this multigenerational 300-cow dairy farm, we conserved 114 acres of productive agricultural land. 2008

Stottville Farms (Greenport & Stockport, Columbia County)

Conserving these 117 acres completed the protection of a contiguous swath of riverfront land spanning 1,200 acres, including 2.5 miles of Hudson shoreline. 2008

Red Hook Farmland (Red Hook, Dutchess County)

By protecting these 225 acres spanning four farms, a “critical mass” of working farms will remain in the town. 2008

Stonington Farm (Clermont, Columbia County)

Protecting these 231.5 acres of rolling fields and woods preserved high-quality agricultural soils, scenic views from local roads and frontage along a Hudson River tributary. 2007