Organic Dairy Farmland Conserved
Land can now never be used for commercial or residential development
COSSAYUNA, N.Y. – Erin and Dan Richards realized they needed a new business strategy to stay in farming while raising their young family, now numbering four children,
About 10 years ago they transitioned from conventional to organic dairy production, which fetches a higher milk price.
On Wednesday, they celebrated complete ownership of their Richview Farms, made possible by the sale of its development rights, with help from the non-profit Agriculture Stewardship Association whose mission is preserving farmland in Washington and Rensselaer counties.
The milestone coincides with the opening of a new related business, Bunker Hill Organic Creamery, which just started selling milk a few days ago.
“We’ve taken this huge leap of faith in building this new creamery, hoping to set our own destiny,” Dan Richards said. “It’s a big risk.”
The Richards own Bunker Hill with Kyle Depew, of Moreau, a lifelong friend of Dan’s. Its bottled milk is already found in retail outlets such as Four Seasons Natural Foods in Saratoga Springs, Old Saratoga Mercantile in Schuylerville, and the owners are in discussions with large supermarket chains such as Price Chopper and Hannaford Brothers as well.
“People want local milk, especially organic,” Depew said. “All of our milk is pasteurized, it’s heated to kill any potentially harmful bacteria or pathogens, so it’s safe for everyone.”
But the cream in Bunker Hill milk isn’t separated and milk isn’t homogenized, a distinct difference from most dairy plants, he said.
“At most farms, cream is separated and used for products such as half-and-half, yogurt, and ice cream,” Depew said. “We give all the cream to the consumer, and we do not homogenize, which is forcing milk through tiny holes
to break up the fat globules. Milk stays uniform, but you lose some nutritional value. We try to get milk from the tank to the consumer with the least amount of processing you can have.”
On Sunday, more than 500 people turned out for a Fall on the Farm event, organized by the Stewardship Association, to celebrate Bunker Hill Cream- ery’s grand opening.
The Richards previously ran a farm on Route 40 in Argyle and moved to their current location, in central Washington County’s pastoral hill country, in 2013.
At first, they purchased the farmhouse, aging barns and 29 acres immediately surrounding them, while leasing another 138 acres with an option to buy from its owner, Illinois-based Iroquois Valley Farmland REIT, a farmland finance company that provides land access to organic fam- ily farmers.
Together, with help from the Stewardship Association, the Richards and Iroquois Valley worked through a plan to sell the entire farm’s development rights.
The land can never be used for commercial or residential development.
This allowed the Richards to buy Iroquois Valley’s 138 acres at a much lower price, it’s agricultural rather than development value. Much of the purchase money came from the state’s Farmland Protection Program and goes to Iroquois Valley.
Permanent protection from development means the site will always be available for future generations to farm.
“It’s a very good day in New York state when we can celebrate another farm that’s been preserved,” state Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball said. “It took me 20 years to buy my own farm so I know what it feels like.”
To date, the state’s Farm-
land Protection Program has allocated $72 million to conserve 32,000 acres on more than 100 farms across New York, he said.
Related new initiatives are also under-way such as paying transaction costs for donated ag easements, and taking an inventory of viable farmland, he said.
The Stewardship Association is nearing its goal of raising $9.4 million by 2020 under a Farmland Forever capital campaign. Since its founding, in 1990, the nonprofit agency has helped more than 125 farm families conserve 20,042 acres in Washington and Rensselaer counties.
“We are the strongest agriculture area in the entire Hudson Valley,” said Teri Ptacek, Stewardship Association executive director. “We are the powerhouse. So protecting this resource (farmland) is extremely important. It secures a source of local food for today and tomorrow.”