Farmland Owners Learn About Conservation Options

On Wednesday, February 19, nearly 30 people attended a workshop in Bolton to learn about soil health, farmland conservation, and succession planning. SVT and the Bolton Conservation Commission co-sponsored the public event and and encouraged farmland owners from Bolton and surrounding towns to attend. The majority of attendees are currently running active farms.

The "Agricultural Lands: Conservation & Succession" workshop featured three main presentations:

• Heidi Ramsey of the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service discussed tips for soil conservation and described NRCS farmer assistance programs. Of particular interest was the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), which can provide annual payments to farmers who are conducting certain conservation practices on their lands. It turned out that most farmers in attendance were already instituting practices that qualify.
   
• Ashley Davies of SVT discussed farmland conservation options and explained the differences between a Conservation Restriction and the Massachusetts Agricultural Preservation Restriction program. She also described some successful farmland conservation projects, many of which rely on Community Preservation Act funding. 
   
• Jae Silverman of Land for Good spoke about the challenges and benefits of finding a new generation of farmers to take over the land. He offered his time and experience to assist established farmers in working on succession planning for their farms, whether the farms were staying in the family or not. He also provided resources to landowners who wished to lease their land to farmers.  

Download a pdf of the workshop presentations

If you are interested in learning more about the topics covered at the workshop, please contact Ashley Davies at [email protected]. 

This was the final workshop in the "Managing and Protecting our Farms, Forests, and Open Spaces" series of workshops that the Bolton Conservation Commission in partnership with Sudbury Valley Trustees, the Bolton Conservation Trust, and the Bolton Agricultural Commission put on with a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Working Forests Initiative.