More Farmland Protected Along The Hoosic River
The Agricultural Stewardship Association (ASA) is pleased to announce the permanent protection of 520 acres on the Copses Farm in the Towns of Schaghticoke and Pittstown. More than 2,500 acres have been conserved with ASA to date within the two towns.
This conservation project is adjacent to several protected farms along the Hoosic River in Schaghticoke. Not only will the farm’s prime soils and agriculture viability be conserved for future generations, but it also serves to provide an important buffer to the river and its array of wildlife and the natural resources that it supports.
Copses Farm is owned and operated by new dairy farmers, Eric and Maureen Mayer. The Mayers purchased the property in 2013 with the goal of building a progressive dairy maximizing the potential of technology. Since then, the Mayers have made major investments in their operation including a robotic milking system, an electronic feed management system and a solar water heating system which allows the farm to heat its water while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“Our goal,” Eric explains, “is to create an operation that would not only sustain us, but something that we can feel good about in terms of its impact. Conserving the land has long-term beneficial impacts.”
Protecting farmland and promoting sound stewardship is a key strategy in helping to combat greenhouse gas emissions. Farmland emits 66 times less greenhouse gas emissions per acre than developed land in New York according to American Farmland Trust’s Greener Fields Report.