The farms of the Hudson Valley shape the pastoral landscapes that give this region in upstate New York its unique sense of place. But the appeal of this beautiful countryside for residential development is undermining our farms. A 1997 report by the American Farmland Trust ranked the Hudson Valley as one of the 10 most threatened agricultural regions in the country.

We have accomplished this through a true public-private partnership involving state, federal, county, municipal and private funding, including grants from the USDA Farm and Ranchland Protection Program and the New York State Farmland Protection Program.

Scenic Hudson’s program was developed in partnership with a diverse set of stakeholders who provided advice and contacts within the agricultural community.  These included growers from various sectors, farm support agencies, American Farmland Trust, local land trusts, and farm credit specialists.

In 1995 Scenic Hudson began to work with the Valley's farmers and apply our land conservation tools and experience to save the valley's farmland.  Since then, we have protected 25 farms with permanent, voluntary conservation restrictions, encompassing more than 4,800 acres of farmland in seven communities north of New York City, in Columbia, Dutchess, Orange, and Ulster Counties.  These include dairy farms, apple orchards, vegetable and grain farms, and horse breeding enterprises.