Our friends at American Farmland Trust have sent us some wonderful news about the preservation of family-scale farming in New York State:

Nearly 13,300 acres of active farmland across New York will be protected—on 35 farms in 22 counties—thanks to $35 million in funding from the state’s Farmland Protection Program. The funding is the largest amount ever dedicated to farmland protection in the state, and will go to protect the largest single amount of acreage in the program’s 11-year history.

"This announcement marks a great victory for farmland conservation in New York," said David Haight, AFT’s New York Director. "AFT applauds the governor and New York legislature for their commitment to this critical program."

If you’d like to learn more about the efforts of AFT go to: American Farmland Trust: Saving the Land that Sustains Us