Vermont Land Trust Press Release - 120-Acre Dairy Farm Conserved in Cabot

For immediate release, July 7, 2006
Elise Annes, Vice President for Community Relations at 802-223-5234

120-Acre Dairy Farm Conserved in Cabot
Joins 7 Other Conserved Farms in Protecting Over 1400 Acres

CABOT – Martha Rockwell’s dairy farm is different from the typical Vermont dairy farm. The animals are milked on a special raised platform; they can choose whether to be inside or out; and the mothers commonly have twins. What is the difference? These animals are goats. Despite this difference, however, the Rockwell farm shares an important trait with seven other farms in Cabot – it was just permanently conserved when Martha Rockwell donated a conservation easement to the Vermont Land Trust.

Near the highpoint on Coits Pond Road sits the farm, with its forty goats housed in a converted cow dairy barn. The property includes eleven acres of pasture behind the barn and roughly one hundred acres of hardwood forest, including a nice sugarbush. Like other goat dairies in Vermont, the milk is shipped to Vermont Butter and Cheese in Websterville where it is processed into a variety of cheeses. Joining Martha in the business is her sister Lynn, whose adjacent pasture and hayland provide an important second source of forage for the farm. In total, the goats produce about 1,500 pounds of milk each week.

“I am thrilled to be part of the Land Trust, to know the land will never be developed,” stated Martha.

Funding to support the project was provided by the Freeman Foundation. With the conservation of the Rockwell farm, there are more than 1,400 acres of conserved land in Cabot, including traditional cow dairies, a Christmas tree farm, and a beef farm.

“The conservation of the Rockwell farm is welcome news,” commented Gary Gulka, chair of the Cabot Planning Commission. “Maintaining the working landscape and the rural character of Cabot is important to Cabot residents. We heard this clearly when we developed our latest town plan.”

In reflecting on the project, Mark McEathron of the Vermont Land Trust stated, “Our goal is to help farmers and other landowners permanently conserve their land for the future. We appreciate Martha’s dedication to conserving her land.”

The Vermont Land Trust helped Martha Rockwell conserve her land through the use of a conservation easement. An easement helps landowners and groups voluntarily limit development on productive farmland and forestland, and other meaningful natural and community places. Landowners continue to own, manage, and pay taxes on the land, and can sell their land; however, the conservation easement permanently remains on the property.

The Vermont Land Trust is a nonprofit organization that works with individuals, communities, and other organizations to conserve land for the future of Vermont. In the past 29 years, VLT has helped conserve more than 1,300 parcels of land covering over 455,000 acres, or about 8% of the private, undeveloped land in the state. The conserved land includes roughly 650 working farms, hundreds of thousands of acres of productive forestland, and numerous parcels of community lands. This conservation work changes the lives of families, invigorates farms, launches new businesses, maintains scenic vistas, encourages recreational opportunity, and fosters a renewed sense of community. For more information, call 802/223-5234 or visit us on the web at www.vlt.org.