Vermont Land Trust Press Release - Wolcott Farmland Conserved: Home to Organic Seed Company

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 25, 2007

Wolcott Farmland Conserved: Home to Organic Seed Company

Farming and conservation have been a part of Barbara Conn’s life for as long as she can remember. Her love for both inspired her decision to sell a conservation easement on 88 acres of Wolcott farmland, the Vermont Land Trust announced today.

Barbara leases most of her land to the High Mowing Seeds company, one of only several companies nationwide that develop and sell organic seeds. The farmland, known as Rooster Ridge Farm, is also used by Barbara and her two sons to run a variety of agricultural enterprises, including haying, cider making and sugaring. She also grows organic vegetables that she uses to create specialty dishes sold at farmers’ markets, such as fresh spinach turnovers and midsummer raspberry sorbet.

A trial plot of lettuce at High Mowing Seeds, located on Barbara Conn's newly conserved land.

Barbara grew up next to a dairy farm in Concord, Mass. “My two older brothers and I spent a lot of time over there playing in the barns, in the fields with the cows, and enjoying homegrown strawberries and peanut butter cookies with fresh milk,” Barbara remembers. As waves of development changed the landscape of her hometown, this eastern Massachusetts farm remained because it was conserved.

The High Mowing Seed company is a great fit for Barbara’s land. “Barbara’s commitment and understanding of organic agriculture and her appreciation for what we’re doing on her land and how we’re improving the property has made our lease a great arrangement,” said Tom Stearns, president and founder of High Mowing Seeds.

High Mowing grows, packages, and markets their own seeds. There simply aren’t enough organic seed suppliers nationally so it’s not surprising that High Mowing Seeds is growing quickly. Currently only one percent of organic farmland uses organic seed so there is a lot of room for expansion in this market. The company, founded by Tom as a hobby in 1996, sold 350 packets in its first year. Now, they sell around 750,000 packets per year.

High Mowing Seeds uses Barbara’s land to grow seeds for sale as well as to test varieties — both their own and their competitors. Twice a week vegetables are harvested by volunteers from Salvation Farms, who then distribute the produce to organizations that serve Vermonters in need. Over the past two years High Mowing Seeds has donated about 14,000 pounds of vegetables.

“Over the years, Barbara’s land has been used for a number of creative, productive agricultural enterprises,” said Tracy Zschau of the Vermont Land Trust. “The conservation easement ensures that this property will remain in agriculture in the future.”

Barbara conserved her land with a conservation easement. Landowners use easements to 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. “An agricultural easement goes a step further than just preserving the beauty of the landscape, it sustains family and community,” said Barbara.

The Vermont Land Trust is a statewide, member-supported, nonprofit land conservation organization. Since 1977, the Vermont Land Trust has permanently conserved more than 1,400 parcels of land covering 470,000 acres, or about eight percent of the private, undeveloped land in the state. The conserved land includes more than 630 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 or to become a member, contact: Vermont Land Trust, 8 Bailey Avenue, Montpelier, VT 05602, (802) 223-5234.

For more information, please contact: Elise Annes, Vice President for Community Relations, Vermont Land Trust at (802) 262-1206; or Tracy Zschau, Regional Director, Northeast Kingdom, at (802) 748-6089