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PRESS RELEASE - December 28, 2007 | |||
The Clark Farm: The Barnard Community Protects a Farming Legacy The Clark family will keep their productive and scenic farmland in agricultural use in perpetuity with the conservation their 483-acre family farm, the Vermont Land Trust (VLT) announced today. The Clark Farm is an operating dairy farm with a land base that includes 95 acres of hay meadow and 60 acres of pasture, nearly all of which are classified as statewide-important agricultural soils. The remaining 328 acres are forested and in excellent condition, and the family has recently hired a professional forester to oversee future sustainable timber management activities. “It was an amazing show of support from so many people that made it happen,” said Tom Platner, Chair of the Barnard Conservation Commission. “As of this week one of Barnard’s most important pieces of land is protected. Thanks to the Clarks, the Barnard community, the Freeman Foundation, and the Vermont Land Trust, it is conserved for the future.” The Clark Farm has been farmed by the Clark family since 1951. The operation has remained relatively unchanged during that time. The family milks approximately 30 cows and raises their own young stock. Over the past ten years, VLT has repeatedly heard from local residents that the Clark farm is the most important property to conserve in Barnard, yet the family was not ready to actively consider permanent conservation of the farm. Last year, the five Clark siblings decided to further investigate conservation opportunities with the Vermont Land Trust, and in October, 2007, they signed a purchase and sales agreement with the Vermont Land Trust to permanently conserve nearly the entire farm. The Clarks agreed to a conservation easement for $460,000, a price far below its actual value. Legal, appraisal, stewardship endowment, closing, and administrative costs brought the total amount to $500,000. With an early, large grant from the Freeman foundation and a $75,000 commitment from the Barnard Conservation Commission the community was left to raise an additional $110,000 in private donations in order for VLT to purchase the conservation easement on this property. More than 100 individuals from Barnard stepped forward with gifts, ranging from $5 to an anonymous donor’s $50,000 contribution, to make this project possible. “There were so many individuals that called VLT to say that they lived in town, heard about the conservation effort, and wanted to be a part of it, said Elise Annes, Vice President for Community Relations at the Vermont Land Trust. “Individuals and families lent their support and made donations because as one donor put it: ‘this makes us feel like a positive part of the town’s future.’” Ms. Annes also said that gifts have continued to come in for the Clark Farm and, once all the appraisal work is completed, funds raised over the project costs will go back into Barnard Conservation Fund that was exhausted for the conservation of the Clark Farm. The agreement with VLT carefully balances the five siblings’ great desire to see the farm conserved, while recognizing the infrastructure needs of future farmers of the land. To ensure that the farm will always be affordable for farmers to purchase, VLT will maintain the right to buy the farm at its agricultural value if a potential buyer is a non-farmer. Additionally, since future farm owners may wish to focus their management solely on farmland, the agreement allows the eastern block of 200 acres of conserved forest to be sold separately, yet remain protected by the conservation easement. In an effort to combine the interests of the current owners with those of future owners and to address financial considerations, the easement will allow the construction of a second house on a designated location in the main farm building complex area that is not visible from Royalton Turnpike. The conservation easement allows the sale of two house lots in designated locations in a wooded area fronting Royalton Turnpike. The easement also allows construction of a size-limited house, exclusively for Dwight Clark, in a location that cannot be seen from the road. If Dwight never exercises the right to build this house, the right automatically terminates. "Conserving the farmland is important for the local community farming heritage, and keeping the land productive is critical to Vermont’s future,” said Mark McEathron, the Central Vermont Director of the Vermont Land Trust. “That’s why conserving a farm such as this is especially important.” | |||
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