For immediate release: July 13, 2011
Charlotte -- Nordic Holsteins, LLC, owned by Clark Hinsdale III and family, conserved 239 acres of farmland in Charlotte along the Hinesburg-Charlotte Road, the Vermont Land Trust announced.
The land was purchased from Norman Bean in 2004. At that time, it was an important addition to Clark’s growing dairy operation. The proceeds from the sale of the conservation easement on the Bean land helped with the purchase of more than 250 cows that were once part of the University of Vermont dairy research herd.
The newly conserved land is about three miles from the home farm and fills an important role in the farm’s forage needs. The large fields have good agricultural soil, which is used to produce alfalfa.
“This land is located just past the limits of the East Charlotte Village,” remarked Clark Hinsdale. “Conserving it helps guarantee a crisp edge between the village area and the open agricultural land beyond. It’s also very high quality farmland because it is tile-drained. We’re getting our second cut of alfalfa now.”
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Students and faculty at UVM continue to use the herd on the Nordic Farm for ongoing research on issues such as dairy cow health. Nordic Farms was the first Vermont dairy to have a robotic milking system; this system is very useful to students and professors at UVM because it efficiently collects data on each cow.
The Nordic Holsteins property was conserved with a conservation easement—a legal tool that limits 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 conservation easement contains additional protections for 89 acres of woods and the area around Bingham Brook and Mud Hollow Brook, which converge on the property. The forested part of the property contains rare clayplain forest. This type of forest dominated the clay and silt soils of the Champlain Valley prior to European settlement and agriculture. The area around the land, bounded by Spear Street and Mount Philo Road, contains the largest tract of unfragmented clayplain forest in Chittenden County.
As part of the project, Nordic Holsteins conveyed an easement for a future trail to the Town of Charlotte.
“This was a key piece of farmland in Charlotte because it’s got some of the best agricultural soils,” said Al Karnatz of the Vermont Land Trust. “It’s one of the larger tracts of undeveloped farmland in the town. This, combined with the wetland protection, made it a great property to conserve.”
Clark generously sold the conservation easement for less than market value. Funding for the sale of the easement came from the Town of Charlotte, the Charlotte Land Trust, and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, whose grant was matched by the federal Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program managed by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
“The residents of Charlotte are fortunate to see the conservation of the former Bean farm (Nordic Holsteins),” said Frances Foster, who worked on the project as president of the Charlotte Land Trust. “Clark Hinsdale has a wonderful commitment to conservation and we are all the beneficiaries of his foresight and generosity. The Charlotte Land Trust was happy to contribute to this worthwhile project.”
