ALBANY — An organic grain farm in Tompkins County will receive $770,502 in farmland preservation funding as part of more than $48.5 million awarded to protect agricultural land across New York state.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the funding through the state’s Farmland Protection Implementation Grants program, which will support the permanent preservation of 16,005 acres across 43 farms.
The Southern Tier award will support the preservation of 131 acres at Oechsner Farm in Tompkins County. The New York Agricultural Land Trust received the grant under the program’s Viable Agricultural Land-Other category.
According to the state Department of Agriculture and Markets, 89% of the acreage included in the Oechsner Farm project consists of productive soils.
The funding will support a permanent agricultural conservation easement, restricting future development while allowing the property to remain in agricultural use.
Assemblymember Donna Lupardo, a Southern Tier legislator and chair of the Assembly Agriculture Committee, welcomed the investment and highlighted the program’s 30-year history.
“Happy 30th Anniversary to New York’s Farmland Protection Program with its proud legacy of preserving close to 150,000 acres of New York farmland,” Lupardo said. “The unprecedented amount of new investment announced today reflects our commitment to New York’s prime farmland and to New York’s farmers.”
Lupardo also thanked state agricultural officials and other government partners for their work on the program.
“Our collective stewardship is dedicated to future generations,” she said.
The Southern Tier project is among awards announced across six economic development regions, including the Finger Lakes, Central New York, Capital Region, Mid-Hudson and Western New York.
An additional $1 million has been awarded to six land trusts to expand staffing and support farmland preservation efforts.
The latest awards are part of a record $67 million made available through the program’s 20th funding round, announced in December 2025. The funding includes support from the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act.
More than $15 million remains available for additional farmland preservation projects, with applications being accepted on a rolling basis.
“I am so proud that New York is a national leader in the protection of its farmland and support of its farmers,” Hochul said. “Through the Bond Act, which we championed and New Yorkers approved, we have invested even more in our Farmland Protection program in this round, providing record funding to this monumental program.”
The Farmland Protection Implementation Grants program provides funding to purchase permanent agricultural conservation easements, which restrict future development while allowing land to remain in agricultural production.
The program is intended to preserve productive soils, maintain agricultural operations and help ensure farmland remains available to future generations.
This year’s funding round places additional emphasis on food security, climate resilience and protection of water resources.
Eligible projects fall under 11 categories, including field crops, livestock production, agroforestry and initiatives aimed at improving farmland access for new and beginning farmers.
The maximum award for individual projects has increased to $3 million. Projects meeting certain climate resilience or water protection goals also qualify for an incentive payment equal to 10% of the conservation easement’s value.
State Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball said farmland preservation remains important as farmers face economic pressures and competition for agricultural land.
“New York has long put a priority on agriculture and the protection of its land,” Ball said. “Today, we are highlighting all that this program stands for: that land is forever dedicated to agriculture, providing opportunity for our next generation and for new and beginning farmers, protected from development pressures, and preserving open space for our communities.”
The statewide announcement was made at Heer Farm in Onondaga County, where a $1.4 million award will support the preservation of 230 acres on a farm that has operated for more than a century.
The farm is among six properties receiving awards through the New York Agricultural Land Trust. Those projects will protect an additional 1,736 acres, bringing the organization’s total preserved acreage to more than 15,000.
Since the state’s Farmland Protection Program began 30 years ago, more than 144,760 acres on 473 farms have been permanently protected through completed conservation easement projects, representing more than $355.8 million in funding.
The additional $1 million in staffing grants will support six land trusts: Genesee Valley Conservancy, Saratoga PLAN, New York Agricultural Land Trust, Orange County Land Trust, Western New York Land Conservancy and Agricultural Stewardship Association.
The grants are intended to help those organizations hire staff and increase their ability to complete farmland preservation projects.
According to the state Department of Agriculture and Markets, approximately 20% of New York’s land area, or nearly 7 million acres, is farmland.
The department provides financial assistance to counties, municipalities, soil and water conservation districts and land conservation organizations to support agricultural land preservation.
Applications for the remaining Farmland Protection Implementation Grants funding are being accepted on a rolling basis.
More information, including a list of funded projects and application materials, is available at agriculture.ny.gov.
