Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
BNRC Helps Preserve Strawberry Farm Through State’s APR Program
As her mother’s executor, Marianne Leslie felt torn. Along with her two brothers, she was one of three heirs to her family’s farm in Lanesboro. Marianne wanted to see the land stay in farming; her brothers were pressing her to cut the farm up into marketable houselots. The Resources Council helped Marianne apply to the state’s Agricultural Preservation Restriction Program, agreeing in the process to provide a local match for the state’s investment.
Since its establishment 21 years ago, the Massachusetts APR Program has protected 462 farms in 130 towns across the Commonwealth. Massachusetts has spent $111 million to permanently protect 41,476 acres of farmland, nearly every acre of which remains in production today. But the APR program is falling behind, and many landowners must wait years before their application into the program is acknowledged. As of July 1998, the backlog had reached 130 farms totalling approximately 16,000 acres.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Council stood by Marianne’s side as she waited for the state’s money to come through, answering questions and acting as a facilitator during the state’s long, sometimes frustrating acquisition process. In December 2000, the story had its happy ending when the state closed on its purchase of the APR. Marianne and her brothers realized their inheritance, and the following July Marianne had the satisfaction of seeing another bumper crop of strawberries ripening on the soils of the old Rhinehart farm.
The post Strawberry Farm appeared first on Berkshire Natural Resources Council.
