Agricultural and Farmland Protection Planning and State Funding Programs Topics of the Cattaraugus County Planning Board Annual Meeting
- Cattaraugus County Economic Development, Planning & Tourism
- Released: June 18, 2007
The Cattaraugus County Planning Board held its Annual Dinner Meeting on Wednesday, June 13th, at Seitz's Country Lodge in Delevan, New York with 85 people in attendance. The focus of the meeting was "Agricultural and Farmland Protection Planning and State Funding Programs". Representatives from Cattaraugus County's municipalities, County Legislature, County Planning Board, Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board and Equine Advisory Committee were present to learn about farmland protection planning and state funding programs that are available to towns interested in creating their own farmland protection plan.
Keynote Speaker Annual County Planning Board Dinner Meeting June 13, 2007, Delevan, NY - Photo by Jack Berger
John Brennan, Farmland Protection Specialist with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets discussed New York State funding opportunities that are available to towns to develop, revise or adjust agricultural sections of their comprehensive plans. He emphasized that local governments play an important role in protecting agriculture in our County by creating a supportive business environment through the town comprehensive plan and land use regulations. Mr. Brennan stated, "If you ignore agriculture, it will go away!" Local governments need to limit the impacts of new development on agriculture and develop strategies to support the agricultural industry into the future.
Mr. Brennan discussed the process of creating an agricultural protection plan and the key components of a plan such as defining agriculture, mapping of prime soils, and identifying priority agricultural resources such as the concentration of farm parcels. The plan should also include proximity to water and sewer lines, municipalities, and streams and wetlands. He stressed that in drafting a plan it is important to engage farmers and rural landowners early in the process.
If you ignore agriculture, it will go away!
Joan S. Petzen, Chair of the Cattaraugus County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board, also spoke on the results of the 18 months of planning and the subsequent adoption of Cattaraugus County's Agricultural and Farmland Protection Plan on March 28, 2007. She also reviewed the 11 recommendations in the Plan and highlighted the accomplishments to date on the implementation of the Plan.
For more information on this topic go to the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets website at www.agmkt.state.ny.us or contact Paul Bishop, Cattaraugus County Department of Economic Development, Planning and Tourism at 716-938-9111 Ext. 2369 or email at PRBishop@cattco.org .