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Latest farm purchase completes 98-acre ‘ag center’ in Southold

Peconic Land Trust vice president Timothy Caufield at the first property purchased for the group's ag center, the Charnews farm at 3005 Youngs Avenue in Southold. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)
Peconic Land Trust vice president Timothy Caufield at the first property purchased for the group’s ag center, the Charnews farm at 3005 Youngs Avenue in Southold. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)

A HISTORY OF STEWARDSHIP:

The Peconic Land Trust acquired its first parcel, the 23.4-acre Charnews family farm, in April 2008. That farm, located just south of Route 48 on the west side of Youngs Avenue in Southold, would become the cornerstone of the ag center. Its history as a working farm dates back to 1889 and the land had been owned by the Charnews family since the 1940s. The property’s historic farmhouse and barn, originally built by the Grattan family, are still in use by the land trust as storage, administrative offices and housing for farm hands who work for professional growers like Mr. Lee.

The land trust raised $700,000 for the land purchase and Southold Town bought the farm’s development rights for $1.7 million, for a total purchase price of $2.4 million. Donations from more than 80 local supporters, including the Hubbards, made the acquisition possible.

The March acquisition, the last piece of the ag center puzzle, was once the Dickerson family’s potato farm, started by Mahlon Dickerson in the 1950s. The land trust had previously acquired two neighboring parcels the Dickersons had also farmed, thereby preserving 53.2 acres — about half that family’s farm holdings.

Betsey Dickerson, Mahlon’s daughter-in-law, said the family is comforted to know the land is being used for such a good cause.

“[The family] was what you would call real stewards of the land,” she said, “and I know that my father-in-law would really appreciate it being used by others.

“They would like this idea,” she added. “All in all, farming is a very good life — if it works out.”

It’s also something many non-farmers cherish as part of the region’s history.

Staving off development on the North Fork has been a long-held goal of Tom and Anne Hubbard, Manhattanites who vacationed at a home in Peconic until returning full-time to the city two years ago. When traveling out to the North Fork, no matter how many times, they were always struck by the beauty of the historic Route 48 corridor after they “finally got released from the traffic as they headed east,” Ms. Hubbard said.

“This beautiful farmland — it doesn’t take long to realize that there isn’t going to be much of it left unless we do something about it,” said Ms. Hubbard. “I think to encourage younger farmers to take on this way of life and preserve the land is so very important.”

The efforts and the Hubbards and other private citizens, and the Peconic Land Trust itself, are supplemented by the work of East End town governments. Each town maintains a Community Preservation Fund, established by state law in 1996. The program uses proceeds from a 2 percent tax on real estate transfers to purchase open space and development rights on farmland properties, ensuring the land remains agricultural.

To do so, the town will often partner with land trust, which in many ways acts as a facilitator.

“I don’t think we would have had nearly the success in preservation that we’ve had — and we certainly have a very good track record for preservation — if not for the critical role that the Peconic Land Trust plays,” said Southold Supervisor Scott Russell. “[Land preservation] is all new to many people and education outreach is a key role that [it] plays for the town. It’s exceedingly important.”

And so are people like the Hubbards, he said.

“When you drive down the North Road and you see that rural corridor, in many spots you can thank the Hubbard family for the vistas you enjoy,” he said.