News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 1, 2008

CONTACT:
Ryan Owens (603) 357-0600

Duo Inks Conservation Easement with Conservancy
Tracie's Community Farm relocates to Fitzwilliam

( KEENE)—During a closing ceremony held at the Monadnock Conservancy’s June Board of Trustees meeting in Peterborough, David Green and Matt Buonomano signed a conservation easement deed protecting forever Tracie’s Community Farm in Fitzwilliam, a thriving Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operation run by farmer Tracie Smith. Green and Buonomano, who originally purchased the land as part of their long-term effort to acquire and protect the greater 350-acre Elephant Rock Farm, always hoped to see a CSA established on the property’s nearly 15 acres of prime agricultural soil, but they never imagined an eager farmer like Tracie would emerge so soon after their purchase.

David Green and Matthew Buonomano

A common obstacle for young farmers is the lack of availability or affordability of land on which they can both live and raise crops. By eliminating the potential for non-agricultural development, however, a conservation easement can effectively reduce land value to within the reach of an aspiring farmer. Smith, who previously ran her CSA on leased land in Sullivan, purchased the 33-acre easement-restricted property from Green and Buonomano in late June. The conservation easement provides for a two-acre exclusion area, where she built a barn from timber harvested on the property and where she will soon build a permanent home. Asked for her reaction to finding the land, farmer Tracie Smith remarked, “After 10 years, I’ve finally found my own land. It is beyond my wildest dreams. The property has great soil, and the community is awesome.”

A CSA is a type of farm in which shareholders, usually individuals or families, pay a fixed price at the start of the growing season in return for a weekly share of produce and other foods throughout the season. Some shareholders may purchase working shares, for which they trade a certain number of hours of labor on the farm for a discounted share price. Through share pick-ups, work days, and potluck meals, shareholders come to know their farmer, thus receiving assurance that their food is fresh and healthy. Share purchase prices, in turn, provide the farmer with a reliable income. As the season progresses, crops change, ensuring an ever changing palette from lettuce in early June to potatoes in October. For more information on Tracie’s Community Farm, visit www.traciesfarm.com.

Founded in 1989, the Monadnock Conservancy is a nonprofit, membership-supported land trust serving the 35 towns of the Monadnock Region. Its mission is “to identify, promote, and actively seek protection of significant natural, aesthetic, and historic resources in the Monadnock Region; and to monitor and enforce the protection of lands in the trust.” Information is available by calling (603) 357-0600, dropping by the office at 15 Eagle Court in Keene, or browsing online at www.MonadnockConservancy.org.