A Copake Farmer Preserves His Acreage with a Conservation Easement

Edgar Masters, surprisingly spry for his 90 years, gunned his pickup through fender-high weeds and drove up the steep incline to the western edge of his 152-acre property, Bain Farm, in Copake.

“Look at this view,” he said, waving his hand toward the Taconic Mountains. “In the past decade I’ve been approached by developers multiple times. They would lowball me at first to test the waters, then offer me up to 25% over market value for this property. My wife and I always said no. They want to build houses here because of this view — but they don’t care about the land.”

Bain Farm has been in Masters’ family for more than 100 years. “My grandfather worked in textiles in New York City, but loved to flyfish in the Roe Jan Kill,” Masters said. “He’d take the train from Grand Central to the Copake Iron Works.” Masters’ grandfather purchased Bain and the adjacent High Valley Farm, which comprises 800 acres, and rented the tillable land to farmers.

“I went into textiles too,” said Masters, “But I spent as much time up here as I could, learning to farm when I was old enough. I’ve baled and raked every field here at least once.” Masters and his wife, Deb Cohen, retired to their High Valley Farm home in 1984.

The couple decided to preserve their farmland and legacy by seeking a conservation easement, a voluntary, legal agreement that protects the land from development by permanently restricting its future use to farming. After going through this process with the High Valley property in 2016, Masters and Cohen realized it was the perfect option for Bain Farm, too. That agreement was finalized last month.

The High Valley Farm conservation easement placed 660 acres of forestland in the care of the state’s Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic preservation; the Columbia Land Conservancy (CLC) acquired an agricultural easement of 140 acres. “When we approached the CLC this go-round to get an easement for Bain Farm, they didn’t have enough resources at the time, and they referred us to the Dutchess Land Conservancy (DLC),” Masters said.

David Howard, policy development director for the National Young Farmers Coalition, told the Herald that easements help address the challenge of land access for a new generation of farmers. Chris Nickell with the Hudson Valley chapter, said this was especially true in this region. “Development pressure is high and prices often keep agricultural land out of reach from young farmers,” he said. “We’re grateful to […] the many local conservation-based land trusts that understand the need to work with aging farmers to preserve their working lands for future stewards.”

Erin Hoagland, DLC director of conservation, said, “We’re lucky to have farmers come to us voluntarily. It’s a big deal for them to allow DLC to steward their farm.” Hoagland said she often sits in discussion around the dining room table with farmers and their loved ones. “It’s a family decision that takes time. They may not move forward with an agreement for years.” she said.

The farmer is compensated by the DLC for the portion of the development rights being given up as part of granting the easement. “Farmland is particularly vulnerable to commercial development as it is flat and drained.” Hoagland said. “With easements, the farmer still owns the land and can farm it. But when it’s sold, the land can only be used for agriculture — it is protected in perpetuity.” Farmers can also apply for the Conservation Easement Credit, a 25% property tax cut.

The DLC funds its easement program through state grants awarded by the state’s Department of Agriculture and Markets. “Grants are available every other year, capped at $2 million,” Hoagland said. “If the land cost is higher, sometimes our land trust partners like Scenic Hudson or private donors help. Farmers may even donate a portion of their land.”

The land must be appraised to determine the value of the easement and development rights, then the conservancy and the farmer negotiate how the land will be used. “We get very specific here,” Hoagland said.

Cohen said the Bain Farm agreement included several provisions: “We have a building envelope to allow for barns and a farmhouse, one for worker housing and one for farming. There is also a provision allowing a farmstand near Route 22.”

To date, the DLC has protected 51 farm properties with conservation easements — a total of 6,850 acres.

“Farmers have a choice to make,” Masters said. “They can sell their farm for the highest dollar to a developer or get a great sense of satisfaction by preserving the land. That’s the value of an easement to me.”