On nearly 200 acres of rolling farmland bordered by the Roeliff Jansen Kill, a generational handoff is reshaping one of the Hudson Valley’s most storied farms.
On Tuesday, Finegan Ferreboeuf and Jason Gold — co-owners of Steelbow Farm — signed a 99-year ground lease with the Columbia Land Conservancy, becoming long-term stewards of the former Thompson-Finch Farm. The couple, who moved from Texas with their two young children this spring, now inherit one of the largest certified organic you-pick berry farms in the Northeast.
The agreement marks the culmination of nearly a decade of planning by longtime farmers Marnie and the late Don MacLean, who began working the land in 1982. When Marnie inherited the farm from her family, the couple feared it could be sold or priced beyond the reach of working farmers. In 2019, they helped raise $1.5 million through a coalition of land trusts and more than 300 donors to place the land into permanent conservation.
The Columbia Land Conservancy now owns the land, protected by a conservation easement held by the Dutchess Land Conservancy. Ferreboeuf and Gold own the farm’s buildings and infrastructure — a model known as a ground lease, designed to offer long-term tenure and equity-building opportunities without requiring farmers to buy the land outright.
“We want to support farmland access and make land tenure more secure for farmers,” said Terence Duvall, director of conservation at the Columbia Land Conservancy. “This kind of model is rare, but it’s a powerful tool to keep farmland in production and out of the hands of developers.”
For Ferreboeuf and Gold, the agreement represents a path to scale up their operation, invest in infrastructure and grow roots. They started Steelbow Farm in Maine and later ran a specialty vegetable farm in Austin. But as land prices in Texas soared — “$50,000 an acre,” Gold said — they began looking elsewhere.
“On paper, our farm in Austin looked great,” Gold said. “But it wasn’t realistic to think we’d be able to buy and grow.”
When Duvall reached out about the Thompson-Finch opportunity, they submitted an application. “We threw our hat in the ring and didn’t think much would come of it,” Ferreboeuf said. “When we got the text that we were selected, we were stunned.”
The MacLeans weren’t just looking for tenants. They were looking for farmers who would continue their legacy — especially the berries.
“One of our main criteria was finding farmers who would continue the strawberries and blueberries,” said Marnie MacLean.
“It became church for people,” MacLean said, reflecting on her favorite memories from the farm over the years. She recalled how people from all over New England would flock to the expansive you-pick operation. For them, she said, interacting with the plants and forming a direct connection with their food offered for visitors “a place of respite, of hope, of good food.”
The 900-bush blueberry patch, planted by the MacLeans over two decades, thrived this summer under Steelbow’s care. The couple has already planted 30,000 strawberry starts for next season and plans to expand into vegetables, restaurant sales, and agri-tourism offerings like events, expanded pick-your-own days and a farmstand.
They plan to maintain both USDA Organic and Real Organic Project certification.
“It’s important to us to be counted,” said Ferreboeuf. “Policy and funding are affected by those numbers. Organic matters.”
Ferreboeuf and Gold expect to farm about 20 acres themselves while working with local partners like grain grower Stewart Farr and hay farmer Sarah Chase to manage the rest.
“This land already has so many hands on it,” Ferreboeuf said. “We’re not doing this alone.”
Erin Hoagland, senior director of conservation and stewardship at the Dutchess Land Conservancy, called the project a model for the future.
“This is the kind of long-term thinking that conservation demands,” she said. “We need tools that allow young farmers to access land and stay rooted. This collaboration makes that possible.”
Don MacLean died in January, knowing the land he and Marnie had cultivated for decades would remain in agriculture — not parceled, not developed, but passed from farmer to farmer.
Regular you-pick hours are Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 750 Wiltsie Bridge Road, Ancram, N.Y. 12502. For more information, visit steelbowfarm.com.
This is so awesome, thanks to all involved. And good luck, Finegan and Jason, as you lead us into the next chapter. Go organic!