By EMILEE KLEIN
Staff Writer
Published: 12-26-2024 12:39 PM
Modified: 12-26-2024 4:33 PM
SOUTH HADLEY — The 205-acre Lauzier Farm off Alvord Street is the last large farm property in South Hadley, and it will remain so for generations to come as permanently protected agricultural land.
That’s because the farm now has an agricultural preservation restriction (APR) placed on it, the result of several years of collaboration by the farm owners, town officials and community, and Kestrel Land Trust, the Amherst nonprofit that announced the recent development. The APR, held by the state’s Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR), protects the farmland from development, requires that it remain in active agricultural use and keeps the land affordable for future owners.
“The Town of South Hadley is thrilled to see this historic farm and landscape preserved forever,” Anne Capra, planning and conservation director said in a statement. “The Lauzier Farm has been an important part of the community for decades and we are excited to see a working farm maintained on Alvord Street for years to come.”
The APR program pays farm owners the difference between the fair market value and the agricultural land value of their farms. In return, the property becomes permanently deed restricted as farmland. To cover the $1.9 million appraisal of the Lauzier Farm, DAR donated $1.7 million in state and federal funds, leaving the town and Kestrel to raise $190,000.
The South Hadley Conservation Commission committed $40,000 and local residents donated $7,000, and Kestrel raised the remaining funding from local residents and Kestrel donors. Over 150 individuals donated to help purchase the APR, including local businesses Route 33 Pizza House, Parkview Financial, and PeoplesBank.
“We are grateful to the landowners for their patience throughout this process, as their decision to permanently protect their land benefits the entire region,” said Mark Wamsley, Kestrel’s conservation director. “And, we thank MDAR as their staff guided this conservation process through various complexities to a successful outcome.”
Over the years, the land has been cared for by the owners of McCray’s Dairy Farm, and Barstow’s Longview Farm in Hadley. At 100 acres, McCray’s is the only other large active farm in the area, just to the north of the Lauzier farmland. Both of these farms benefit from their close proximity to the Connecticut River, which has provided fertile floodplain soils for growing crops, Kestrel said.
The Lauzier farmland will be purchased by the Barstow family of Hadley and used to grow hay and field corn for their Longview Farm off Hockanum Road.
Barstow’s spokesperson Denise Barstow Manz said that the family plans to grow crops with no-till techniques, which preserves soil health, and boost carbon storage.
“With increasing development pressure and the high price of land, we are grateful that the Lauzier family used the APR program to keep this acreage in agriculture,” Barstow Manz said. “Agricultural land is important for wildlife habitat, clean air and water, climate resilience, and food security in western Mass.”