Keep Farming^TM: Connecting Communities, Farmers and Food was developed by Glynwood Center to help communities identify the many ways in which agriculture contributes to their wellbeing, generate broader public support for local farmers, and develop action strategies tailored to local resources and situations.

Through Keep Farming’s unique community building process, community residents begin a dialogue with local farmers that results in the creation of an informed constituency prepared to take action in support of local agriculture. (Click here for a full description of the Keep Farming Program components and here for a full description of its impact on one community.)

New York Pilot Community

Chatham, New York, located in Columbia County, became the first New York pilot community for the Keep Farming program in March of 2004.  Keep Farming was undertaken to support the updating of the Town’s Comprehensive Plan.  (Click here for more on the Chatham Keep Farming process.)

Through the Keep Farming process, community volunteers gathered information from farmers and other community residents on how agriculture contributed to the local economy, protection of natural resources, access to local foods and community character.  In November, they reported their findings at a community-wide agricultural forum.  Among their key findings:

·    Farmers contribute more than $1.25 million dollars each year to the local economy through the purchase of goods and services, and

·    Approximately 60% of the land farmed is leased rather than being owned by the farmers. 

The community recognized the importance of farmers to their local economy in a new way, while recognizing the vulnerability of their land base. 

This new information galvanized the community for further action.  In June of 2005, after six months of analyzing the findings and researching possible strategies, the Community Agriculture Partnership presented final recommendations to fellow residents at a community meeting.   

Among the key recommendations were: establishing a permanent town Community Agricultural Partnership committee to oversee the implementation of the Keep Farming initiatives; supporting the infrastructure needed to support a viable local food system; establishing the town’s identity as a “farm friendly” community; using the master plan and zoning to encourage farming while respecting property rights; and taking action to generate additional funds to support protection agricultural land.  (Click here for the complete recommendations)

Implementation Progress

The final recommendations were endorsed by the town Board, which immediately created the Chatham Agricultural Partnership to oversee implementation of the recommendations and serve as an advisory body to the Town Board on all agriculture-related issues.  Many proposals developed through Keep Farming have been incorporated in the Town’s revised comprehensive plan.  The Town has undertaken the processes needed to generate new funding for land protection.  To encourage continued community interest and support, a film and print materials have been developed. (For more on Chatham’s implementation progress, click here.)

Chatham has recognized that its efforts will be strengthened if other communities in the region begin adopting similar approaches.  Therefore, participants from the Chatham Keep Farming project are working with Glynwood to introduce the program to new communities and participating in the regional approach being developed by the communities that have recently begun the program.   

Expansion of the Keep Farming Program in the Hudson Valley 

In 2006, Glynwood expanded the Keep Farming Program to five additional communities in the Hudson Valley: Clermont, Livingston and Germantown in southern Columbia County, which are conducting an inter-municipal Keep Farming project; Red Hook in northern Dutchess County and Marlborough in southern Ulster County.  The communities located in southern Columbia County and Northern Dutchess County are also working across county boundaries on issues that will support and strengthen agriculture and farming in the region. 

The new Keep Farming projects are completing the assessment of agriculture in their communities using the Keep Farming assessment tools and plan to report their findings in the fall of 2007. 

Going Beyond the Valley  

Glynwood Center is interested in working with additional agricultural communities in other regions of the country.  If your community is interested in the Keep Farming Program and would like to talk to us about how we can help you, please contact:

Virginia Kasinki
Director, Community Based Programs
845 265-3338, ext. 125
vkasinki@glynwood.org