Town of ChathamAgricultural Protection Plan

Adopted September 17, 2009

A Process, Not an Event• Started as part of the town’s comprehensive planning

process• Pilot site for Glynwood’s Keep Farming Program• First study done in 2004-3005

– Farming profile, economic impact, local food system– Town adopted goal of “zero net loss of working farmland”

• NYS Ag & Markets funding for Ag Protection Plan– GIS mapping– Cost of services study – Town, County, and State recommendations

• Ag Protection plan adopted/appended to Comp Plan• Follow-up study currently underway

#1: Get Farmers on Board

• Invited every farmer we could find to meeting before we started

• Steering Committee with all types of farming represented; let farmers lead

• Got our “anchor tenant” on board early

• You’ll never get everyone

#2: Use a Structured Process

• Develop your roadmap up front– Steps, outcomes, roles and responsibilities,

timeline, etc.

• Helps to recruit people and get the work done• Be flexible• 80% rule• Guiding principles

Guiding Principles

• Recognize that farming won’t look the same in the future

• Start with actions at the local level• Form partnerships for increased effectiveness• Be focused, realistic, and doable• Start with the foundation, build on it later• Be aligned with other parts of the comprehensive

plan• And start working on implementation immediately

#3: Data Matters

• Profile of farming• Economic impact• Land use patterns• Local food system• Cost of services• Important issues• Trends over time

#4: Be Inclusive

• Everyone is welcome to participate

• Participation comes in many forms

• Forums at every critical point – listen!

• Structure things so that it’s easy to participate

• Use a broad definition of farming and consider all system components

#5: Be Transparent

• Share information at every step

• Use a variety of communication vehicles

• Err on the side of over-communicating

• Include legislators from the beginning

But Then What Happened?

• We were done far in advance of the comp plan

• So we just started doing things

• And we leveraged the data from the study in every way we could

• Very helpful in making a good case and getting funding

• Things were going smoothly until…

Unexpected Problems

• Economy tanked – and with it went the major opportunity we had identified!

• Town has been slow to make zoning changes – and our recommendations are connected to other parts of the comp plan

• Many things are out of our control• Struggle to redefine the role of the Ag

Partnership

Getting Back on Track

• Recommitted to the overall goal

• Continuing to collect data, educate, communicate

• Positioned to take the opportunity when PDR funds are available

• Eager to see the County Ag Plan