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Public hearing: speakers urge Ulster County to adopt Ag & Farmland Protection Plan, protect Colony Farm and pursue farmworker housing
Summary
At a public hearing on the Ulster County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Draft Plan, speakers urged the legislature to adopt the plan and to include protections for the former prison Colony Farm, expand farmworker housing, and support organic farming.
The Ulster County Legislature held a public hearing on March 18, 2025 on the Ulster County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Draft Plan, conducted as required under Article 25-A of the Agriculture and Markets Law. Three speakers delivered testimony supporting adoption of the plan and asked the legislature to add specific commitments.
John Adams, a member of the Ulster County Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board, asked the legislature to specifically add the former prison farm known as Colony Farm (Wilbur Smith/Colony Farm) to the county's protection efforts and to designate it as an Ulster County Agricultural Park. Adams noted a 2018 feasibility study the county funded that concluded agritourism could be viable at Colony Farm and said protecting the farm would enable public access and agricultural production while keeping maintenance costs low for taxpayers.
Julia Farr spoke for the Farmer Housing Working Group, a coalition of growers, housing organizations and community land trusts. Farr urged the legislature to adopt the draft plan and implement recommendations to preserve and expand affordable housing for farmworkers: evaluate a pilot farmworker housing site in Ulster County; add farmworker housing to the county’s housing action fund project types; include farm employment and farmworker housing in the county housing action plan update; and educate municipal officials on New York State agricultural rules affecting farmworker housing and zoning.
Lianna (Liana) Hoots, representing the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY), urged support for organic farming measures in the plan and asked the county to correct the draft's description to reflect that NOFA-NY is a statewide organization serving organic farmers.
The public hearing record was closed and the body adjourned the hearing. Speakers and advocates said they were available to help implement the plan if the legislature adopts it.
