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Mansfield committee considers Department of Agriculture grant to fund irrigation, fencing and wells on town land
Summary
Committee members discussed applying for the Department of Agriculture's agriculture enhancement grant (awards $500'$49,999) to install irrigation, wells or deer fencing on multiple town-owned fields; staff will map town fields and explore options before the next meeting.
Members of the Mansfield Agriculture Committee on July 9 discussed whether the town should pursue a Department of Agriculture agriculture enhancement grant to improve irrigation and other infrastructure on town-owned fields used by lessees.
"This RFP, I think it's'I wanna say $50,000. It's not a huge amount of money," a committee member said, later clarifying the program award range to be $500 to $49,999 and noting a match requirement. Committee members said match options could include in-kind support from Public Works.
The grant was described as oriented toward infrastructure rather than staffing. A member who leases town land and other farmers said potential uses could include irrigation systems, deer fencing or temporary structures; members emphasized avoiding permanent restrictions on future land use and discussed bonding or lease security to ensure infrastructure is removed or maintained if leases end.
Michael Stanekoff, the committee's staff member, said the town owns roughly 70 acres of land across several parcels, most without irrigation, and that some sites (including Bone Mill and Crane Hill) may be more suitable than others. "One of the things that we've been reticent about in the past is we put up infrastructure of some type. We restrict the use of the land to the future," Stanekoff said, adding that capped well piping and bonds were possible ways to protect future flexibility.
Committee members discussed estimated well-drilling costs in the range of about $22,000 to $30,000 and acknowledged that any grant application would still require town council approval before submission. Stanekoff said he would prepare a breakdown of town fields (sizes, current lessees, current uses) for the committee to review at the August meeting to help prioritize potential grant targets.
No formal decision to apply was made; members urged staff to explore the RFP details and to consult additional farmers and the town council before committing to an application.
Next steps: staff will prepare a fields inventory for the Aug. 13 meeting and the committee will revisit whether to develop a grant proposal for the next RFP cycle.
