Welcome!
to the Chatham Keep Farming website.

 

The goal of Keep Farming is to maintain a sustainable agricultural community in Chatham, New York. This means that we are making a long-term commitment to being a farm community.

 

The Chatham Agricultural Partnership, a group appointed by the Town Board to oversee the implementation of the Keep Farming recommendations, has recently completed the draft Chatham Farmland Protection Plan. We received a grant from NYS Ag & Markets for this purpose. The plan is consistent with and builds on the recommendations that came out of the Keep Farming study which are included in the town's revised comprehensive plan. Many things have changed since the original study, of course, and this planning process helped us step back, reassess, and make modifications where needed.

 

Town of Chatham Agricultural Plan Adopted!

 

The Town of Chatham Agricultural Protection Plan was adopted by the Town on September 17, 2009 and subsequently endorsed by the Columbia County Farmland Protection Board. The plan has been sent to the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets for final approval.

 

The feedback from them is that "This planning work is right on target. It is very advanced and progressive... identifying growth (hamlet expansion) in designated areas instead of sprawling all over the county side or in this case all over the farmlands—smart growth! This is great job. Congratulations to all involved."