Vermont Housing Conservation Board 2005 - Vermont Housing and ...

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BRIGGS FARM, ADDISON 22 JOINING A CONSERVED COMMUNITY In the Champlain Valley, Briggs Farm Is in Safe Company With more and more farmland protected in the Champlain Valley, this year’s transfer of development rights on Dale and Alma Briggs’s 485-acre place in Addison adds up to much more than a single conserved farm. The Briggs family farm, conserved with VHCB funding through the Vermont Land Trust, joins two protected farms on adjacent land. Overall, 5,431 acres of farmland have now been conserved in Addison town — that’s about 17 percent of the landscape, according to VLT. Almost 47,000 acres are conserved in Addison County—most of which is productive farmland. “There’s getting to be a pretty good-sized block that’s been protected here — and I think that’s the last hope for farms in Vermont,” says Dale Briggs. “It’s when the neighbors get close that problems begin to crop up. We’re not changing — cows still produce manure, they still eat food — but the neighborhoods around us are changing. If we can have some farms make a block, we can continue to farm without irritating too many people.” The Briggs are hoping to purchase some additional land from a neighboring conserved farm with the proceeds from their sale of development rights. “That will give us some room to add some grain crops, and also to have some more room for manure, to meet the new regulations that are coming up,” Briggs says. “Try to continue. To survive. “There isn’t enough money in the farming economy now,” he adds. “This is one way to do the things you need to do.” “There’s getting to be a pretty good-sized block that’s been protected here — and I think that’s the last hope for farms in Vermont. ...We’re not changing — cows still produce manure, they still eat food — but the neighborhoods around us are changing. If we can have some farms make a block, we can continue to farm without irritating too many people.” — Dale Briggs Freestall barn at the 485-acre Briggs Farm, one of the largest farms in Addison. The family milks about 170 cows, with a total herd of over 350. The Briggs till 410 acres and rent an additional 200 acres of cropland.
Addison Vermont Land Trust photos ad map Bridport Shoreham Dale and Alma Briggs with daughter, Karen and son, Peter. The Briggs family has farmed this land since 1929. The Briggs family has surely shown its determination to keep on working this land. Dale’s grandfather bought the original farm in 1929, and his parents owned and ran it from the late 1940s until 1983, when Dale and Alma took over. Having grown from its original 340 acres, the Briggs farm is now one of the largest in Addison. The family milks about 170 cows, with a total herd of over 350. With 410 acres of tillage and 200 acres of rented land, all cultivated according to an NRCS crop-management plan, the farm employs four full-time and three parttime employees. “The 170-stall dairy barn and double-8 milking parlor were way ahead of the times back in 1968,” notes Allen Karnatz, Champlain Valley co-director of Vermont Land Trust. “Thirty-five years later, the barn is still in excellent repair and very functional. They’ve also added a freestall heifer barn, and several sheds and bunker silos.” The conserved farm includes more than two miles of frontage along Otter Creek, and almost a mile of road frontage. A VAST snowmobile trail crosses the farm, where Dale and Alma have reserved two five-acre building sites for their children, daughter Karen, 19, and son Peter, 15. “Neither one of them wants to see the farm go,” Dale Briggs says. “They like farming, they grew up on the farm. My dad and mother still live on the south end of the farm. The kids can walk there. They want to see the farm stay here.” Orwell CONSERVED FARMLAND IN ADDISON COUNTY Briggs Farm VHCB-funded conserved farmland other Vemont Land Trust-conserved farms state and federal lands During the past two years, as real estate values have continued to escalate rapidly, the pressure to sell farmland for development has increased — as has the cost of purchasing development rights. Although over 150,000 acres of Vermont’s farmland has been conserved, that represents only 14% of Vermont’s 1.1 million acres of agricultural land. 23
Page 1 and 2: 2005 Annual Report to the General A
Page 3 and 4: james h. douglas governor State of
Page 5 and 6: statutory mandates that require per
Page 7 and 8: in the marketplace, and for homes b
Page 9 and 10: documents. But an applicant’s ent
Page 11 and 12: the 1906-vintage edifice stands out
Page 13 and 14: Bob Eddy photos Laurie Webster, who
Page 15 and 16: “These are people who are very en
Page 17 and 18: HABITAT FOR HUMANITY Hard-Earned Ho
Page 19 and 20: “Owning a home isn’t just luck.
Page 21 and 22: portation,” said Brenda Torpy, di
Page 23: So Jon and Lise Yandow, whose seven
Page 27 and 28: “Watching the O’Connell family
Page 29 and 30: Bob Eddy “Farming is such a labor
Page 31 and 32: This joins a mix of new and retrofi
Page 33 and 34: CROSS VERMONT TRAIL A Trail to Conn
Page 35 and 36: Liz Thompson/The Nature Conservancy
Page 37 and 38: HISTORIC PRESERVATION A New Role fo
Page 39 and 40: Bob Eddy photos England what became
Page 41 and 42: VERMONT COMMUNITY STEWARDSHIP PROGR
Page 43 and 44: VERMONT LEAD-BASED PAINT HAZARD RED
Page 45 and 46: Housing Awards July 2004 -June 2005
Page 47 and 48: Housing Awards July -December 2005
Page 49 and 50: Conservation Awards July 2004 -June
Page 51 and 52: Conservation Awards July 2004 -June
Page 53 and 54: Conservation Awards July -December
Page 55 and 56: Partners in Project Development Jan
Page 61 and 62: Revenues $22,486,033 Interest Incom
Page 63 and 64: PROJECT AWARDS BY COUNTY 1987-2005

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