Roxbury Farm New Land Purchase

by Jody Bolluyt, Jean Paul Courtens		print version
		print version (graphics)

This winter we purchased 100 more acres of farmland next door to the Equity Trust property. In cooperation with Open Space Conservancy and the National Park Service we developed an easement that will keep the land in agriculture and protect the historic qualities of the property. The land was part of Martin Van Buren’s estate in the 1860’s and is located directly behind the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site.

Open Space Conservancy purchased the land in 2000 from Ray Meyer ( who farmed and owned it from 1942 till then) to protect it from development. We rented it from 2000 to until March 2004 when we purchased it from Open Space Conservancy. We have the right to build two barns on the land in a style similar to that of Martin Van Buren’s time,but we can never build a residence on the property. This restriction will keep the land from becoming an estate and will keep it affordable for a future farmer. The National Park Service can build a public hiking trail on the farm once they have permission from the federal government.

We gained 75 acres of prime agricultural land. We now have about 100 acres of vegetable land on the two properties. This land base gives us the opportunity to develop a wide crop rotation.

Each season we have 35 acres in vegetables and 35 acres in soil building cover crops. (The additional acreage is in hay and is used by a neighboring dairy farmer free of rent) Any field is kept in vegetables for two to three seasons and is then put into a cover crop for another two seasons. We use clover, rye & hairy vetch, and oats & peas for cover crops. They return fertility to the soil that is used up by the vegetables. Cover crops also interrupt the disease and weed cycles in the vegetable fields. Over the years this rotation will allow us to rebuild the land and regain its fertility.

The additional acreage also gives us the opportunity to be a more diversified farm. We have wanted to incorporate animals back into the farm since we moved. Now we have enough land to do so, but we just need to find the right person to help us manage the animal husbandry.

From July Newsletter 2004