Feature

Essex County farmers are stewards of land pressured by development and steeped in history

The quiet of Robert and Kathleen Brown’s farmland in West Newbury, where the whisper of summer breezes is disturbed only by the chirping of birds and the buzzing of honey bees, stands in contrast to the sounds of traffic that carry over the hayfield behind their Farmer Brown’s Farmstand on busy Maple Street in Middleton.

Yet thanks to the Brown’s conservation efforts in both locations, they are being recognized as conservation stewards through the Conservation Security Program (CSP) in 2005. Of the 233 acres that they farm in both towns, 48 have been enrolled in CSP.

The Ipswich/Merrimack/North Coastal watershed was one of 202 watersheds across the country, and one of two in Massachusetts, selected for CSP in 2005. New watersheds will be selected each year nationwide.

CSP is designed to reward producers for historic conservation activities on agricultural lands and to provide enhancement payments for producers who agree to implement additional conservation measures.

Eleven farms in Berkshire and Essex counties were selected for their conservation stewardship through CSP. Annual contract payments in Massachusetts will total nearly $100,000 statewide over five years.

Robert Brown, who raises hay, vegetables and flowers, said that haying is the best use for much of his hilly land, which is highly erodible and too steep to plow. The CSP land behind the farmstand in Middleton is bordered by the Ipswich River and his West Newbury land neighbors a state wildlife area.

Brown also notes the pressures and benefits of farming in this densely populated area north of Boston. “Farming is tough in New England. There are 100,000 people in a 15 mile radius of here and 15,000 cars a day on this road,” said Brown of his Middleton location. “Yet the people who are encroaching are also our customers.”

Overall, Brown said that his CSP experience has been positive thanks to the assistance he received from district conservationist Dan Lenthall. “I think it’s wonderful,” said Brown. “No other programs fit us.”

In nearby Ipswich, a coastal town known for its clams, one of the nation’s newest CSP farms is also one of the country’s oldest farms. Established in 1638 as a land grant to Samuel Appleton, Appleton Farms is one of the oldest continuously operating farms in the United States and has been recognized by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a Century Farm.

Scenic views of rolling grasslands, grazing livestock, ancient stone walls, tree-lined carriage paths, and historic farm buildings are all part of the legacy of nine generations of Appleton family members kept alive through the work of The Trustees of Reservations.

Today, The Trustees is continuing the farm's progressive agricultural traditions while preserving the property's landscape and farm buildings and enhancing the ecological values of its woodlands, wetlands, and fields, such as the 133-acre Great Pasture which supports one of the largest populations of rare grassland birds in Massachusetts. Farm operations include a community-supported agriculture, a retail feed and mulch haying operation, and livestock and dairy programs that include White Park and Jersey cows.

Read about more CSP farmers: For Berkshire County farmer, clean water is key to conservation stewardship

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