Shelterbelt Farm is located in the stunning rolling hills of the Town of Caroline. Caroline’s history and identity is as a farming community, though the farming happening here now is only a tiny fraction of what it used to be. In the 1950’s there were over 150 dairy farms in the Town, while now there’s not even a single one shipping milk to a dairy cooperative. There are a couple dozen farms in the town, varied in their enterprises and scale, though almost none providing a complete livelihood to the families who manage them.
The reasons for the decline are many and varied, and Caroline is by no means unique in this trend. Earl Butz’s “Get Big or Get Out” movement in the 1970’s was a significant step toward government policy that supported very large agribusinesses over small family farms. Combined with many other factors, notably a real estate market that prizes housing as the highest use of land, it’s no wonder we’ve lost so many farms and farmers.
Despite the many reasons for cynicism, a small but passionate group of Caroline residents has volunteered to tackle the issue of how to protect farmland by rebuilding a thriving community of farmers. In late 2022 this Caroline Ag Committee received a grant from the NYS Dept of Ag and Markets to develop an Ag and Farmland Protection Plan for the town. We’ve started by developing a profile of the Town – what types of farms are here now, how many acres are under production, etc. In early April we held our first community gathering, focused on landowners and those directly engaged in ag. We gathered ideas about people’s visions for farming in the Town, and suggestions for projects and policies that could help farmers thrive.
If you want to learn more about what we’ve been up to, please come to a meeting. We always have good snacks and lively conversation. We meet the second Thurs of the month from 7-8:30 at the Caroline Town Hall. You can also visit our webpage to see notes and announcements. If you just want to be alerted to ag events or opportunities in Caroline, please send me an email at info@shelterbeltfarm.com asking to be added to the Friends of Caroline Ag listserv.
Shelterbelt Farm 