Jefferson County Welcomes 57th and 58th Farms
to the Farmland Protection Program

On January 24, 2023 the Jefferson County Farmland Protection Board completed conservation easements on Aspen Pool Farm and Cedar Cottage Farm, adding 303 acres to the county’s protected lands, bringing the total to 6,846 acres on 58 farms. The owners of the two farms voluntarily established the conservation easements on their property that maintain working lands, natural habitat and historic …

Jefferson County Farmland Protection Program Welcomes the First Farm of 2023

On January 20, 2023 the Jefferson County Farmland Protection Board welcomed its first protected farm of the year when Conrad Lotze and Kristina Maciunas signed their Deed of Conservation Easement with the Board. The addition of the 45-acre Lotze-Maciunas farm brings the Board’s total protected farmland to 6,361 acres on 55 farms. Located at the corner of Old Leetown Road …

Jefferson County Welcomes Two Farms to the Farmland Protection Program

On December 19, 2022 Jefferson County added two farms totaling 453 acres to its growing family of permanently protected agricultural properties, bringing the county’s total to 6,316 acres on 54 farms. Timothy Brown and John Hendricks each signed their Deed of Conservation Easement with the Jefferson County Farmland Protection Board and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, concluding many months of …

2023 Farmland Protection Program Application Cycle Begins

The Jefferson County Farmland Protection Board is accepting applications from county landowners who wish to place a conservation easement on their land. Applications will be accepted through 5 PM on Friday, October 14, 2021. The funding cycle begins July 1, 2022 and runs through June 30, 2023. The Board will forward qualified applications for full funding to the NRCS/USDA state …

Jefferson County’s Protected Farmland Grows to 5,866 Acres with 51st Farm

Charles Town, WVa –On July 19, 2021, Nick and Mary Snyder signed their Deed of Conservation for their 306-acre Shenstone Farm in the Kabletown District. The conservation easement protects the historic property originally owned by the Washington family in the 1770s and by generations of the Snyder family since 1892. Today the farm produces hay, grain crops and cattle. “We …

Three Farms Join the Jefferson County Farmland Protection Program

In a two-week period in late May and early June, three farms with 748 acres joined the Jefferson County Farmland Protection Program.  The Magaha, Ware and McKee families signed their deeds of conservation easement for their properties, completing the process to protect their lands in perpetuity. The new easements increase the amount of protected farmland in Jefferson County to 5,455 …

Jefferson County Farmland Protection Board Welcomes Donation of 45th Conservation Easement

On December 30, Henry A. Willard, III and John Brooks Willard signed their deed of conservation easement for their 93-acre property in Shepherdstown, protecting the farm’s rolling pastures and rural landscape forever.  The Willards donated 100% of the easement value on the property. This is the 45th farm in Jefferson County to join the county’s Farmland Protection Program. The new …