Farm families honored by Peconic Land Trust

The Peconic Land Trust celebrated 35 years of conservation at it’s 2018 Through Farms and Fields event Sunday.

In its 16th year, the event celebrates Long Island’s agriculture community and raises money to support the conservation of the Island’s working farms, natural lands and heritage.

Held at Salt Air Farm in Cutchogue, this year’s event honored the farm families who launched the Suffolk County Farmland Preservation program, the first of its kind in the United States.

The Suffolk County Farmland program has seen 10,500 acres come into the program for preservation since its inception in 1974. The land is able to remain privately owned while the County acquires non-agricultural development rights.

The Peconic Land Trust was established in 1983 by John v.H. Halsey and a small group of local residents to ensure the protection of Long Island’s working farms, natural lands, and heritage. Since 1983, the Trust has protected over 12,000 acres of land, conserving more working farms on Long Island than any other private conservation organization.

For more information about The Peconic Land Trust, visit peconiclandtrust.org.