Williamstown voters overwhelmingly supported the Agricultural Commission’s request to establish an Agricultural Preservation Fund at the Annual Town Meeting on May 19, 2026. The Fund was created through a $25,000 appropriation from the Community Preservation Fund’s Open Space and Recreation budget. The funds will be banked by the town treasurer to be readily available for the Agricultural Commission to spend when an opportunity arises to engage in a farmland project.
This is believed to be the first Agricultural Preservation Fund established by an Agricultural Commission under MGL Ch. 40, Sec. 8L (2016), which empowers Agricultural Commissions to play a role in protecting farms and farmland through grants, municipal appropriations, donations or farm lease income to be used to purchase farmland or conservation restrictions, pay local matches on Agricultural Preservation Restrictions, farmland planning, appraisals, due diligence, and other related purposes.
“This is a win for farmland in town, even though we are starting small at $25,000. It was a hurdle for the Community Preservation Committee to accept that this is an allowable use of CPA funds because it was new to them,” said Sarah Gardner, Ag Com chair.
The Ag Com plans to continue to build the Fund and use it for a farmland project as soon as the opportunity arises. Agricultural Commissions can play an important role in helping Massachusetts achieve the land protection targets identified in the state’s Farmland Action Plan and the Biodiversity Conservation Goals that call for doubling the pace of land conservation to protect 30% by 2030 and 40% by 2050.