Thirteen Parcels in Brookhaven, Riverhead, Southampton and Southold to Gain Benefits of Inclusion into State Program

Committed to maintaining Suffolk County's dominance ofthe agricultural industry in New York State, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy today announced the incorporation of 140 acres into Suffolk County's agricultural districts.

Suffolk County regulates its agricultural districts under New York State Agricultural and Market Laws set up to encourage the continued use of farmland for agricultural production. Farmland owners in Suffolk County voluntarily submit to join an agricultural district, before having their applications reviewed by the Suffolk County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board in January of each year. The most recent review of applications netted 13 parcels to be added to the four agricultural districts in Suffolk County.

Properties being newly incorporated into agricultural districts include farms in the Towns of Brookhaven, Riverhead, Southampton and Southold. Five parcels in Brookhaven, totaling 50.7 acres, are slated to receive inclusion in existing agricultural districts, while Riverhead will include four parcels (43.9 acres), and Southampton (17.9 acres) and Southold (28.1 acres) will include two parcels each. Suffolk County currently has over 27,500 acres of farmland within its four agricultural districts.

Farmers whose properties are included in an agricultural district are offered a combination of landowner incentives and protections, all of which are designed to forestall the conversion of farmland to non-agricultural uses. Farmland within an agricultural district is granted protection from issues such as zoning conflicts and nuisance conflicts related to agricultural activity, as well as attempts of land seizure through eminent domain. There are also a number of financial benefits for farmers that come with joining an agricultural district. Properties in agricultural districts are exempt from several communal assessment charges, and are automatically assessed as agricultural land, not vacant, developable land, leading to several tax breaks for farmers.

"Expanding our agricultural districts in Suffolk County is not only beneficial for the individual farmers, but for all residents as well," Levy said. "By committing to keeping their property as farmland, these farmers are preserving open space from development and preserving the high quality of our agricultural industry. Suffolk County has excellent soil and a great climate for horticulture, which has led to our being named the number one agricultural county in New York State in terms of the dollar value of goods sold, beating out our upstate counterparts who have more farm and open space than we do."

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