Help Protect South Hadley’s Lauzier Farm

UPDATE: Thanks to generous community members, all needed funds have been raised! Read more here.

Like the Massachusetts’ Connecticut River Valley itself, the Town of South Hadley has a long and rich history of agriculture. Farms of all kinds were once a common feature of our communities, and in 1950 there were nearly 5,000 dairy farms across the Commonwealth, including in South Hadley. Less than 120 dairy farms are now left in the state, lost to the increasing pressures of development.

Today, the 210-acre Lauzier Farm on Alvord Street is the last of its size in South Hadley. Located near the banks of the Connecticut River, these farm fields have provided valuable fodder for dairy cows and local vegetables for decades. Over the years, the land has been farmed by McCray’s Dairy Farm and Barstow’s Longview Farm—two local farms that Kestrel helped to conserve over the past 10 years.

Kestrel is working with the Town, the Commonwealth, and the owners of Lauzier Farm to save this remaining piece of agricultural land through the sale of an Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR). The APR will prohibit housing development to permanently protect this critical farmland, but we need your help!

Kestrel and the Town must raise $150,000 in local matching funds to secure the remaining public funding to save this land. The South Hadley Conservation Commission has committed $40,000 and the State has pledged $1,710,000. To reach the appraised value of $1,900,000, we must raise the remaining $150,000 with support from the community.

Kestrel Land Trust is a publicly supported Massachusetts non-profit charitable corporation and all donations are tax-deductible.

Your support will help sustain the viability of the farm, for the benefit of the local economy and the entire community. Thank you!