WHITINGHAM — Nestled in the hills to the east of Harriman Reservoir, the Corse Farm has operated as a dairy and sugar maple operation in the same family since 1868.
A few years ago, the Corse brothers, Leon and Roy, separated the two farm businesses: the grass-based organic dairy operated by Leon and Linda Corse, and the sugar maple operation operated by Roy and Vanessa Corse.
In March, the brothers divided the land between the businesses, and Leon and Linda's land associated with the dairy was conserved with the sale of a conservation easement to the Vermont Land Trust.
Now, 290 acres of hay land, pasture and forestland are permanently protected.
A conservation easement is a legal tool that limits development on productive farmland and forestland. Landowners continue to own, manage, and pay taxes on the land and can sell their land; however, the conservation easement permanently remains on the property.
The conservation easement also ensures that the land will always be affordable to future farmers, should the Corse family ever sell their farm.
Funding for this purchase of the easement came from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) with matching funds from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The financial assistance from VHCB and NRCS help make it possible to permanently protect Vermont's highest quality agricultural resources.
“Currently the fifth, sixth, and seventh generation of my family live here on the farm, which has been in the Corse family for 145 years,” said Leon Corse. “Having lived here for most of my 59 years, I have always felt like I was just the current caretaker of the place.”
He added that conserving the farm “gives Linda and me comfort that even if at some point in the future no one in the Corse family wants to continue farming here, the care-taking will continue under the guidance of some other family. While having the farm remain in the family is our first choice, knowing that whoever owns it, it will never be cut up for building lots is very important to all of us.”
About eight years ago, Leon and Linda began the three-year transition to a certified organic dairy farm. Since then, the farm, which has always been grass based, has become an example of success to many farmers considering organic conversion.
Abbie Corse, daughter of Leon and Linda, works on the farm with her parents. The farm raises all of its own grass feed and, most years, it produces a surplus for sale. They have 55-60 Holstein and Holstein/Jersey cross cows and 45-50 young stock.
This is one of three dairies in Whitingham. The Corse Farm maintains more than two-dozen small, nearby agricultural fields.