Monroe County Executive Adam Bello invites farmers, farmland owners and interested community members to participate in one of three upcoming Farmer/Landowner public workshops held by the county Department of Planning and Development to discuss an update to the 1999 Agricultural and Farmland Protection Plan. The county is seeking stakeholder ideas about how to preserve high quality farmland and support the continued viability of agriculture in Monroe County.
Monroe County’s first Agricultural and Farmland Protection Plan was developed in 1999 to help safeguard and sustain agricultural lands and a viable agricultural economy within county limits. The plan update seeks to address changes in the physical, social, and economic landscape over the past 20 years and recommend policies and projects to ensure that agricultural land and the farm operations that it supports thrive over the next 20 years. The update will be developed over the next eight months by the Department of Planning and Development, consultants from Labella Associates and an advisory committee of farmers and leaders from farm support institutions along with the County’s Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board.
In-person workshops will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 26 at Ogden Town Hall, 269 Ogden Center Road, and from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 27 at Pittsford Community Center, 35 Lincoln Ave. A virtual workshop will be held from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 27 on Zoom. Registration is not required for in-person meetings. To register for the Zoom meeting, visit www.monroecountyagplan.com.