Farms for the Future Initiative: Leasing Program Has Banner Year
October 31, 2025
By Yvette DeBow-Salsedo
Officially launching in 2008, the Trust’s Farms for the Future Initiative leasing program had an amazing 2025 season. This year there were 50 farmers in the program (16 incubator and 34 established farmers), farming approximately 323 acres from Eastport/Riverhead through the North and South Forks. This includes five new farm operations were added this year.
The farm operations produced a wide variety of agricultural products, including a vegetables, medicinal and culinary herbs, flowers, honey (bees), eggs (chickens), dairy (goats, cows), beef (cows), oysters, snails, sea salt and nursery stocks (trees, shrubs and plants).
For a full list of the farmers participating in 2025, see our blog.
The Farms for the Future Initiative is overseen by Dan Heston with support from Jacqueline Wilson, Brendan Minogue and Robin Harris. “Our team has worked together well – from establishing the leases, to prepping the fields, setting up ag training, and getting new infrastructure in place. Each year presents itself with new challenges and opportunities – that’s the way of farming. But together – our team and the farmers continue to work together toward a bountiful season.
In addition to the farm leasing, Dan and his team oversees the community gardens at the Agricultural Center at Charnews Farm and is working on the resale of farmland to farmers including the recently acquired Topping farmland in Bridgehampton, and will be issuing Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for 81.4 acres of farmland that was acquired in (YEAR) from Mattituck Farm Holdings (MFH).
The Ag Team is also preparing to set up another agricultural center operation on 30 acres acquired from MFH, which includes repairing the barn along with installing a well, irrigation system and agricultural fencing. The fence was installed in October 2025. This new center will include leasing 28 acres of land to farmers who are in the Farms for the Future Initiative leasing program. The Trust recently received a grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to help with the infrastructure upgrades at this new center, which will be called the Cutchogue Agricultural Center on Oregon Road.
And, the team also celebrated the opening of the Farms for the Future Farmstand at the Ag Center at Charnews Farm in late May. The farmstand replaces the tent that had been on the site for the past 2 summers. The cost of the farmstand was supported by a grant from Avalon Nature Preserve and two local donors. The farmers at the Ag Center began using the farmstand this summer. Work is still in progress at the farmstand, including the addition of a new walk-in cooler we hope to install this winter.
The team is looking forward to another successful season in 2026!
Yvette DeBow-Salsedo
Vice President
ydebow@peconiclandtrust.org