Since 2014, CAC has preserved 284 acres of vital farmland in the Black Dirt region of New York’s Hudson Valley, supported 18 farm businesses with land access, and in 2025, launched a regional produce aggregator for some of the smallest farms in the area to reach new market channels. After the Everglades in Florida, this accumulation of muckland soils is the largest in the U.S., with some pockets of soil boasting organic matter levels of 40%!

The conservation of the land and six farm buildings (totaling about 25,000 square feet of space for wash/pack/cold storage/storage) began as an investor-led venture, whereby an LLC called Northeast Farmland Access formed, leasing land to three farmers initially. When the investors did not see the return on investment they had hoped for, they sold the land. This is when our community was called to action. With the assistance of Orange County Land Trust and a local foundation, a new pool of investors formed the Chester Agricultural Center LLC, maintaining land access for the original farmer tenants and creating a conservation easement to protect the farmland from development in perpetuity. An umbrella non-profit organization, Chester Agricultural Center (CAC), incorporated in 2018, with a mission to support beginning farmers with affordable farmland access.

We measure our success by the successes of those stewarding our land. Two of the original tenant farmers remain on the land, each boasting over a decade in business: Sun Sprout Farm and Rise & Root Farm. By 2024, we had twelve farm businesses settle in with long-term, 30-year tenure. To paint a picture of one of our farms, Elvia and Guille were farmworkers of the black dirt farms of Chester for more than 15 years.

Through a partner program, they planned their future farm and found land access at CAC. Their family business, Grandpa Farm, or El Ranchito Abuelito, has grown steadily in only 6 years, from first just two acres to now more than 50. They serve clients with fresh vegetables in NYC and the Hudson Valley, specializing in culturally relevant products from Mexico.

The EJ Szulwach Community Garden at CAC, was founded in 2018. The garden rests on the former site of EJ’s childhood home, where his parents were sharecroppers in the 1930s-1950s. A beloved elder in our community, EJ has been a source of support and inspiration for the garden community, which hosts about 25 families with access to growing space each season. The garden and farmland are walkable to the Village of Chester.

We’d also like to share with you our Living Timeline click here, which invites our community to continually write the agricultural history of this vital piece of farmland (press arrow at lower left of page view the second 2nd page)