Chaseholm Farm protected for future generations in Pine Plains

PINE PLAINS — Standing as a reliable 284-acre operation in Pine Plains since 1935, Chaseholm Farm’s survival in the local agricultural community was secured in September, thanks to the labors of the Columbia Land Conservancy and Scenic Hudson with funding from Scenic Hudson, Dutchess County and the New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets’ Farmland Protection Implementation Grant (FPIG) program.

Recognized as one of the few viable farms left in the Pine Plains area, the birth of Chaseholm Farm started with Ken Chase, the father of current owner Barry Chase, purchasing the property at 115 Chase Road in 1935. Barry Chase took over the dairy in 1975 where he milked cows for 32 years. Since then, both the farm and the Chase family have been successful, continuing and expanding their operations in Pine Plains. 

In 2007, Barry’s son, Rory, was successful in establishing a cheese-making business as a separate entity from the family farm. His business, Chaseholm Farm Creamery, now sells throughout the greater Hudson Valley and Metro New York City area. By 2013, his sister, Sarah Chase, had taken over the creamery’s dairy portion. Along with procuring a raw milk license and setting up a farm stand to supply the public with products from the farm, Sarah has been essential in shifting the farm to “a certified organic, 100 percent grass-fed milk operation,” according to the Columbia Land Conservancy.

Along with its dairy operations and products sold at the local farm stand, Chaseholm Farm has grown to be recognized as a gathering place for community members, attracting music enthusiasts in the summer during the farm’s annual Huichica East festival and hungry residents to the farm’s monthly Burger Nights from May to September.

Working as a third generation family member at Chaseholm Farm, Rory admitted there’s certainly pressure related to development in the northern part of Dutchess County, which made the help from the FPIG program especially valuable. According to the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets website, the FPIG program works to assist county and municipal governments in “developing agricultural land farmland protection plans [that] recommend policies and projects aimed at maintaining the economic viability of the state’s agricultural industry and its supporting land uses.” 

Back in 2009, the Columbia Land Conservancy used funding from the program to protect a Columbia County portion of the farm. With this new FPIG program collaboration, the remainder of the farm will now be protected for future generations.

“We’ve all sort of collectively made the decision to make sure we’re going to be able to farm here as long as we can,” Rory Chase said. “It’s a big step to take to keep this land preserved and open and free from development, not just for my generation but for the next.” 

“We are all deeply humbled and thrilled to have been honored in this way by the state, the county and the Columbia Land Conservancy in this process of preserving this farm for perpetuity,” Chase continued, adding that the purchase of the development rights will help ease the tax burden.