21.9 acres forever conserved in Winchester

Eagle Times Staff
WINCHESTER, N.H. — The Monadnock Conservancy has finalized the purchase of a conservation easement on 21.9 acres of Picadilly Farm on South Parish Road in Winchester, N.H. Forty-six acres of the 71-acre farm were previously conserved with an easement held by the state of New Hampshire and with this new easement, all the productive farm and forest land will be conserved.

The purchased easement will conserve over 19 acres of important farmland soil, including 8.2 acres of actively farmed prime cropland. The conservation easement — a voluntary legal agreement that limits the future development of a property — will keep this highly productive piece of land in the hands of farmers. Conservation easements also offer another way for farmers to profit off their land, through the easement sale. Picadilly Farm is well known in the Monadnock Region as a preeminent grower of certified organic fruits and vegetables.

In 2023, the farm transitioned from a CSA model (in which the farm sold shares to the public) to a wholesale distribution model which sells directly to restaurants, institutional buyers and retail outlets, including the Monadnock Food Coop and the Brattleboro Food Coop, among others.

In addition to the terms of the easement which limit commercial or residential development, the Monadnock Conservancy’s land protection team also included special terms in the deed to support farm viability and keep the land in active production. Under the terms of this deed, if the farm ever goes up for sale, the Monadnock Conservancy will have the right to purchase the property at agricultural value and resell it to a party who will continue to operate the farm as a commercial farm.

The reason for these special terms is to avoid a situation where a non-farmer buys the property, doesn’t maintain the farming infrastructure and then when the property is resold, it is no longer viable for farming.