500-acre Cordova Farm Protected Forever
Property to be farmed by Fifth Generation of Longtime Talbot County Farm Family ESLC announced today that approximately 500 acres of Talbot County farm and forest land will be protected forever and in the hands of the next generation of a longtime farming family thanks to the approval of three conservation easements on the Doughty Farm. The easements on the Doughty property in Cordova –approved by the Maryland Board of Public Works today - feature 420 acres of tillable ground with the remaining acreage in upland forest and forested wetlands. The farm is located in ESLC’s Tuckahoe Rural Legacy Focus Area and is adjacent to 571 acres of land already protected with agricultural easements. The property is located on both sides of Lewistown Road, with the eastern 219+ acres almost entirely tillable ground. The western portion has approximately 52 acres of woodland that has been identified as FIDS habitat and also includes approximately 200 acres of tillable ground. There are also approximately 16 acres of wetlands on the entire property. FIDS (Forest Interior Dwelling Species) habitat supports a diverse population of bird species that need large forest areas to breed successfully and maintain viable populations. FIDS include songbirds, woodpeckers, hawks and owls. This project also helps two young farmers Kyle and Travis Hutchison along with Hutchison Bros. buy a piece of property from Doughty Farms, Inc. in order to continue the family farm operation by preserving the land. The Hutchison family has been farming in Talbot County for about 130 yrs, since the 1880’s. Kyle, Chad, Richard Jr. and Travis Hutchison are the 5th generation of Hutchisons to continue the farm operation. Doughty Farms sold the farm to ESLC to preserve, and ESLC will transfer the property in three tracts to conservation buyers Hutchison Brothers and Meadow View Farms while purchasing an easement