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Mission Statement
Conserve, steward, and advocate for the unique rural landscape of the Eastern Shore.

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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 on each farm tract from the same. The placement of these three easements – purchased using funds from the Federal Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program with matching funds from the state Rural Legacy Program – will eliminate forever the possibility of up to 29 building lots on the property. This cost-share arrangement helps to leverage state with federal land conservation dollars.

“These types of projects, which allow us to protect critical farmland and put those farms in the hands of young farmers, are truly the heart of what ESLC set out to do at our inception 20 years ago,” said ESLC’s Executive Director Rob Etgen. “No matter how much our conservation work changes, helping maintain the rural and farming tradition of the Eastern Shore lies at the core of what we do and we are so pleased to see this farm in the hands of young farmers like Kyle and Travis, whose family commitment to the Eastern Shore’s rural heritage is so evident. Utilizing both state and federal funds also helps stretch those dollars, making this a good deal for each program. This is truly a win-win for everyone involved.”

“We would like to thank ESLC for helping us work though the process to be able for our family farm operation to purchase the farms from the Doughty family; this purchase will help ensure the long term viability of our family farm operation,” stated Kyle and Travis Hutchison. “We would also like to extend our gratitude to the Doughty family as their cooperation was critical for this purchase.”

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