On Tue., Oct. 21, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced $17.6 million to protect more than 6,400 acres of farmland across New York State through the Farmland Protection Implementation Program, including a 212-acre Ancram dairy, and large farms in Brunswick and Hoosick in Rensselaer County. The program is funding $1,010,026 to the Columbia Land Conservancy, with $324,674 from Scenic Hudson Land Trust, to protect the Ronnybrook Farm dairy operation and milk processing facility from future development. In Rensselaer County, the Agricultural Stewardship Association gets $340,651 from the program and Scenic Hudson Land Trust contributes $113,551 for a land trust to permanently protect Brunswick's Homestead Farms, a 166-acre organically-grown vegetable Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) operation that also sells grass-fed beef, pastured poultry and cut flowers. Homestead Farms helps to buffer the Quacken Kill, a stream that supports a spawning native trout population. The Agricultural Stewardship Association also is working in Hoosick with $42,215 from the program on a land trust that will lease the development rights for five years on the Berle Farm in Hoosick, a 604-acre farm operation featuring organic vegetables, beef, grains, popcorn, apples and dairy. Overall, the Farmland Protection Implementation Program, will help preserve 21 farms in 12 counties across the state, and bring the total acreage under the program to approximately 59,000 acres.