Nathan Mayberg reports in the Register Star farms in Livingston, Stuyvesant, Taghkanic and Red Hook will now be protected with more than $5 million in recently secured funds. The money was provided by the federal Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program and the nonprofit organization Scenic Hudson, along with funds from Dutchess County, the Town of Red Hook and the Columbia Land Conservancy. The funds will be used to purchase easements at seven farms to protect the farmlands’ character and prevent the properties from being subdivided or sold to developers for other commercial purposes. According to Scenic Hudson President Ned Sullivan, each farmer can decide what to do with the money. U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson worked to help secure more than $2 million in federal funds for the easement purchases through the federal Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program. Read the full story in the Register Star.