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PROJECT PROFILE:
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Yandow Farm, St. Albans Town and Swanton
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Jon and Lise Yandow and famliy. Bob Eddy photos.
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Jon and Lise Yandow operate a 150-cow dairy in St. Albans Town and Swanton. The farm had been in the family for 200 years, and was owned by a partnership consisting of Jon and Lise, Jon’s mother, and 11 siblings. In 2004, the family was pressuring Jon and Lise to buy the farm outright. The alternative was to sell it for development.
With 268 acres of prime soil and 88 acres of statewide surrounded by farmland previously conserved by VHCB, the property was an outstanding agricultural resource. But it was also extremely valuable for development.
“We’re in a really rapid growth situation up here,” said St. Albans Town select board chair Jack Brigham. “We’ve got about 300 housing units permitted or ready to permit, we’ve got a Wal-Mart coming in—and it’s all happening on farmland.”
Jon and Lise decided to stay on the land. VHCB funding in 2005 made it possible for them to conserve 441 acres, making the farm affordable for them to buy.
“If I had gone the development route, I would have had a lot more money—but I would not have had the land,” said Jon. “Farming is a whole different way of life. Real estate and farming are different worlds, you know?”
- adapted by Ethan Parke from an article written by Doug Wilhelm
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