Save Wagon Wheel Farm
Donation protected
This is the story of a family farm in small community. Jason and Kristin Touw began farming this land with the intent to meet other community members, and allow them to know where their food comes from. We want to revive and protect farmland, engage in sustainability farmland projects, and keep people coming for those fresh veggies at the end of the road. We have been blessed with supportive neighbors and visitors, people who have expressed time and again they are so happy for the “little farmstand on Sarah Wells”, and people who have occasionally said to one of us “please keep the change, we support what you are doing”. It’s been a pleasure to enhance agriculture here in our community, and bring families out to the farm, but we reach out now to tell you that your neighborhood farm is in need.
Petitions have been signed to help us stay on the farm and now we seek the financial support necessary to have a chance to hold our ground. Please read our story below and take a good look at the pictures that will tell you so much about what has happened here.
UPDATE: As of Sunday, September 15, 2019:
1,187 people have signed the petition on change.org in just four days.
...if each of them donated $20, we would be 30% of the way to our goal
...if each of them donated $30, we would be nearly 50% or half way to our goal
...if each of them donated $65, we would be 100% of the way to our goal
Please help us spread the word! We are grateful for any donation as we believe a little can go a long way, well just keep on pushing forward.
For 19 years, we, Jason & Kristin Touw, have managed, and more recently farmed, the Kozareski lands in Goshen and Hamptonburgh. Joan Kozareski expressed on several occasions verbally and in writing that it was her intent to sell the land to the us so that Wagon Wheel Farm can continue to be a working farm and destination for families and community members to make memories for decades to come. In November 2018, we were approved with financing to purchase the properties. Wagon Wheel Farm is an agribusiness modeled in environmental sustainability, community, and supports building local businesses and infrastructure while maintaining the beautiful rural character of central Orange County that everyone has come to cherish.
Just days after we received financing, Ms. Kozareski suddenly passed away and made a generous donation of several million dollars in savings to five charities: St. John's Catholic Church of Goshen, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, the Alzheimer's Association and the Hamptonburgh Cemetery Association. In addition, she donated the farmland to these charities as well. These charities will now decide the fate of Wagon Wheel Farm. As business owners, we have approached the charities with an interest in purchasing and preserving the farms, but there has not been much communication and the charities have listed the farms apparently to sell to the highest bidder, most likely a developer or individual that will not be farming the property themselves.
We are so grateful for the support from the community. We have spoken with the Orange County Land Trust and we are committed to securing preservation for both the farm on Sarah Wells Trail and the farm on Route 416 adjacent the Orange County Thomas Bull Park, should a purchase agreement be reached with the charities.
ABOVE: Jason Touw and Joan Kozareski pose for a moment in front of an excavator in 2017. The excavator was jointly leased by the Touws and Ms. Kozareski for five weeks to rehabilitate fields on the farm that were overrun by invasive Buckthorn and Multiflora Rose brush to get more land in production and improve habitats for native species.
The background of “Jason, Kristin and Joan”: It was our intent since inception of the business to purchase the farm from the landowner. Joan's family farmed here for nearly 80 years. She was excited about what we had planned and had trusted us to keep her family’s heritage alive. She was delighted at the revitalization and supported every move we made to develop the infrastructure to grow corn, pumpkins, hay, sunflowers and greenhouse vegetables. She signed contracts and loan agreements to get us off the ground so we might have the machinery and tools a farm requires. We spend all of our personal savings to see that this business would not cut corners, but instead produce quality food at a fair price while protecting the environment.
Joan Kozareski loved her farms. Prior to her death, she placed the picturesque image of the farm on her tombstone at the Hamptonburgh Cemetery. Given the generous gift Joan has made to the charities that help others, we feel obligated to keep her farm in the hands of a farmer that will not only use the land but also maintain and preserve the buildings.
Our first goal is to raise a down payment that will keep us in the “game”, and continue to provide the seasonal local produce you have come to appreciate and rely on. We never imagined we could be a bidding war to keep this emerging farm alive in Goshen, but the reality has set in for all of us. Our second goal is to secure a purchase of development rights (PDR) with the Orange County Land Trust. We have been in open discussions with the Land Trust regarding our objectives with Ms. Kozareski for nearly two years prior to her passing.
ABOVE: A high tunnel greenhouse constructed with assistance from the USDA grows fresh produce at Wagon Wheel Farm
More Facts about the Farm:
*First farm in Orange County to be the recipient of Governor Cuomo’s New Farmer’s Grant, to purchase equipment and lay infrastructure, provided we farm here from 2019-2024.
*Awarded a USDA Environmental Quality Incentives Program contract from 2015-2020 focused on water conservation, soil conservation, season extension, crop rotation, riparian buffer habitats and nutrient management. Practices must be continued through 2025.
*Wagon Wheel Farm keeps 163 acres in Goshen and Hamptonburgh green.
*Kristin Touw sits on the Washingtonville Farmer’s Market committee.
*Wagon Wheel Farm provides hayrides and activities for the Witchingtonville Fall Festival
*Participant and contributor to the Upper Saddle River, NJ Oktoberfest.
*Provides the live farm animals to the “Taste of Orange County History” market and “Barnyard Bash”
Important: If the Estate Charities are unable to come to an agreement with us, we may be obligated to pay back the grants we have received from the State and Federal government aimed at growing this prosperous business.
We are up against so many changes in this community and across the world. We are simply trying to keep Goshen Green and defend the case of young and emerging farmers, giving them a chance to stay on the land they are committed to. Thank you to all in the community for helping us spread the word and get the resources we need!
Related sites:
https://www.facebook.com/FriendsofWagonWheelFarm
https://www.facebook.com/wagonwheelfarmny/
http://chng.it/Wd2GyJPpJ6
http://wagonwheelfarmny.com/about
Petitions have been signed to help us stay on the farm and now we seek the financial support necessary to have a chance to hold our ground. Please read our story below and take a good look at the pictures that will tell you so much about what has happened here.
UPDATE: As of Sunday, September 15, 2019:
1,187 people have signed the petition on change.org in just four days.
...if each of them donated $20, we would be 30% of the way to our goal
...if each of them donated $30, we would be nearly 50% or half way to our goal
...if each of them donated $65, we would be 100% of the way to our goal
Please help us spread the word! We are grateful for any donation as we believe a little can go a long way, well just keep on pushing forward.
For 19 years, we, Jason & Kristin Touw, have managed, and more recently farmed, the Kozareski lands in Goshen and Hamptonburgh. Joan Kozareski expressed on several occasions verbally and in writing that it was her intent to sell the land to the us so that Wagon Wheel Farm can continue to be a working farm and destination for families and community members to make memories for decades to come. In November 2018, we were approved with financing to purchase the properties. Wagon Wheel Farm is an agribusiness modeled in environmental sustainability, community, and supports building local businesses and infrastructure while maintaining the beautiful rural character of central Orange County that everyone has come to cherish.
Just days after we received financing, Ms. Kozareski suddenly passed away and made a generous donation of several million dollars in savings to five charities: St. John's Catholic Church of Goshen, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, the Alzheimer's Association and the Hamptonburgh Cemetery Association. In addition, she donated the farmland to these charities as well. These charities will now decide the fate of Wagon Wheel Farm. As business owners, we have approached the charities with an interest in purchasing and preserving the farms, but there has not been much communication and the charities have listed the farms apparently to sell to the highest bidder, most likely a developer or individual that will not be farming the property themselves.
We are so grateful for the support from the community. We have spoken with the Orange County Land Trust and we are committed to securing preservation for both the farm on Sarah Wells Trail and the farm on Route 416 adjacent the Orange County Thomas Bull Park, should a purchase agreement be reached with the charities.
ABOVE: Jason Touw and Joan Kozareski pose for a moment in front of an excavator in 2017. The excavator was jointly leased by the Touws and Ms. Kozareski for five weeks to rehabilitate fields on the farm that were overrun by invasive Buckthorn and Multiflora Rose brush to get more land in production and improve habitats for native species. The background of “Jason, Kristin and Joan”: It was our intent since inception of the business to purchase the farm from the landowner. Joan's family farmed here for nearly 80 years. She was excited about what we had planned and had trusted us to keep her family’s heritage alive. She was delighted at the revitalization and supported every move we made to develop the infrastructure to grow corn, pumpkins, hay, sunflowers and greenhouse vegetables. She signed contracts and loan agreements to get us off the ground so we might have the machinery and tools a farm requires. We spend all of our personal savings to see that this business would not cut corners, but instead produce quality food at a fair price while protecting the environment.
Joan Kozareski loved her farms. Prior to her death, she placed the picturesque image of the farm on her tombstone at the Hamptonburgh Cemetery. Given the generous gift Joan has made to the charities that help others, we feel obligated to keep her farm in the hands of a farmer that will not only use the land but also maintain and preserve the buildings.
Our first goal is to raise a down payment that will keep us in the “game”, and continue to provide the seasonal local produce you have come to appreciate and rely on. We never imagined we could be a bidding war to keep this emerging farm alive in Goshen, but the reality has set in for all of us. Our second goal is to secure a purchase of development rights (PDR) with the Orange County Land Trust. We have been in open discussions with the Land Trust regarding our objectives with Ms. Kozareski for nearly two years prior to her passing.
ABOVE: A high tunnel greenhouse constructed with assistance from the USDA grows fresh produce at Wagon Wheel FarmMore Facts about the Farm:
*First farm in Orange County to be the recipient of Governor Cuomo’s New Farmer’s Grant, to purchase equipment and lay infrastructure, provided we farm here from 2019-2024.
*Awarded a USDA Environmental Quality Incentives Program contract from 2015-2020 focused on water conservation, soil conservation, season extension, crop rotation, riparian buffer habitats and nutrient management. Practices must be continued through 2025.
*Wagon Wheel Farm keeps 163 acres in Goshen and Hamptonburgh green.
*Kristin Touw sits on the Washingtonville Farmer’s Market committee.
*Wagon Wheel Farm provides hayrides and activities for the Witchingtonville Fall Festival
*Participant and contributor to the Upper Saddle River, NJ Oktoberfest.
*Provides the live farm animals to the “Taste of Orange County History” market and “Barnyard Bash”
Important: If the Estate Charities are unable to come to an agreement with us, we may be obligated to pay back the grants we have received from the State and Federal government aimed at growing this prosperous business.
We are up against so many changes in this community and across the world. We are simply trying to keep Goshen Green and defend the case of young and emerging farmers, giving them a chance to stay on the land they are committed to. Thank you to all in the community for helping us spread the word and get the resources we need!
Related sites:
https://www.facebook.com/FriendsofWagonWheelFarm
https://www.facebook.com/wagonwheelfarmny/
http://chng.it/Wd2GyJPpJ6
http://wagonwheelfarmny.com/about
Organizer
Kristin Spring Touw
Organizer
Goshen, NY
