Agricultural Districts

The key purpose of Agricultural Districts is to protect and promote land for farming purposes, benefitting farmers and owners of farmland by:

• Providing the framework to limit unreasonable local regulation of accepted agricultural practices;
• Providing Right-to-Farm provisions that protect accepted agricultural practices from private nuisance suits;
• Modifying State agency administrative regulations/procedures to encourage the continuation of agricultural businesses;
• Modifying the ability to advance public funds to construct facilities that encourage development;
• Preventing benefit assessments, special ad valorem levies, or other rates/fees on farmland for the finance of improvements such as water, sewer or nonfarm drainage; and
• Modifying the ability of public agencies to acquire farmland through eminent domain.

The State statute authorizing the creation of county-administered Agricultural Districts is available here.

Every eight years, the Dutchess County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board (AFPB) initiates a full review and certification process for all Districts, which is administered by the Dutchess County Department of Planning & Development, with significant help from Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County and the Dutchess County Soil & Water Conservation District. During this review, parcels are reviewed for not only inclusion in the district but also removal from the district if it is no longer viable agricultural land. 

The AFPB has completed its review and submitted its recommendation to the County Legislature for their review and consideration. The AFPB has recommended the consolidation of Districts 20, 22, and 23 into Agricultural District 21. The proposed Agricultural District 21: would encompass lands in the Towns of Amenia, Beekman, Clinton, Dover, East Fishkill, Fishkill, Hyde Park, LaGrange, Milan, North East, Pawling, Pine Plains, Pleasant Valley, Poughkeepsie, Red Hook, Rhinebeck, Stanford, Union Vale, Wappinger, and Washington; and the Villages of Millbrook, Millerton, Pawling, Red Hook, Rhinebeck, and Tivoli; comprised of 193,990 acres. 

Map of proposed Agricultural District 21 (pdf) 

List of parcels reviewed by the AFPB and their recommendation (pdf) 

30-Day Public Comment Period Notice (pdf) 

Public Hearing Notice (pdf) 

AFPB DRAFT Report to the Dutchess County Legislature (pdf) (coming soon) 
 

We also have made an interactive Agricultural District Viewer that shows current parcels that are within Dutchess County agricultural districts, as well as proposed changes to those districts based on the 8-year review process.  

For questions about the review process, please leave a message at (845) 605-2075 or email agdistrict23@cornell.edu.  

The County Legislature established a 30-day public comment period from September 20th through October 20th.   

A map and list of parcels in the proposed Agricultural District 21, will be available for review at the Office of the County Clerk located in the County Office Building, 22 Market Street, Poughkeepsie, New York, for 30 days beginning on September 20, 2023, where it may be examined by interested parties during regular business hours. In addition, they will also be available at the following locations: the office of the Clerk of the Legislature located at 22 Market Street, Poughkeepsie, New York 12601, the offices of Dutchess County Planning & Development located at 85 Civic Center Plaza, Suite 107 Poughkeepsie, NY 12601, the offices of Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County and Dutchess County Soil & Water Conservation District both of which are located at the Dutchess County Farm and Home Center – 2715 Route 44 in Millbrook, NY, and at affected town and village halls (maps and lists will only be for that respective community at Town or Village halls). 

The county Legislature will conduct a public hearing on Tuesday, October 10th at 7:00 P.M., in the Legislative Chambers, County Office Building, 22 Market Street, Poughkeepsie, New York to review and solicit comments from the public with respect to the proposed recommendations from AFPB. However, to make it easier for you to respond and with thousands of parcels involved, it would be very helpful to receive public comments in writing, or by emailing CountyLegislature@DutchessNY.gov no later than October 20, 2023, which is the end of the public comment period. 

Landowners or municipalities within each District may propose a modification of the proposed district by filing such a proposal with the Clerk of the County Legislature by email at CountyLegislature@DutchessNY.gov, within 30 days of publication and in no event later than October 20, 2023.