Governor George Pataki (R-NY) was in Cortlandt Manor Wednesday to announce a state grant to preserve farmland in the state.

Hemlock Hill farm owners were in jeopardy of having to sell their property in order to pay taxes on the land. Thanks to the state grant, the 116 acres in Cortlandt Manor will be saved. Pataki says 18 other farms statewide, two of which are dairy farms in Orange County, will also receive funding. The program also provides financial assistance to towns and counties to support local farmland protection activities.

The governor says the program will ensure those farms will forever be zoned for agriculture and cannot be bought up by developers. The grant will help farm owners get the value out of the land had they sold it, thus giving them an incentive to keep the farms for generations to come.