Merby and Lou Lego of Sennett, Cayuga County

Why did you choose to conserve your land?  What motivated you?

When we moved to Sennett thirty two years ago, most of the land in our area was comprised of small diversified farms, with a single farmhouse on the roadway corners.   Over time many of these small farms have disappeared, and have been replaced by houses on 1 to 2 acre lots. The land is very good for farming with well drained loam.   Our particular land has been cared for through cover crop rotations, and minimum compaction using certified organic farming practices for thirty years.  We have planted tree lines which are now beautiful as well as great habitats for beneficial insects and wind breaks to prevent soil erosion.  It would be a shame to take these fields out of diversified agricultural production.

What makes your land so special to you?

Having the farm in our family for many years and being able to produce fruit and vegetables (and jobs) for our neighbors has been a very satisfying experience. Our mission has been to show that very high quality produce and meat can be produced on small neighborhood farms — with less transport and far less environmental impact than food grown faraway and transported many miles through several intermediate storage and processing facilities.

Anything else you want to add?

We are hopeful that our neighbors in Sennett and in the Finger Lakes region will preserve our valuable farmland and wooded areas so that a sustainable food system can be part of our future for many years. We would encourage land owners to conserve their land in land trusts for these reasons.