About Us
Mission and Vision
Mission
The New York Agricultural Land Trust is a non-profit organization, founded in 2006, with the mission to conserve working farmland and promote a greater appreciation for the agricultural and forested lands and their associated natural resources that enrich our communities and connect future generations to the land, locally and statewide.
VISION
NYALT works with landowners, at their request, to protect the working landscapes important to Upstate New York’s rural agricultural economy and quality of life. NYALT’s conservation projects conserve high-quality farmland and supporting woodlands, with projects ranging from dairy farms to diversified farming operations. In all cases, the farmers and landowners want to conserve their land for the next generation. They know that once good land is lost to development, it will never come back into agriculture. These farmers are creating a legacy, ensuring that their land will be available for agriculture in the future.
NYALT works in partnership with the farmland protection boards of local towns and counties to identify priority farmland in the local communities. We are currently working with municipalities and farmers in Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga and Seneca Counties. For more information about Land Conservation Options, visit our Land Protection page.
Values
Service to the Entire Farming Community
Healthy Systems that Sustain Communities and Strengthen Economies
Building Relevance and Trust as much as Awareness
It is our responsibility to listen, learn, and engage with the community to build awareness, relevance and trust and ensure that farmland conservation is honored in perpetuity.
Collaborative Leadership
Future Generations
Board of Directors and Staff
Board
Nancy Hourigan
Board Chair
Kenneth Holden
Vice Chair
Amanda Barber
Secretary
Mike Barry
Board Member
Dan Welch
Board Member
Cayuga County Cornell Cooperative Extension
Ed Mills
Board Member
Retired, Cornell University Department of Natural Resources
Staff

Brandy Colebrook
Executive Director
Brandy has 10+ years of working in the agriculture field. She previously worked for the Syracuse Refugee Agricultural Program as their Agricultural Programs Director and even organized agricultural programs for rural women in Benin, West Africa where she was a Peace Corps Volunteer for two years. She is from southern Indiana where both sets of grandparents were farmers and owned farmland, so she spent many days helping out at the farms. She attended Purdue University and graduated with a degree from the School of Agriculture. She also enjoys gardening, raising chickens, and managing the Strathmore Buyers Club that helps bring local food to her neighborhood.
Brandy looks forward to meeting farmers and landowners to help them decide if they want to put their farmland in a conservation easement, forever preserving much needed farmland and protecting it from urban sprawl. Please don’t hesitate to contact Brandy with any questions at info@nyalt.org
Contact Us
Please sumbit all relevant conservation easement documents and written inquiries to New York Agricultural Land Trust. Additionally, feel free to email our Board of Directors individually if you have questions.
Nancy Hourigan
Board Chair
info@nyalt.org
Address
PO Box 216
Elbridge, NY 13060