Permanent conservation easement placed on NK farm

A permanent conservation easement now protects Poplar Springs Farm, owned by the Talley family and located on Route 106 in New Kent.

Poplar Springs Farm, a 103-acre New Kent County farm owned by the Talley family, now has a permanent conservation easement placed by the Williamsburg Land Conservancy.

Protection of the farm will help maintain the rural, agricultural, environmental and historic resources of New Kent, as well as protect air, water, soil, and wildlife habitat.
Poplar Springs Farm has been in the Talley family for over 100 years, and has received a Century Farm designation from the Virginia Department of Agriculture, which honors the enduring spirit of agriculture and Virginia’s farm families.

The Talleys have continued to produce food on the same land as their forefathers, which is one of the reasons they wanted their land protected in perpetuity.

“This land has been farmed for over a hundred years and it is our responsibility to make sure it stays that way for the next hundred years and beyond,” said Jimmy Talley in a press release.

The property contains land adjacent to Lake Kent, a tributary of the Chickahominy River, and has numerous springs, small wetlands and streams. The preservation of its prime soils will help control stormwater runoff and siltation of adjacent waters. A true working farm, the Talleys also raise milk cows and cattle on their land.

“The Conservancy is very pleased to protect this parcel of land,” said Caren Schumacher, the Conservancy’s executive director. “Farming is a dwindling profession and it makes us proud to conserve land that helps provide food to the citizens and carries on a tradition that is over 100 years old. Each parcel of land we protect and keep from becoming an impervious surface, is a positive step for the health of the Chesapeake Bay.