You have been specially selected to receive the attached planning survey. The survey is part of the Agricultural and Farmland Protection Plan for Greene County that we are now assembling, using assistance provided from the State of New York. It is extremely important to us to have your opinion. It will help us decide what economic assistance should be given to farmers and agri-businesses. The information will also aid us in evaluating the need for a voluntary program to purchase or lease development rights on farmland so as to protect it.

Greene County has a very diverse and economically important agricultural industry which we must protect and enhance. The challenges for agriculture are, of course, many. We cannot save farmland unless we first save farming by making it more profitable. We've decided, for this reason, to develop a comprehensive strategy that will serve as the foundation for our agricultural and farmland preservation policies for the County. We are being assisted in this regard by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Greene County as well as the Greene County Planning Department.

This is, obviously, a critical matter and we need your help. Please take time to complete the attached survey and return it in the enclosed self-addressed stamped envelope no later than May 15. We will be tabulating and reporting the data shortly afterwards, but we don't need your name. All individual survey responses will be treated on a strictly confidential basis and used for no other purpose.

Thank you for your cooperation!

Sincerely,

Gerald Cunningham
Chairman