Good news for the East End: Amber Waves Farm has purchased the land on which they operate, along with the adjacent Amagansett Farmers Market. The seller, Margaret de Cuevas, also donated an enhanced easement to the Peconic Land Trust, which ensures the land will be actively farmed forever. This easement the first of its kind in East Hampton Town and it’s hoped that this transaction can be a model for future farmland acquisitions.
What about the market? The farm is also eager to operate the adjacent Amagansett Farmers Market for the first time, and will share more details about plans for the market as the season approaches.
Since 2009, Amagansett’s Amber Waves Farm has been part of a growing movement of innovative agriculture on the East End, producing vegetables, flowers, and grains. Katie Baldwin and Amanda Merrow, founders of Amber Waves, said in a statement, “Security through land ownership is critical to the long-term sustainability of any farming enterprise, and we are forever grateful to Maggie de Cuevas for her extraordinary conservation work that has led to this milestone for our farm. We would like to acknowledge the years of immeasurable support from our farm’s board of directors, members, and donors, as well as the entire de Cuevas family, Peconic Land Trust, and our neighbors at Balsam Farms and Quail Hill Farm.
The unwavering support we have received from our community underscores our continued commitment to our mission of food education. We are looking forward to continuing the pursuit of this mission through many future decades of stewardship of Amber Waves Farm while we welcome the community to enjoy the farm as it grows and evolves. The acquisition of our farm land is the culmination of years of effort, and also represents the start of a new and exciting chapter in the evolution of Amber Waves Farm. We are honored to become a permanent part of the fabric of the Amagansett community and for the opportunity to serve the people of the East End; we’re and excited for the work ahead.”
John v.H. Halsey of the Peconic Land Trust said, “All of us at the Peconic Land Trust will be forever grateful to Maggie de Cuevas for her strong conservation ethic. In this case, she stepped up and acquired the Amagansett Farmers Market and contiguous farmland in 2008 to prevent the property from being developed. Now, she has turned the property over to young, capable, dynamic farmers and ensured a future of fresh, locally grown vegetables, fruits, herbs and more on this fertile land. Her gift of additional restrictions on protected farmland is the first of its kind in East Hampton Town. We are very pleased with this outcome, and wish Amber Waves tremendous success as they move forward with their innovative farm operation.”
