‘Preserving my farm was the most important thing I felt I could do’: Cedar Creek Farm to be protected in Powhatan County
POWHATAN COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Cedar Creek Farm in Powhatan County is now protected by a conservation easement, according to the Capital Region Land Conservancy. Billy and Margaret Sifers purchased the land in 1978, which at that time was still "nothing but a cutover forest," according to a release from the CRLC. Over the course of the next 46 years, Billy Sifers executed his vision by clearing an area for their home with a small pond and an area to begin farming. By the time of his retirement in 1993, he had become a full-time farmer, leasing up to 1,200 acres of land in the area and managing a cow-calf operation. "The consummate farm with well-maintained barns and grain elevators, Cedar Creek Farm is 16 acres and the base of Mr. Sifers’ business," the release from CRLC reads. "Over recent years, however, Mr. Sifers has watched as the land he rented and farmed for decades be sold and developed, whereby his operation has dwindled to about half the original acreage." According to the CRLC, they were approached by Billy Sifers in 2023 to place a conservation easement on his land so that the landscape could be protected in perpetuity and farming operations could be supported long into the future. “Protecting these few but important acres of prime farmland and a well-built farming operation in such a historically important area of Powhatan County is deeply gratifying,” said Jane Myers, director of land conservation for the CRLC. Under the conservation easement, the property will now have a 400-foot "no-build setback" from the nearby Huguenot Trail to "protect public views from the road and Sublett's Tavern," according to the CRLC. “Preserving my farm was the most important thing I felt I could do," Billy Sifers said, when asked why he chose to pursue a conservation easement. "I am proud to have contributed to preserving the rural character of the county and help farming to continue.”
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POWHATAN COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Cedar Creek Farm in Powhatan County is now protected by a conservation easement, according to the Capital Region Land Conservancy.
Billy and Margaret Sifers purchased the land in 1978, which at that time was still "nothing but a cutover forest," according to a release from the CRLC.
Over the course of the next 46 years, Billy Sifers executed his vision by clearing an area for their home with a small pond and an area to begin farming. By the time of his retirement in 1993, he had become a full-time farmer, leasing up to 1,200 acres of land in the area and managing a cow-calf operation.
"The consummate farm with well-maintained barns and grain elevators, Cedar Creek Farm is 16 acres and the base of Mr. Sifers’ business," the release from CRLC reads. "Over recent years, however, Mr. Sifers has watched as the land he rented and farmed for decades be sold and developed, whereby his operation has dwindled to about half the original acreage."
According to the CRLC, they were approached by Billy Sifers in 2023 to place a conservation easement on his land so that the landscape could be protected in perpetuity and farming operations could be supported long into the future.
“Protecting these few but important acres of prime farmland and a well-built farming operation in such a historically important area of Powhatan County is deeply gratifying,” said Jane Myers, director of land conservation for the CRLC.
Under the conservation easement, the property will now have a 400-foot "no-build setback" from the nearby Huguenot Trail to "protect public views from the road and Sublett's Tavern," according to the CRLC.
“Preserving my farm was the most important thing I felt I could do," Billy Sifers said, when asked why he chose to pursue a conservation easement. "I am proud to have contributed to preserving the rural character of the county and help farming to continue.”
