LaGrange residents Chuck and Barb Taylor were honored with the Conservation Stewardship Award at Geneva Lake Conservancy’s 2024 Holly Ball gala in December for protecting 330 acres of agricultural land. The organization indicates that agricultural land is disappearing at an alarming rate in Walworth County, with almost 10 percent of family farms developed for other uses since 2017. The Taylors’ land has been in Chuck’s family since the 1800’s, and it is the couple’s desire to ensure that it continues to be devoted to farming in perpetuity.
The farmland in the greater Whitewater area has sometimes been described as some of the best in the country. Much of it is categorized as A-1 prime agricultural land, which means that it has the best combination of soil properties, growing season and moisture supply needed to produce high yields of crops in an economic manner. Nearly all of the Taylor property is included in that classification.
“Southeastern Wisconsin has some of the country’s prime farmland needed to feed the nation,” said Kiera Theys, the Conservancy’s Director of Land Protection. “When we lose this land to inappropriate development, the prime soils that are essential for growing crops are paved over and gone forever.”
The 330-acre farm protected by the Taylors through a conservation easement held by the Geneva Lake Conservancy (GLC) ensures that the land is never subdivided and that it will be used for agriculture in perpetuity. Should an alternative purpose ever be proposed, it would be GLC’s responsibility to defend the easement, including legal action if necessary. “We want to work with more farmers to help protect the scenic beauty and conservation values that farmland provides to Walworth County residents and visitors,” said Theys. “We will be expanding our farmland protection program beginning in 2025.
To date, the Conservancy has protected than 1,300 acres of farmland in Walworth County preventing it from being subdivided and ensuring that it continues to be farmed forever.
Also receiving recognition at the gala were Charles and Jill Haubrich, who were given the Honorary Land Steward Award. The Haubrich family owns another land type that is disappearing in Southeastern Wisconsin – oak woodlands and oak savannas. Less than 20 percent of the oaks that once dominated the landscape in parts of Southeast Wisconsin remain, according to a study completed by the Morton Arboretum/Chicago Wilderness project.
For more information on how you can protect your agricultural land or oak woodlands or savannas, contact the Geneva Lake Conservancy at 262-325-4923.
The Geneva Lake Conservancy is an accredited land trust that has protected more than 3,500 acres of open land in Walworth County. Formed in 1977, it offers six public nature preserves for hiking and other recreational activities as well as other programs and educational activities for children and adults, including its Conservation@Home program. For more information, go to genevalakeconservancy.org.
