Tools for understanding land use and supporting farmers across Madison County

Madison County Farmland Resources

Located in the heart of New York State, Madison County has both rich soils and a deep history of farming and farmland stewardship.

Explore some of our county's great resources below:

Land Use and Planning Resources
Farmland Protection Plan
Mapping and Ag Districts
Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District
Madison County USDA/FSA and NRCS Offices
County Historical Resources
Other County Resources

Madison County Land Use and Planning Resources:

A great starting point to explore Madison County farming and land use is the 2019 Madison County Agriculture and Farmland Protection Plan. It examines county history, land use patterns, past and present agricultural situations, and the challenges and opportunities for the future.

You can find hyper-local resources for each individual municipality in Madison County here.

Additional land and farm demographic information can be found in Headwater Economic's profiles of “ Land Use in Madison County” and “A Profile of Agriculture in Madison County.”

2017's Ag Census Madison County snapshot is found here. (The 2022 Ag Census data should be released in spring or summer 2024).

Cornell Program on Applied Demographics assembled general demographic information about our county last in 2017.

Madison County Farmland Protection Plan

Madison County’s Farmland Protection plan was developed to safeguard agricultural land from conversion to non-agricultural uses.

It highlights the county's passion to support and preserve local agriculture; the history, adaptability, and current status of county agriculture; and the challenges and opportunities for farmland resources going forward. The Farmland Protection Plan digs into county farm census numbers from 2017 as well as farmer survey data. It examines soil and water resources, land use patterns and changes, and all sorts of data of use to planners, folks interested in farmland resources, and active community members. It closes with priority actions to protect our County’s farmland.

Mapping and Ag Districts:

Madison County Real Property Parcels and Data has a mapping viewer to explore land, agricultural districts, wetland resources, and more across the county.

2009 Madison County land use maps by town are available here.

Cornell University’s Geospatial Information Repository maps can be used to check if you are located within an Ag District.

More Ag District information is found on the county website, including an overview of the county ag districts.

Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD):

Soil and Water Districts are county-based local governmental organizations that focus on protecting, enhancing, and conserving natural resources by implementing targeted farm conservation projects. Such projects include erosion control, water protection, riparian buffers, grazing management, environmental monitoring, and more.

Beyond implementing Madison County’s Agricultural Environmental Management (AEM) program, Madison County SWCD works with the county on stream and flood mitigation, provides technical and engineering assistance to farms, public, and private entities, and supports a robust grazing program, tree sale, and broad producer support from no-till to cover cropping and beyond.

To contact Madison County SWCD, visit: http://www.madcoswcd.com/

Madison County USDA/FSA and NRCS Offices:

The United States Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, and Natural Resources Conservation Service all have active local offices in Madison County. They provide a huge range of services from technical assistance to farm loans and more.

You can find the local service center here.