St. Lawrence County Planning Office

Agricultural Disctricts 1 & 2

There are two Agricultural Districts located in St. Lawrence County.  District 1 includes the towns of Hammond, Rossie, Morristown, Macomb, Gouverneur, Fowler, Oswegatchie, DePeyster, DeKalb, Hermon, Edwards and Russell.  District 2 includes Oswegatchie, Lisbon, Canton, Russell, Waddington, Madrid, Potsdam, Pierrepont, Louisville, Norfolk, Stockholm, Parishville, Massena, Brasher, Lawrence, and Hopkinton.  The towns of Oswegatchie and Russell are divided between both districts. 

Maps of properties located in Agricutlural District 1 and 2 are listed by town below.  These maps are available as PDF files.

The Benefits of Being in an Ag District

Farmers who include their property in an ag district receive protections from new non-farm land uses that are developed next to their land, and the NYS Agricultural Districts Law prevents local laws from unreasonably restricting farm operations that are located in the district.

County Accepting Applications to  Add Property to Ag Districts 1 and 2

From May 1st to May 30th,  St. Lawrence County will accept applications to add property to Agricultural Districts 1 and 2.  Established in 1973, the County's Ag Districts contain more than 590,000 acres and are intended to protect farmland and farming activities.  At least 51% of this property consists of viable agricultural lands.  Agricultural District 1 primarily consists of agricultural lands in the western and southern portions of the county, and Agricultural District 2 spans across the county's northern and eastern regions.

Landowners seeking to add property to an ag district must submit an inclusion form to the County Planning Office.  All requests for inclusion must be received or postmarked no later than May 30, 2011.

Public Hearing to  Comment on Requests to Add Property to Ag Districts 1 and 2

A public hearing has also been scheduled for Thursday, June 30th to give the public the opporuntiy to comment on requests to add property to an ag district.  The public hearing will be held at 7:30 pm in Room 226 of the County Courthouse in Canton.

Only request to add property to an ag district will be considered at this time.  Requests to remove land are accepted only during an ag district's eight-year review period.  The next eight year review for Ag Distric 2 is 2014 and Ag District 1 is 2016.

More information about the benefits of being in an ag district can be found in the attached fact sheet, or by visiting the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets website.