Equity Trust

Equity Trust facilitated the permanent protection of Caretaker Farm, a 35-acre farm in Williamstown, Massachusetts, in partnership with retiring farmers Sam and Elizabeth Smith, incoming farmers Don Zasada and Bridget Spann, the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation (WRLF), and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. To ensure that the farm will always continue to produce food for the local community, title is held by WRLF, and the farm is further protected by a Massachusetts Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR, a conservation easement with purchase option). The current farmers hold a 99-year ground lease and they purchased the farm house and agricultural improvements on the land, while the Smiths, the retired farmers, have retained a ownership of a smaller house on the farm, with ground lease, where they continue to live. The project was financed through a local fundraising effort led by CSA members, together with money raised by WRLF, community preservation funds from the town of Williamstown, and proceeds from the sale of the APR to the state.