COME VISIT WITH LAND STEWARDS OF NY AT THE FARM SHOW! WE’LL LOOK FOR YOU FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, 8:30 TO 4, IN THE TOYOTA BUILDING, NEXT TO THE BEEF PRODUCERS, UNDER THE BANNER WHICH SAYS ” WE FEED THE WORLD.”
We are having lots of positive discussions with people who just didn’t realize that their land could be absorbed into a gas company’s “Spacing Unit” without their consent, and with some who have already had that very thing happen to them.
One gentleman from Chenango County explained the difficult time he had fighting against the compulsory integrations order, but was glad that he had done so and glad that he hired a lawyer to represent him. “I couldn’t believe it when I got this official-looking letter telling me that my land was part of their deal, and I would be getting something like 6% of the profits off the well. After my lawyer fought with them, I got three times that.” The same gentleman also told of a woman “who never had $3,000 to her name her whole life and the gas company came and put 50,000 on the table and she just signed over everything.”
Several locally-elected farmers stopped by and asked for copies of the Land Stewards’ Resolution to pass in their town. We will post it online so everyone can use it.
Gas Leasing Workshop Is A ‘Must Attend’ 
The gas leasing workshop begins at 9 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 25th, in the Arts and Home Center’s Bistro Room at the state fairgrounds in Syracuse. The speakers will allow plenty of time for questions and answers.
Cornell to host a “What you must know about gas leasing” session.
Cornell Cooperative Extension will host a Marcellus Gas Leasing Workshop on Friday, Feb. 25 at New York Farm Show. This special workshop to address key landowner and environmental issues involved in the Marcellus “natural gas rush”. With bids now surpassing $5,500 an acre plus 20% royalties, natural gas drilling has become a high-stakes “game”.
- What’s happening now will be addressed by Brett Chedzoy, Schuyler County Extension resource educator.
- Key gas leasing contract issues will be covered by James Leonard, certified public accountant and leasing consultant from Endicott, N.Y.
- Financial and tax ramifications will be covered by Joe Bennett, Cornell Cooperative Extension’s CPA.
- The Crucial importance of financial planning will be addressed by Bennett and Leonard.
Closing out the forum will be Beef Producer and former New York State Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Nancy Larraine Hoffmann who will briefly discuss LAND STEWARDS OF NY.(www.landstewardsofny.org) The newly-formed group of landowners is seeking a repeal of the New York’s eminent domain law, “Compulsory Integration;” and calling for enactment of a Landowners’ Bill of Rights to protect farmers from misinformation or deceptive leasing practices; and establishment of a fund for damage remediation for farms and municipalities affected by activities related to gas-drilling.
Check out the Farm Show website for more details and a complete listing of events: www.newyorkfarmshow.com
The Land Stewards of NY believe that the New York State Compulsory Integration Law is essentially a form of private eminent domain which infringes of the property rights of taxpayers. Republican Pennsylvania Governor, Tom Corbett agrees. He has gone on the record with his opposition to”forced pooling”, otherwise known in NYS as Compulsory Integration. Read about this in two recent stories, one on the website ProPublica, and the other in the Wall Street Journal online.
