From The Land Conservancy of McHenry County:
Siblings Preserve 50 Acres of Farmland for Life in Richmond
Gary Gauger and Ginger Gauger have preserved their family farm with the help of The Land Conservancy of McHenry County
Richmond siblings, Gary Gauger and Ginger Gauger, have preserved their family farm with the help of The Land Conservancy of McHenry County (TLC). In 2023 they decided to preserve the farm and worked with TLC to place a conservation easement on it to ensure that it will never be developed.
Ginger and Gary grew up on the farm first purchased by their grandparents, Henry and Mabel Gauger, in 1923. Today, Gary continues farming the land that’s been in the family for more than 100 years. Located along Highway 173 east of the village of Richmond, Gary continues working the land, producing healthy, nutrient-rich, chemical-free vegetables for the community.
Gary and Ginger each inherited the farm and own side-by-side parcels totaling 50 acres. Gary grows on both farms and sells produce from a roadside stand. “We used to do a lot more,” relates Gary’s wife, Sue. “I was in charge of the farmers markets, but it got to be too much. Now we sell from right here on the farm. We have a U-Pick too and it’s been doing really well!”
People in the area might remember Ginger Blossom, a store that specialized in imported goods. The business is now closed, but Ginger continues to live in the house where she grew up, along with her Belgian Shepherds.
Both she and Gary attended The Land Conservancy of McHenry County’s (TLC’s) Preserving the Family Farm seminar in 2023 to learn how conservation easements work. They had been talking about preserving their farmland for a long time, and got the process started with TLC.
Ginger and Gary decided to place a conservation easement on each of their inherited pieces of the farm. “It’s our legacy,” Ginger says. Their love for the land and family runs deep. The conservation easement prevents the land from being developed, and it runs with the title. One hundred years from now, the land may no longer be owned by a Gauger, but it will be farmland forever.
One of the tools TLC uses to protect farms is a voluntary conservation agreement known as an easement. This type of an easement permanently limits non-agricultural development while allowing the owner to continue living on or leasing their land, expanding their farm business, and transferring the farm to a new generation. These easements can be donated, purchased, or a combination of the two.
“Protecting farms not only protects our natural resources and prime agricultural soils, it also helps support our local economy by maintaining a viable agricultural base,” said Linda Balek, TLC’s Farm Program Manager. She added, “With a growing interest in local food, coupled by a new movement of young people who want to be farmers, the need to preserve the county’s prime farmland is critical to everyone’s future.”
Gary and Sue’s Natural Farm Stand is located at 3206 Illinois Highway 173, Richmond.
If you would like more information on preserving farmland in McHenry County, please contact Linda Balek here.
The Land Conservancy of McHenry County is a member-based private nonprofit dedicated to preserving natural, scenic and agricultural land.
