The Katama Farm stewardship committee will put out a preliminary request for expressions of interest concerning the operation of Katama Farm in Edgartown.
At a meeting Thursday, committee members discussed the potential use of the farm. The farm was operated by The Trustees of Reservations, who were evicted after disputes over the use of the farm.
The committee in charge of determining the farm’s future voted to have conservation agent Jane Varkonda draft a request for expressions of interest. The request will ask applicants if they seek to operate the agricultural or educational components, or both. The request is to determine how potential farmers and educators might utilize the property.
Varkonda said a draft of the request will be sent to commissioners, who will then have to vote to send it out to the public.
Earlier this year, commissioners raised concerns with Trustees Islands director Sam Hart about the use of the farm. Commissioners felt there was too big a focus on events and the teaching kitchen at the FARM Institute, and too little focus on agricultural production. Among the many issues, commissioners were unhappy with the significant decline in livestock, compared with the 2016 farm-use plan.
The Trustees have been ordered to leave the property on Nov. 15.
