Ardell Price Donates Easement on Family Farm

The family farm of Ardell Price holds years of memories for the past president of Champaign Land Preservation. The 165-acre Champaign County farm, Sunset Ridge, was purchased in 1929 by Ardell’s grandfather. Following her birth, Ardell and her mother stayed at the farm while her father worked as an army officer at Wright-Patt until the conclusion of World War II. For the next twelve years, Ardell spent her summers at Sunset Ridge, where her father and grandfather built a cabin to be used as a summer home. This is when Ardell truly fell in love with her family’s property. She recalls spending her summers on the farm laying in hammocks, reading, and exploring the gravel quarry and barns. It was clear to her then, that she would find a way to protect Sunset Ridge.

Later in life, Ardell began to make this dream a reality. In 2002, a seventeen-acre parcel of Sunset Ridge was successfully placed under a conservation easement with Champaign Land Preservation. The easement was written for the entirety of the farm, and Ardell intended to incrementally place the remaining parcels under the easement. However, Ardell hit a few bumps in the road that postponed her plan. Fortunately, she is persistent and in 2018, Ardell wrote a compelling letter to TLT requesting the organization finish what she had started.

This fall, Tecumseh Land Trust successfully placed a conservation easement on the entire property of Sunset Ridge ensuring all 165 acres are protected. Following the signing of the easement document, Ardell exclaimed, “I have finally fulfilled my life’s purpose.” The Price’s legacy will continue on in this beautiful land.

Today, Ardell works alongside farmer, Mark Loudenback, managing a small herd of grass-fed beef, experimenting with farming techniques to address Sunset Ridge’s erosion difficulties, and working to create a diverse and unique food crop system.