The Trust for Public Land and a local preservationist group, which had put down a deposit to keep the Sunny Rock Farm off the market until mid-June, were unable to raise the $2.95 million needed to preserve the 74-acre property in north Walpole. The Trust for Public Land was still about $1.3 million short when it made the decision to abandon the land purchase. “We reconfigured the project in a variety of ways, but every scenario created a funding shortage,” said the trust's project manager, Darci Schofield. Eight acres of the farm were previously sold for luxury homes. The remaining acreage could now end in similar development. The Trust for Public Land and the Citizens for Sunny Rock Farm had hoped the property could continue in agricultural use, leased to a local farmer. A section was also targeted for athletic fields. The property has been a working farm since the 1920s.