By Ralph Urban
Connecticut’s Farmland Preservation Program, operating under the aegis of the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, continues to save thousands of acres of valuable farmland through the purchase of development rights to agricultural lands in the state. To date, the program has achieved the preservation of 32,676 acres from some 239 farms.
The program allows the agricultural property owners to continue to own and operate the farms, while the sale of the properties’ development rights guarantees the properties will not be developed, subdivided or sold for non-agricultural uses, ensuring these properties remain in food or fiber production.
Funding for the purchase of these development rights typically comes from the State, but farms are also sometimes preserved with the additional funding from municipalities, the Federal Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program and/or the Connecticut Farmland Trust.
In selecting the properties for preservation, special attention is paid to ensuring the preservation of high quality, productive soils most suited to agricultural uses.
Approximately 15 additional farms are currently under contract, and an additional 25 farms are on the “short list,” earmarked for upcoming rounds of funding.
While farms have been preserved throughout the state, as one might expect, more recent acquisitions have involved farms from northern and eastern Connecticut, where farming remains stronger than in Connecticut’s more developed suburban areas.
As critical as the protection of these lands is for local production of food and fiber, the program also helps to protect Connecticut’s remaining rural character and vistas.
As a land trust we applaud these efforts and urge increased funding to accelerate these efforts. Working farms play an important role in stewarding Connecticut’s lands and environment and enhancing the beauty of life in Connecticut.