| MARCH 18, 2010 -- Plowing Ahead: Farmland and Preservation in 2010 and Beyond will take place Saturday, March 27, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at Kroon Hall on the campus of Yale University in New Haven.
More than 200 farmers, conservationists, anti-hunger advocates, students, locavores, and others interested in farmland preservation from across Connecticut will gather for the conference hosted by the Working Lands Alliance (WLA) coalition, to consider ways to improve farmland access, grow community farms and link farmland protection with economic development, smart growth and public-health goals.
Kathleen Merrigan, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) deputy secretary, will give the conference keynote address, with an introduction by
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture.
‘Plowing Ahead' is an opportunity to take stock of the progress in farmland preservation and to harvest ideas for the next 10 years to keep Connecticut farmland producing fresh, healthy food for citizens, as the Massaro Farm in Woodbridge is doing.
"Don't miss this ‘once-in-a-decade' event," said WLA Chairman Terry Jones, of Jones Family Farms in Shelton.
The conference will focus on strategies to accelerate the protection of Connecticut's remaining farms over the next 10 years while nurturing new opportunities for local farms and food.
There will be workshops on policy, programs and innovative approaches to building support for protecting farms in Connecticut communities.
Presenters from national conservation organizations such as American Farmland Trust and Trust for Public Land will review farmland preservation policy tools from other states.
Practitioners from local community farms in Wilton and Woodbridge will share their models of education and food production. Leaders from Vermont Land Trust, Peconic Land Trust and the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project in Boston will discuss their innovative programs to increase farmland access for new farmers.
The conference is made possible by financial support from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Connecticut Department of Agriculture, Connecticut Farmland Trust, Connecticut Farm Link, Connecticut Food Policy Council, Farm Credit East, The Farmer's Cow, Jones Family Farms, edible Nutmeg, Wholesome Wave, and the members of American Farmland Trust.
Additional sponsors include Connecticut Farm Bureau, Connecticut State Grange, Connecticut Forest and Park Association, Common Ground Center for Environmental Education and Leadership, Eastern Connecticut Resources Conservation and Development Area Inc., Halloran & Sage Governmental Affairs, KofKoff Egg Farm, and Trust for Public Land.
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