| AUGUST 30, 2010 -- Enjoying a meal made from state-grown crops on a Litchfield farm this month feeds more than just bellies.
The annual Celebration of Connecticut Farms also infuses the coffers of the Connecticut Farmland Trust, a nonprofit that works in concert with farmers, land trusts and local and state agencies to preserve the state's farmland. Proceeds from the annual food event at Laurel Ridge Farm in turn helps secure the future of places like those responsible for the evening's bounty.
On Sept. 12, Tony Award-winning actress Christine Baranski, who owns a home in Litchfield County, will serve as co-chairwoman of the popular event alongside its longtime supporters, celebrity chef Jacques Pepin and Faith Middleton, the host of WNPR's "Food Schmooze." Baranski stars in "The Good Wife" on CBS and is known for roles on Broadway and the CBS 1990s hit "Cybill." Area chefs will assist in planning and making the food.
"Due in part to the success of this event, The Connecticut Farmland Trust expects to preserve a total of 381 acres on five family farms, and assist the Connecticut Department of Agriculture with three more farms totaling 215 acres just this year alone," the trust's executive director, Henry Talmage, said in a news release. "With each bite and sip at the Celebration of Connecticut Farms, participants help us make great strides in preserving our precious farmland for future generations."
Among other efforts, the trust has worked in recent years in concert with the Sharon Land Trust to preserve the so-called Wike Brothers Farm in Sharon. According to the local and state farmland trust, a two-year campaign raised $1.1 million from federal, state and private sources to buy conservation easements for the 276-acre property that is one of the area's oldest and largest farms. Just over $330,000 remains to be raised to complete the purchase of conservation easements at what the trust termed a "bargain price" of about $1,200 an acre.
The trust bridges the gap between the amount a farm is worth as a crop or livestock operation and what it could fetch from a residential or commercial developer.
Through negotiated deals, the trust pays farmers all or part of the difference in return for permanently designating the land deed as agricultural. The easements ensure preservation of the now seventh-generation Sharon farm that most recently produced hay and raised free-range chickens, pigs and grass-fed cattle.
They also sell products like sausages and apple-smoked bacon at a roadside store and at LaBonne's Market.
The farm hosting the trust's celebration, the 200-acre Litchfield's Laurel Ridge, started in the Morosani family as a dairy farm. After getting out of that business and following nearly a half-century of leasing the land to other farmers, John Morosani followed in his father's footsteps by buying cattle with a friend to raise grass-fed beef. The farm sells its beef from a retail outlet in a windmill on the property. They have also since started raising pork and poultry in a similar manner.
Every year, 8,000 acres of Connecticut's 300,000 acres of farmland are devoured by development, the trust reports. It's anticipated that if this decline continues at its current rate, remaining farmland would disappear in less than two generations. Seeking to maintain the New England farming tradition and support agricultural operations that pump $2 billion annually into the state economy, the trust aims to negate pressure on farmers to sell swaths of land. Since its start as a private trust in 2002, the Connecticut Farmland Trust has helped protect 1,766 acres across 20 farms from future development and partnered in preserving another 600 acres.
If You Go:
The Celebration of Connecticut Farms to benefit the Connecticut Farmland Trust takes place Sept. 12 at Laurel Ridge Farm in Litchfield. Tickets, which often sell out in advance, cost $150 per person, of which $75 is tax deductible. The cost includes food, drink, entertainment and farm tours. For information and tickets, visit CelebrationOfCtFarms.org or call (860) 247-0202.
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