| JULY 20, 2011 -- Connecticut legislators recently passed a bill pushing towns to consider having their own agriculture council.
For farmers struggling to be heard, and consumers who want more local farm activities in their community, this could be the voice they need.
Town officials across the state, some without any agricultural background, are deciding the fate of farming and where agriculture fits into their long-term community plan.
“Agriculture is fluid and it doesn’t fit into neat planning and zoning laws,” says Joan Nichols, government specialist at the Connecticut Farm Bureau. “Agriculture has had a hard time fitting in [in some communities] and farmers are just doing what they’ve been doing for over 300 years.”
The law, which goes into effect October 1, will establish an agriculture council in the executive branch. The bill also says “the legislative body of the town, or the board of selectmen where the town meeting is the legislative body, must vote to establish a council.”
The state is hoping municipal officials will become more educated about agricultural laws, safety issues and how communities and farmers can form lasting and non-adversarial relationships.
A town agriculture council could be good news for some community groups, including the Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm (FOTF), which has had an uphill battle in convincing conservation commission members, that a local organic farm is a ‘good thing.’
Town boards and commissions, including Planning and Zoning, are deciding local farm initiates. For new farmers and consumers who want to live a more sustainable life, it can be a daunting process to get started in towns not familiar with agriculture.
An agricultural council could also be helpful to town officials who are dealing, more and more these days, with consumers who want to use their backyards to grow food and raise egg-laying hens. Some communities have been supportive, while others have not. (I will be reporting more extensively on this “right to farm” in my next column.)
Moreover, the state wants town agricuture councils to provide conflict resolution and advisory services, identify innovative opportunities for agriculture and “create a climate that supports agriculture’s economic viability in the municipality.”
For the FOTF and other farmers who need a greater voice, this law might be exactly what is needed.
No. 5472
http://cga.ct.gov/2011/ba/2011HB-05472-R000175-BA.htm
Below is an analysis of the Bill from: Working Lands Alliance (A Project of American Farmland Trust)
Local Agricultural Commissions and Consideration of Agriculture in Town Planning
H. 5472 explicitly authorizes municipalities to establish town or regional agricultural commissions. Agricultural commissions can be important advocates for local farms and farmers by educating municipal officials, providing guidance about agriculture‐related zoning issues, and helping to resolve conflicts around farm operations. The bill also requires municipalities to consider agriculture in local Plans of Conservation and Development and requires land use boards to use the state’s broad definition of agriculture when considering the impact of zoning regulations on agriculture.
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