| AUGUST 22, 2011 -- Farmland preservation in Connecticut continues at a rapid pace, and thanks to local and federal partnerships, the expense is shared. Many towns have realized the value of maintaining active agricultural lands in their borders in terms of economic activity, jobs, local food security, natural resource conservation, community support, and rural character. Likewise, the federal government increased funding available to Connecticut through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS).
The state preserved seven farms comprising 785 acres since the start of calendar year 2011, five of which were joint state-town projects. Three towns participated to jointly acquire development rights to qualified farms; these are the towns of Ashford, Suffield, and New Milford. State funding of $3,581,802 (80%) for seven farms leveraged town funds of $906,222 (20%) towards the cost of the development rights on five. Deeds conveying the development rights to the state for four additional farms on 709 acres, one of which is a joint state-town project, are in hand, ready for recording. The state has applied to the USDA-NRCS Farm & Ranch Lands Protection Program to leverage federal funding for potentially up to 50% of the cost of the development rights.
Located in three counties, the farms preserved through joint state-town projects this year include some of the following cropland types: an active dairy and dairy support, pasture for beef cattle, hay, sweet corn, pumpkins, potatoes and other vegetables, and fruit trees.
Towns are eligible to participate in joint state-town projects to preserve qualified farmland provided they meet basic requirements, including a town policy in support of farmland preservation. For instance, towns may have a plan that identifies and prioritizes farmland parcels in town. The town may designate a farmland preservation committee--which may be its existing conservation commission or open space committee--to assist with this process. The town needs funding, or a mechanism to obtain funding through local bonding or town referendum, ideally establishing a farmland preservation fund, or an existing open space fund that may be used for farmland preservation. Farmers participate on a voluntary basis only by offering to sell development rights. Farm applications are evaluated against scoring criteria of the Farmland Preservation Program and, if qualified, the state and town collaborate on obtaining appraisals and negotiating the purchase of development rights. Then surveys and title work are conducted for closing and recording of a deed conveying the development rights in perpetuity to the state and town.
Since inception of the Farmland Preservation Program, development rights have been acquired, or approved for acquisition, on 287 farms totaling 37,862 acres. Acre by acre, the program works toward the goal of protecting 85,000 acres of cropland on 130,000 acres of farmland in Connecticut.
If you have been thinking of preserving your farm or farmland, we welcome your application. Applications are accepted on a continuous basis. Preserved farms have met minimum eligibility requirements and successfully competed with other priority farms for the limited dollars available for farmland preservation. Farms that are not eligible may be referred to other state or federal programs, or to the Connecticut Farmland Trust. For an application or more information on about the Connecticut Department of Agriculture’s Farmland Preservation Program, please call 860-713-2511 or visit www.ct.gov/doag/site. |
