This week, Torrington became the latest municipality in Connecticut to approve a right-to-farm ordinance that shields legitimate farmers—those operating on at least three acres of land—from lawsuits.
Research, hard work part of effort to find land For John and Kate Suscovich, the eggs — and other organic edibles — came way before any chickens. In fact, the 20-something urbanites-turned-aspiring farmers’ future chickens are not yet even eggs. But for the married couple, a vision of raising birds and plants has already hatched.
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As a scientist, scientist Margaret Mellon was pleased to see a major meta-analysis (a study of studies) on the nutritional and safety aspects of organic food, but she found the interpretation by the authors of the study and news media disconcerting—and surprising. The Stanford analysis confirmed that in comparison with conventional food, organic food has
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After years of decline, Connecticut farms are on the rise, and they’re smaller, more diverse, and more self-sufficient than ever before. It seemed for a long while that Connecticut farms were going out with the 20th century as more and more farms were being plowed under to make way for new suburban housing and commercial
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The farm bill, that cyclical flashpoint, is up for reauthorization in Congress this year, and reforms are needed to help small and organic farms obtain crop insurance, the Union of Concerned Scientists argues in a new report. Crop insurance policies, which are regulated and subsidized by the Department of Agriculture, provide coverage almost exclusively on
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Dear CT NOFA folks: I’m writing as a CT resident, though our NOFA membership is in NY, where our family farm is. Sorry to be focusing on this issue late, after the public hearing; just finished a major project at work. It is [sic] too late to make a difference with an op ed for
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A dean of New Milford’s farmers and his wife, Beth, 88, to whom he has been married 65 years, still live in the home they built in 1953 alongside the original farm homestead that dates back to the 1840s.Nanci G. Hutson of the Danbury News-Times reports.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service is accepting applications for the Conservation Stewardship Program, which assists landowners in improving soil and water quality, wildlife habitat and conservation activities that address the effects of climate change. For more on this story, visit: The Day – Applications being accepted for Conservation Stewardship Program | News
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Connecticut environmental officials are seeking public input on an outdoor recreation plan that will help determine priorities for investment. The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is planning four public meetings in August at state parks, wildlife areas and on the University of Connecticut campus.
“There needs to be a lot better effort to educate local regulatory officials, and in some cases, state regulatory officials, on the importance of farming and agriculture, and that there are certain inherent smells, odors and activities associated with farming that local regulations ought to take into consideration.”
The National Farm-to-School Network has been awarded a $250,000 USDA Cooperative Agreement Contract to expand and coordinate farm-to-institution work throughout the six-state region.
The owner of a farm in Easton says in order to stay in business he needs the revenue a cell tower would bring.
The trees are bare, and many of the tables are emptier than usual. The market, full of energy in the spring, summer and fall, is subdued.
Connecticut’s new governor, Dannel Malloy, has talked about strengthening the state’s agricultural economy. Why not think bigger and connect agriculture with smart growth, The Hartford Courant asks?
If the economics of tight-knit walkable communities outperform suburban counterparts by more than 200 percent, as studies by the firm Public Interest Projects in North Carolina and Florida (Miami pictured above) have recently shown, then smart growth should be a goal.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell has announced that the state is investing nearly $9 million to buy the development rights of 10 working farms.
Join the CT Farm Energy Program for a series of 5 free workshops in January 2011 about technical assistance and financial incentives that are available to AG producers as it relates to energy.
Farmland may be dwindling in Connecticut, but the state Grange — a fraternal organization originally started for farmers — is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, with an eye toward expansion.
Since 1978, when Connecticut began its Farmland Preservation Program, the state has purchased the development rights on 280 farms, which means that farmers can continue to farm the land or sell it someday, but never for development.
A study of agriculture in Connecticut found that the industry provides $3.5 billion a year in sales — an output that translates to $1,000 per Connecticut resident. The industry also generates 20,000 jobs statewide, two-thirds of which are from farming alone.
Additionally, the industry contributes about $1.7 billion in ‘value added,’ which is the difference between the value of output and the cost of raw materials — the money left in the hands of residents and business taxes, both of which stay in Connecticut.
The CFB is holding a series of free seminars statewide to help explain PA 490 and to distribute the Bureau’s latest PA 490 guide to landowners, government officials and anyone interested in how the law is applied.
