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Last month, the USDA’s 2024 Land Values Summary reported that Connecticut has the third most expensive farm real estate in the country (tied with Massachusetts) at two times the northeast average for dollars per acre.
To Chelsea Gazillo, the senior New England policy manager for American Farmland Trust, these numbers reflect a “farmland access and succession crisis” that has impacted the state for “the last 15 years at least.”
While the value of farm real estate is on the rise across the U.S., up 5% from 2023, the trendline is particularly steep in Connecticut. In Litchfield County alone, the average estimated market value of farm land and buildings rose 28% between 2017 and 2022 according to a study by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
“Connecticut is a densely populated state and farmland is in high demand from both farmers and non-farmers,” said Rebecca Eddy, director of communications at the Connecticut Department of Agriculture (DOA), citing the competing pressures of investors and developers.
Farmland values are also reflective of broader trends in the real estate market.
“We’re still seeing ripple effects from the pandemic,” said Gazillo, noting that western Connecticut became an especially desirable region for buyers looking to leave nearby metropolitan areas during lockdowns.
As high demand inflates prices and increases development pressure, Connecticut is losing farmland at a striking rate.
American Farmland Trust ranked Connecticut among the top states in the country for farmland conversion to residential and urban uses; Litchfield County alone experienced a 10.5% loss in total cropland between 2017 and 2022.
Meanwhile, U.S. farmers are getting older. In 2022, there were four times more U.S. farmers over the age of 65 than under 35.
“In the next 20 years or so, we’re going to see a massive amount of land start changing hands,” said Gazillo.
The Working Lands Alliance (WLA), a statewide coalition currently directed by Gazillo, formed in 1999 to preserve Connecticut’s farmland against the threat of transition to development.
In Connecticut, where agriculture contributes a significant $4 billion to the economy each year, maintaining farmland and supporting farmers has been a concern of the state for decades.
DOA’s Farmland Preservation Program was one of the first of its kind when it debuted in 1978. The program places agricultural conservation easements on farmland by purchasing the development rights from farmers, providing a monetary incentive for farmers to preserve their land into perpetuity.
Ella Kennen, coordinator for the New Connecticut Farmer Alliance, noted that while these easements bar development, they don’t necessarily require that “farmland is being actively used as farmland.” Nor do they directly address the challenge of first-time land access for new and BIPOC farmers.
To meet these remaining needs, DOA formed the DEI in Agriculture Working Group in 2021. Based on a report produced by the group last summer, DOA applied for and won $2.5 million through the USDA Land Capital Market Access grant which Eddy says will be employed to “increase land access to historically underserved producers.”
The grant provides hope for future change. But for many small farmers, the state policies currently in place do not go far enough to realize their dreams of farm ownership and tenure.
“It’s been simply out of the question that I could own my own farmland,” said Megan Haney, owner and operator of Marble Valley Farm in Kent. “I know of no farmer who can afford real estate based solely on what they make farming.”
Haney has grown her 14-acre sustainable vegetable operation thanks to a below-market-value lease from the Kent Land Trust. She is one of many Connecticut farmers reliant on land trusts or wealthy sponsors as alternative access models.
For the farmers who could afford to purchase their first plots, recent real estate trends may eclipse their plans to grow.
“I was fortunate to purchase my land before the crazy COVID inflation hit,” said Kelley Babbin, owner and operator of Howling Flats Farm in Canaan. “These prices make it unattainable to purchase additional pasture or hay ground.”
While land access is critical to the future of local farming, the issue does not exist in a vacuum. Gazillo noted that many solutions are compounded by other pressures.
“Litchfield County has a lot of protected land, which is both a good and a bad thing,” she said. “Affordable housing groups are saying that if we continue to put easements on properties, then there’s no land to be developed for affordable housing.”
Meanwhile, for older farmers without easements, selling one’s farmland at full market value may be the only path to retirement. “That [land] is their pension,” said Gazillo.
As the issue of farmland tenure grows more pressing and more complex, new policy initiatives hope to meet multiple needs.
WLA has proposed OPAV (Option to Purchase at Agricultural Value), a policy which would compensate farmland owners for selling only to certain farmers or family members at an “agricultural value” below market value. OPAV policies have already been implemented in Vermont, Massachusetts and New York.
OPAV’s future is yet to be determined in Connecticut. As is the future of Connecticut’s remaining farmland.
To Gazillo, the future that Connecticut can count on is one in which local farmers are vital to the community.
“One thing that we learned from the pandemic is that our national food system is very fragile,” she said. “If there are any disruptions to the supply chain, we are dependent on local producers to survive. And as we see more climate-related disasters and weather-related disasters, it’s just going to become more and more of a necessity.”
Amelia R. Wright
Falls Village – Amelia Rosalie (Betti) Wright, 91, of Falls Village died September 30, 2024 at her home surrounded by her loving family. She was the wife of the late Robert Kenneth Wright.
Amelia was born September 6, 1933 in Torrington, CT, daughter of the late Benjamin and Mary Eliza (Passini) Betti. Amelia worked at Camp Isabella Freedman as the Head Housekeeper. She was employed there for 35 years. She attended the Falls Village Congregational Church and had been very active at the Senior Center in Falls Village. She enjoyed collecting. She also enjoyed the craft classes offered by Adult Ed at the Housatonic Valley Regional High School. She enjoyed traveling, especially to the Cape, Vermont and New Hampshire. An avid flower person, Amelia had traveled to the major flower shows in both Boston and Philadelphia.
She is survived by her daughter, Susan Osborn and her husband David of Falls Village, her son, Robert H. Wright of Falls Village and her son, Donald Wright and his wife Kate of Millbrook, NY; her sister, MaryAnn Betti of Falls Village; her grandchildren, Benjamin and Katie Osborn and Jacob Wright. Amelia is also survived by her great grandson, Gunner Osborn. Amelia was predeceased by her brother, Donald Betti.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 5, 2024 in the Mountain View Cemetery, Sand Road, North Canaan, CT. Calling hours will be held at the Newkirk-Palmer Funeral Home, 118 Main Street, North Canaan, CT 06018 on Friday, October 4, 2024 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Memorial donations may be sent to the Falls Village Volunteer Ambulance Association, 188 US-7 South, Falls Village, CT. 06031
State Representative Maria Horn (D-64) gave brief remarks Monday, Sept. 30 before she picked up the big scissors and cut the ribbon on a new group of affordable housing units built in Sarum Village in Salisbury.
SALISBURY — The third group of affordable housing units at Sarum Village is complete. There was a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday afternoon, Sept 30.
Sarum Village is owned by the private Salisbury Housing Committee, Inc. SHC Vice-President Jocelyn Ayer set the stage, noting that there are 204 households in Salisbury who pay 50% or more of their income for housing.
The median price of a home in Salisbury is $900,000, she continued, and 40% of the town’s housing stock consists of second homes.
Ayer said there were between 60 and 70 applications for the 10 new units.
She said the demand for affordable housing in Salisbury outstrips the supply.
State Department of Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno praised the effort that went into building the new housing, and thanked U.S.Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who was standing nearby, for his help in securing federal funds.
The commissioner added that there is about $10 million in funding for affordable housing statewide.
Blumenthal said “You are making a statement in favor of a diverse and inclusive community,” and praised Mosquera-Bruno and Governor Ned Lamont (D) for being “aggressive” on housing issues.
State Representative Maria Horn (D-64), who handled the big scissors, said because there are so many local people involved, the new housing represents “the beating heart of Salisbury.”
Tom Barret shows off some Rummage Sale finds.
On Saturday, Sept. 28, the Cornwall Woman’s Society hosted its 100th anniversary celebration at Mohawk Mountain ski lodge.
“This celebration is to thank the people of Cornwall for their support and to celebrate the 100 years that the Woman’s Society has contributed to Cornwall and to needs near and far,” said Nancy Barr, co-chair of the Cornwall Woman’s Society (CWS).
There was food and beverages, even several cakes with wonderful decorations proclaiming the 100th year, but the main part of the event was a fashion show. Cornwall residents modeled outfits that they purchased at the Woman’s Society Rummage Sale, the annual CWS fundraiser held by each July.
The majority of the rummage sale proceeds go to support Cornwall’s high school graduates who plan to continue their education and the many important local organizations that serve education, health/nutrition, social services, and emergency needs.
The history of the society was highlighted by member Susan Hellmann who created a wonderful and informative history display. All guests were also handed a pamphlet containing the history of the society upon entering the ski lodge. The Woman’s Society of the First Congregational Church was formed in 1924 when 26 women from the First Congregational Church gathered at the Manse in West Cornwall to support missions and strengthen their community. They organized fundraisers like tea parties, fairs, and a 1932 “25-cent supper” for 140 people. Over the years, they expanded their efforts, helping with everything from Ellis Island clothing drives to local church improvements.
In 1956, CWS member and reporter Bessie W. Blake wrote an article in The Lakeville Journal titled “A Big Light from a Small Candle,” showcasing the incredible impact of this small group.
In 2006, the women separated from the church and became the Cornwall Woman’s Society. Their famous Rummage Sale, which started in 1955, now funds over 20 local causes, scholarships, and holiday cheer. They still meet on the second Thursday of every month at the UCC in Cornwall Village.
The fashion show was filled with hilarity, hoots and hollers of support, and some very funny antics. Said Cornwall Selectman Gordon Ridgway, in a short speech to present an award to the CWS, “The rummage sale takes recycling to new heights and even saves tax payer dollars.” Ridgway highlighted the many programs that CWS supports and ended by saying, “Seeing value in what others throw away is a great New England trait.”
