
Marble Valley Farm in Kent leases land from the Kent Land Trust at below-market rates. The model enabled owner Megan Haney to grow her vegetable operation in an otherwise harsh economic climate for Connecticut farmers.
Photo by Sarah Lang
Marble Valley Farm in Kent leases land from the Kent Land Trust at below-market rates. The model enabled owner Megan Haney to grow her vegetable operation in an otherwise harsh economic climate for Connecticut farmers.
In August, 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.”
FALLS VILLAGE — Housatonic Valley Regional High School girls lacrosse kept rolling Tuesday, May 6, with a decisive 18-6 win over Lakeview High School.
Eight different players scored for Housatonic in the Northwest Corner rivalry matchup. Sophomore Georgie Clayton led the team with five goals.
The Mountaineers' record advanced to 5-1 with a cumulative 41-point goal differential halfway through the season. The lone loss came at Watertown High School on April 10.
Georgie Clayton draws four Lakeview defenders. She scored five goals in the game May 6.Photo by Riley Klein
"We will be playing [Watertown] in the championship on the 28th of May," declared Coach Laura Bushey at the midway point of the 2025 season. Last year, HVRHS lost to St. Paul Catholic High School by one point in the Western Connecticut Lacrosse Conference championship.
The game against Lakeview May 7 went on despite ominous cloud cover at starting time. Rain earlier in the day made for a wet field, but the clouds parted by the second quarter for a sunny afternoon of lacrosse.
HVRHS wasted no time setting the tone. Georgie Clayton repeatedly sliced and diced her way through midfield to create offensive opportunities for the Mountaineers, who took a 7-1 lead in the first quarter.
Tessa Dekker elevates for one of her three goals against Lakeview May 6.Photo by Riley Klein
The lead grew to 11-3 by halftime. Seniors Lola Clayton and Tessa Dekker created a one-two punch on attack with Dekker setting up plays from behind the net as Clayton cut to the crease. The pair combined for five goals in the game.
Once the lead extended to double digits in the second half, the clock ran continuously. Lakeview found scoring chances but HVRHS sophomore goalie Sophia DeDominicis-Fitzpatrck saved more shots (7) than she let by.
The game ended 18-6 in favor of HVRHS.
Lola Clayton bounces a shot past the Lakeview defense.Photo by Riley Klein
The following players scored for the Mountaineers: Georgie Clayton (5), Tessa Dekker (3), Lola Clayton (2), Islay Sheil (2), Katie Crane (2), Annabelle Carden (2), Mollie Ford (1) and Chloe Hill (1).
Lakeview's goals were scored by Layla Jones (2), Isabelle Deforge (2), Juliana Bailey (1) and Caroline Donnelly (1).Goalie Sophia DeDominicis-Fitzpatrick secures the ball.Photo by Riley Klein
Participating students and teachers gathered for the traditional photo at the 2025 Troutbeck Symposium on Thursday, May 1.
Students and educators from throughout the region converged at Troutbeck in Amenia for a three-day conference to present historical research projects undertaken collaboratively by students with a common focus on original research into their chosen topics. Area independent schools and public schools participated in the conference that extended from Wednesday, April 30 to Friday, May 2.
The symposium continues the Troutbeck legacy as a decades-old gathering place for pioneers in social justice and reform. Today it is a destination luxury country inn, but Troutbeck remains conscious of its significant place in history.
A showing of student artworks within the theme of linking the past with the present opened the symposium on Wednesday evening. Each work of art had to draw on historical research to foster an informed dialogue between the artist and the contemporary audience.
The second day was devoted to student research presentations, showcasing teams from the region’s leading public and private schools with strong programs aimed at cultivating engaged young historians. Primary source materials and live interviews with descendants were included in the process.
Topics were divided into blocks with guest commentators providing reactive response as each block of student presentations concluded. Serving as commentators were Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries, Ohio State University, and Dr. Christine Proenza-Coles, University of Virginia.
Resistance in the face of oppression and stories of resilience that spanned generations formed an important theme as students presented the stories of area settlers and residents who suffered but endured.
As a sampling, The Taconic School teamed up with The Salisbury School to unearth untold stories of Boston Corners. The Hotchkiss School looked into the activities of the Ku Klux Klan in Connecticut. The Cornwall Consolidated School students stepped up with their untold stories of early Cornwall women.
Other presentations explored criminal justice — witchcraft trials — dealing with society’s “undesirable” elements, individuals in history who took action, people and movements that formed resistance, and various forms of discrimination.
Praising the work of the students, Dr. Jeffries identified a theme of resistance and survival.
“The war ended but the resistance did not,” Jeffries said. “We don’t take indigenous people seriously,” he added. “White supremacy happened in our own back yards.”
“We saw the evolution of research,” said a Cornwall Consolidated School representative. That project moved into civic engagement by the students that moved beyond the classroom.
“This is not the past; this is part of the present,” said Dr. Proenza-Coles.
A panel discussion among educators whose students had participated in the 2025 Troutbeck Symposium was held on Friday, May 2, to offer reflections on the symposium, its value and future development. Panelists from left to right were Jessica Jenkins, Litchfield Historical Society;Wunneanatsu Lamb-Cason, Brown University; Morgan Bengal, Old New-Gate Prison; Frank Mitchell, Connecticut Humanities; and student representatives Dominik Valcin of Salisbury School, and Shanaya Duprey of Housatonic Valley Regional High School. Leila Hawken
The third day invited area history educators to assemble and share ideas for redesigning elements of history education, a day of reflection.
The panel included Jessica Jenkins, Litchfield Historical Society; Wunneanatsu Lamb-Cason, Brown University; Morgan Bengal, Old New-Gate Prison; Frank Mitchell, Connecticut Humanities; and student representatives Dominik Valcin of Salisbury School, and Shanaya Duprey of Housatonic Valley Regional High School.
Valcin reflected on his work as a shared project within The Salisbury School, one where the inquiry would seek to find “the deeper story behind a base story.”
Duprey also spoke of process and the educational value of engaging with historical inquiry.
Each representing a profession that brings them into contact with historical inquiry, the panelists recounted tedious history classes of past decades. Jenkins described her own career as “public history.”Lamb-Canon’s experience began with choosing history electives in college. Bengal spoke of community engagement and the power of involvement with history.
“History is not the opposite of scientific inquiry,” said Bengal.
Significant discussion centered on the possibility of offering the Troutbeck Symposium model to a wider audience of school systems throughout the U.S.
“A community approach to education,” was a characterization offered by Troutbeck owner Charlie Champalimaud, commenting during a brief interview at the end of the symposium on Friday, May 2. She encouraged a push toward increasing even more the number of participating schools, their educational communities and symposium sponsors.
Terence S. Miller, owner of Roaring Oaks Florist in the new self-serve area of the shop.
Just in time for Mother’s Day, Roaring Oaks Florist in Lakeville has launched a new self-serve flower station next to its Main Street shop, offering high-quality, grab-and-go bouquets from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week — including Sundays when the main store is closed.
Owner Terence S. Miller, who bought the shop 24 years ago at just 20 years old, calls the new feature “a modern twist on an old-school honor system,” with some high-tech updates.
“We’re still using our same high-end flowers, just with less markup and no labor,” said Miller. “That way people can access our quality anytime, even if we’re closed.”
Tucked beside the shop’s main entrance at 349A Main Street next to The Boathouse, the self-serve area is partitioned and monitored by security cameras. A simple touchscreen checkout system lets customers pay with a credit card — no cash accepted — and includes photo prompts to make selection easy. Vases, ribbons, flower food, and care instructions are all stocked and labeled.
“We’ve tried to think of everything people might need,” said Miller. “It’s all about making great flowers more accessible without losing what makes Roaring Oaks special.”
Miller said the idea came from years of watching customers try to squeeze in a visit before or after hours. “We’re open 8 hours a day, but we’re here for almost 10, and it still isn’t enough. People are always showing up after we close,” he said. “This way we can be ‘open’ more hours without adding staff.”
Though he considered making the space available 24/7, Miller ultimately decided against it. “We didn’t want to encourage late-night tampering,” he said, noting the shop’s proximity to local bars and restaurants.
Miller’s journey into flowers was unexpected. As soon as he could get his farming papers at 12 years old, he started working at Silamar Farm in Millerton. Alongside its produce, Silamar’s was one of the first farm stands in the area to sell fresh cut flowers.Miller began growing and bundling cut flowers for city-bound customers. “By 16 I needed a year-round job, so I applied to every florist around. I just had a knack for it,” he said. After a stint in Rhinebeck, he returned and bought Roaring Oaks from its previous owner.
In the decades since, he’s built a reputation for quality and creativity. The shop’s flowers are sourced from around the world, particularly Canada and South America, though Miller is committed to supporting local growers wherever possible, especially for summer offerings and weddings.
“We’re hoping to feature some smaller farms in the self-serve section this summer,” said Miller. “DIY weddings have taken off, and people don’t always realize the benefits of buying local. Cold chain is everything. The flowers we source come straight from the airport to the wholesaler and right up here. That’s how we keep them fresh.”
Roaring Oaks also offers consultations and bulk flower discounts for events and weddings, a service Miller hopes more customers will discover through the new self-serve setup.
After 50 years in business, and nearly a decade at its current Lakeville location, Roaring Oaks continues to evolve. “This September marks my 25th year,” said Miller. “I’m always looking for ways to make people happy. Flowers should be simple, joyful, and accessible. That’s what this is all about.”
For more information or to plan your Mother’s Day bouquet, visit Roaring Oaks Florist at 349A Main Street, Lakeville.