Planning for Agriculture in Connecticut

In collaboration with the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, American Farmland Trust isdeveloping a municipal-level resource guide that identifies policies, bylaws and strategies that communities can use to support agriculture and protect farmland locally. This guide is being written with an advisory team that includes representatives from Capitol Region Council of Governments, Center for Land Use Education and Research,the CT Farm Bureau, CT Farmland Trust, University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension, and the CT Chapter of the American Association of Planners. The results of this project, anticipated in late 2007, will be widely available to Connecticut's 169 towns. Funding for this project comes from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and the CT Department of Agriculture's Agriculture Viability Grants program.

increasing funding for state farmland

This year’s legislative session produced a big victory for AFT and farmland protection advocates in Connecticut. Working closely with key stakeholders, AFT helped to write legislation establishing a $30 deed recording fee that finances farmland protection, historic preservation and open space acquisition. The new legislation will generate an estimated $5 million annually for the state’s Farmland Preservation Program. AFT also worked with partners to increase bond funding for the program, helping to garner $18 million for the program over the next two years.

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