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A report finalized by the New England Governors’ Blue Ribbon Commission on Land Conservation offers recommendations to keep the region’s farmland in farming. Recommendations include a New England Farm and Food Security Initiative to identify and address barriers and opportunities to increase production and consumption of New England-grown farm and food products, and protect the region’s agricultural lands. Commission members briefed the New England governors on the recommendations, and we will be working with the Commission and the six state Departments of Agriculture to move these valuable recommendations forward.
A new “Keep Local Farms” program launched by New England state agricultural leaders and dairy promotion organizations and inspired by the “fair trade” concept, will allow consumers to contribute online to directly support the region’s dairy farmers, and in the future, through co-branded dairy products. “Dairy farms are the ‘anchor tenants’ of New England’s agricultural landscape,” said our New England Director Cris Coffin. “The stability of this bucolic pastured landscape depends on the economic stability of our dairy farms—and this initiative offers consumers a way to support local dairy farms directly and help ensure that farmers receive a sustainable price for their milk.”
FACT: New England has approximately 1,880 dairy farms; dairy farmers are currently receiving about .97 cents per gallon of milk while it costs about $1.80 a gallon to produce.
Working Lands Alliance—a project of AFT—has once again been selected as a beneficiary of three nights of the acclaimed Dinners at the Farm series to be held at Old Maid’s Farm in Glastonbury on September 10-12. Last year, for three nights in August, WLA benefited from the event at White Gate Farm in East Lyme, Connecticut. Working Lands Alliance was one of only four organizations selected as a beneficiary of Dinners at the Farm, which has been featured in Time magazine and The New York Times. Chefs Jonathan Rapp and Drew McLachlan delighted more than 140 guests each night with a feast of Connecticut grown products; the hugely popular dinners generate awareness of the vitality of the local farming community and the delicious food it provides.
 The launch of BuyCTGrown.com, a Web-based source for Connecticut-grown food and farm products, was applauded by the state’s newspaper, the Hartford Courant. This interactive resource brings local food within reach at the click of a button. The Courant opined,
“whether you're looking for cheese, cilantro or Christmas trees, lobster or luscious summer fruit, this site's for you. You can plug in the name of the product you're searching for and get a map of the locations where it's sold within a certain radius of your home.”
 The Courant also noted:
“The increasing popularity and obvious benefits of locally grown food may encourage policy-makers to save more farmland. You can't be a locavore without it.”
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