New England

In New England, farming takes place alongside a population of almost 15 million people.

Farms have been a part of New England's landscape and history for centuries.

But due to population growth, development and sprawl from our cities, the amount of land left producing food in New England is small – just five percent.

Still, farming has an enduring and important presence in the six-state region – from the dairy farms and maple sugarhouses of Vermont to the cranberry bogs of Massachusetts and blueberry fields of Maine.

Perhaps nowhere else in the country are farms and farmers more endangered.

We are working to save them – for our economy, our way of life and our very ability to feed ourselves.

AFT's ROLE

American Farmland Trust has been on the ground in New England since 1985 – working to expand support for farms and farmland from Maine to Rhode Island.

Our Working Lands Alliance is the only organization of its kind in Connecticut, bringing allies together to protect the Nutmeg State's most important resource – its farmland.

Through large-scale collaboration, we are working toward a future where New England farmers produce at least half of the region's food supply, farmland is protected, and no one goes hungry.

AFT's

• Pioneering "cost of community services" studies helped more than 150 communities make the case for farmland protection
• Planning for Agriculture guides in Massachusetts and Connecticut give officials and citizens the tools to save farms and farmland
• Farmland Advisors Program trains land trusts and agricultural professionals on how to help farmers transfer their land or access it
• Working Lands Alliance campaigns have generated more than $70 million for Connecticut's Farmland Preservation Program

We are making a difference. Join us.