Press Releases

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• 3/19/2025 Allyson Angelini Named Connecticut's Outstanding Young Farmer

  HARTFORD, CT — Allyson Angelini, owner of Full Heart Farm in Ledyard, was named Connecticut’s 2025 Outstanding Young Farmer during Ag Day at the Capitol in Hartford on March 19, 2025.

• 3/16/2025 LT. GOVERNOR BYSIEWICZ AND AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER

  (HARTFORD, CT) - Tomorrow at 1:00 p.m., Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz will join Agriculture Commissioner Bryan P. Hurlburt at Steadfast Farms in Bethlehem to celebrate Agriculture Week.

• 3/14/2025 Celebrate Connecticut Agriculture Week

  HARTFORD, CT — Join the Connecticut Department of Agriculture (CT DoAg) in celebrating National Agriculture Week from March 16-22, 2025, recognizing the contribution of agriculture in our everyday lives.

• 3/10/2025 New Management Strategy for Connecticuts Shellfish Industry

  (HARTFORD, CT) – The Connecticut Department of Agriculture (CT DoAg) Bureau of Aquaculture has introduced a new management strategy to improve how the state handles shellfish harvest closures caused by weather-related events.

• 3/8/2025 Agriculture Commissioner Hurlburt Statement on Fire at Grower Direct Farms in Somers

  (HARTFORD, CT) – Connecticut Department of Agriculture (CT DoAg) Commissioner Bryan P. Hurlburt released the following statement regarding the fire at Grower Direct Farms in Somers, CT, on March 7, 2025.

• 2/28/2025 Commissioner Hurlburt Among Attendees at NASDA Winter Policy Conference

  Connecticut Department of Agriculture Commissioner Bryan P. Hurlburt was among the commissioners, secretaries, and directors of agriculture from around the nation who gathered with federal agencies, congressional leaders, and industry stakeholders to talk about pressing agricultural and food policy issues

• 2/24/2025 CT Milk Promotion Board Announces Funding Opportunities

  (HARTFORD, CT) – The Connecticut Milk Promotion Board (CTMPB), administered by the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, is pleased to announce up to $700,000 available in funding opportunities for programming in fiscal years 2026 and 2027.

• 2/21/2025 CT DoAg Announces Recipients of 2025 Farm Transition Grants

  (HARTFORD, CT) – The Connecticut Department of Agriculture (CT DoAg) today announced recipients of the 2025 Farm Transition Grant to bolster agricultural production of both new and existing farm operations.

• 2/21/2025 CT DoAg Seeks to Build Resilience

  (HARTFORD, CT) – Connecticut Department of Agriculture (CT DoAg) announces the guidance release and application period opening for the second round of Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program.

• 2/20/2025 Farm Recovery and Support Grant Update

  The Connecticut Department of Agriculture (CT DoAg) strives to maintain an open line of communication and transparency as we work through the administration of the disaster supplemental funding bill that created the Farm Recovery and Support (FRS) Grant. This program makes available $220 million to eligible states “to provide compensation to producers for necessary expenses related to crop, timber, and livestock losses, including on-farm infrastructure, as a consequence of any weather event in 2023 and 2024 that a state, in its sole discretion, determines warrants relief”.

• 2/14/2025 Support Local Farmers with a Farm Share Subscription

  (HARTFORD, CT) – Fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables, eggs, cut flowers, meat, dairy, even shellfish – what do all of these have in common?

• 2/11/2025 Agricultural Businesses Invited to Exhibit in CT Building at The Big E

  (HARTFORD, CT) — The Connecticut Department of Agriculture (CT DoAg) is now accepting vendor applications for the agricultural booth spaces inside the Connecticut Building at The Big E in 2025. The Connecticut Building is one of six New England buildings on the Avenue of the States at The Big E in West Springfield, MA. The 17-day annual event will take place September 12-28, 2025, offering farms, small agricultural businesses, and agricultural non-profit organizations based in Connecticut the opportunity to market their products and promote their services. In 2024, The Big E attracted more than 1.6 million visitors, setting an overall historic attendance record and seven single-day attendance records.

• 1/30/2025 Passport to CT Wine Country Holds Annual Prize Drawing

  (HARTFORD, CT) – The 2024 Passport to Connecticut Wine Country, a program of the Connecticut Farm Wine Development Council (CFWDC) administered by the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, concluded on December 31, 2024, and has drawn winners for more than 100 prizes.

• 1/28/2025 CT DoAg Statement on Temporary Pause of Federally Funded Grants

  (HARTFORD, CT) – On Monday, January 27, 2025, the White House Office of Management and Budget issued an order to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance.” This order will become effective at 5:00 p.m. today, January 28, 2025. It is unclear at this time which programs and services will be impacted.

• 1/27/2025 CT DoAg Requests Applications for Projects Enhancing Competitiveness of Specialty Crops

  (HARTFORD, CT) – Connecticut Department of Agriculture (CT DoAg) is now accepting applications for fiscal year 2025 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP). Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the SCBGP purpose is to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops in local, domestic, and foreign markets. Specialty crops are defined by the USDA as fruits and vegetables, dried fruit, tree nuts, maple syrup, honey, horticulture, and nursery crops. Applications must be submitted no later than March 10, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. EST.