Press Releases
06/08/2022
The Connecticut Department of Agriculture Awards 22 Farmland Restoration Program Grants Totaling $400,000
(HARTFORD, CT) –Agriculture Commissioner Bryan P. Hurlburt announces that the Connecticut Department of Agriculture has awarded funds to 22 projects from the Farmland Restoration Program (FLRP), totaling $400,000 to Connecticut farmers, landowners, non-profits, and municipalities to increase food and fiber production by restoring prime and important farmland soils into active agricultural production.
“Connecticut’s investment in the Farmland Restoration Program is essential to ensuring that our prime and important farmland soils are being cultivated to increase access to food and fiber,” said Agriculture Commissioner Bryan P. Hurlburt. “These awards will bring approximately 65 acres back into production while mitigating climate change impacts, eliminating losses from invasive pests and species, and enabling producers to grow their operations.”
Connecticut is home to more than 5,500 farms contributing more than $4 billion to the state’s economy. 2022 Farmland Restoration Program awardees include:
- 1906 McEwen Farm Shelton, Invasive removal, and soil improvements
- Farmington Farm Truck Farmington, Deer exclusion fencing, clearing 5 acres of land, invasive removal, and soil amendments
- Howling Flats Farm Canaan, Field drainage and soil improvements for 3-acre pasture area
- Hungry Reaper Farm Morris, Invasive removal, farmland restoration for pasture and vegetables
- Laurel Glen Farm Shelton, Field drainage and topsoil improvements
- South Haven Farm Orange, Farmland restoration and deer exclusion fencing
- Sub Edge Farm Farmington, Invasive removal and deer exclusion fencing
- 890 Main Street Middlefield, Farmland restoration, invasive removal, and soil improvements
- BOTL Farm Ashford, Field drainage improvements and farmland access road
- Lost Oak Vineyard Lebanon, Farmland restoration, invasive removal, field drainage improvements, and electric fencing
- Lone Elm Farm Hampton, Farmland restoration, invasive removal, and topsoil improvements
- Dovehill Farm Moosup, Clearing and invasive removal on 3.5 acres, field drainage improvements, farmland access road
- Green Gate Farm Lebanon, Field drainage improvements, brush and invasive removal, farmland restoration for crop production
- Ives Farm Cheshire, Irrigation improvements and deer exclusion fencing
- Kurmay Farm & Garden Guilford, new irrigation pond
- Laviana Farms Suffield, Farmland restoration, invasive removal, regrading
- Lisa Lane Farm Bloomfield, field drainage improvements
- March Farm Bethlehem, Clearing 5 acres of land, invasive removal, new irrigation pond
- Oronoque Organics Stratford, Farmland restoration, invasive removal, invasive removal
- Sharpe Hill Vineyard Pomfret, invasive removal, drainage improvements to vineyard
- Wheatfield Hill Farm Salem, New high-tensile electric fencing
- White Oak Farm Stonington, Erosion control, fencing and clearing 5 acres of land for livestock pasture
The Farmland Restoration Program is a competitive matching grant program. It provides matching funds (up to $20,000) with a focus on restoring and improving land with prime and important farmland soils, in accordance with a Farmland Restoration Program Plan. Funding for the FLRP is made possible by Public Act 11-1, codified in Chapter 422 of the Connecticut General Statutes, subject to requirements and provisions of state funding. Grant funds are reimbursed to the awardee after the project is successfully completed, a final financial and written report outlining all expenses and tasks associated with the project have been received and approved, and site inspection by agency staff is conducted. Additional information about the program can be found at www.CTGrown.gov/Grants.
The Connecticut Department of Agriculture mission is to foster a healthy economic, environmental, and social climate for agriculture by developing, promoting, and regulating agricultural businesses; protecting agricultural and aquacultural resources; enforcing laws pertaining to domestic animals; and promoting an understanding among the state's citizens of the diversity of Connecticut agriculture, its cultural heritage, and its contribution to the state's economy. For more information, visit www.CTGrown.gov.
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For Immediate Release: Wednesday, June 8, 2022 Contact: Rebecca Eddy, 860-573-0323, Rebecca.Eddy@ct.gov
