Protected by: Connecticut Farmland Trust
Year Protected: 2017
Acres: 55.2
Ballek Farm has been family owned for over 350 years. The location was hand selected in 1661 by an Englishman given a Land Grant from King Charles II. Naturally, the 55.2 acres have seen various phases throughout the centuries. These days, the modern farm features a popular garden center that boasts tropical plants and ever-popular herbs. The family also raises hay for the small herd of cattle they keep at the homestead.
Each season the family works on bettering the farm as well as the community around them. Always forward thinking, they even added solar panels nine years ago to power the greenhouses.
Connecticut Farmland Trust was able to protect a 356-year-old farm because a family came together to donate a conservation easement on the land. Owner Ms. Anita Ballek sees stewardship of her family’s land as a serious responsibility so she and her children have ensured that the land is respected forever. Ballek shared, “It matters that everybody is onboard and quite willing to donate the land for agricultural perpetuity.” The land’s owners include family matriarch Anita Ballek and her children George Ballek, Nancy Ballek MacKinnon and Richard Ballek.
Ballek Farm’s Garden Center: www.balleksgardencenter.com