Protected by: Connecticut Farmland Trust
Years Protected: 2004 and 2005
Acres: 5 (I) and 13.85 (II)
Surrounded by dense suburban development, Humphrey Evergreen Farms is a good example of CFT’s important role in protecting smaller farms that do not qualify for other agricultural preservation programs. CFT first protected 5 acres of the farm in 2004, and another 13.85 acres in 2005.
The Jaynes family has cultivated Christmas trees and nursery stock on the property for more than 40 years. The property borders Lockwood Farm, the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station’s 75-acre primary research farm. Humphrey Evergreen Farms is managed by Broken Arrow Nursery, which operates a cut-your-own Christmas tree business.
“We were a smaller parcel of land and didn’t qualify for the state Farmland Preservation Program, but we wanted to make sure that the land would stay in agriculture. Anyone who owns farmland is making a mistake if they don’t explore how to preserve it forever. There are so many reasons to do it. But to me, the number one reason is if you don’t take steps now, the only thing you’re guaranteed to grow in the future is houses. And once agricultural land is lost, it’s lost – you can’t get it back and that isn’t in any of our long term interests.” – Dick Jaynes, owner