Connecticut Farmland Trust’s supporters saved the sunflowers
If you asked anyone in Newtown to name their favorite farm, Castle Hill Farm would top the list. Purchased in 1927 by Justyna and Stephan Paproski, the 100+ acre farm was once the second largest producer of dairy products in Fairfield County. Now owned and operated by Steve and Diana Paproski, Castle Hill has been a staple of the Newtown community for decades.
Over the past several years, the farm transitioned from dairy production and is now known for its fields of sunflowers. Yet you’d be hard pressed to name something that the farm doesn’t do — Christmas trees, pick-your-own pumpkins, pick-your-own sunflowers, hay, and a corn maze, just to name a few. A Ukrainian festival has made the farm a local staple. The Paproskis have also diversified their operation to make the farm a destination for weddings and corporate gatherings.
“When I look back to 1981, when my husband Steve’s dad died, I really have to give Steve credit for preserving the farm,” said Diana Paproski.
“I’m so happy that the people in Newtown can drive down Route 302 and look at that beautiful field. And to be able to say that it’ll be like that forever, that’s wonderful,” said Diana Paproski.
Recognizing that once the farm was gone, it would be gone forever, Steve and Diana worked with Connecticut Farmland Trust (CFT), the Town of Newtown, and the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to create a strategy to conserve the farm. As a result, 31 acres of prime farmland were conserved, creating an anchor in the town and an inspiration for future generations of farmers.
Land conservation projects like this take time, often spanning years depending on the desired pace of the farm family and the funding opportunities. It involves listening to a farmer’s goals, understanding the family situation, and crafting a protection strategy that can tap into community resources as well as state and federal funding. Often, conservation projects are years in the making.
Thanks to people like you, with your ongoing support, other farmers in Connecticut will have the opportunity to conserve their land like the Paproski family. And because of that, other special places like the field of sunflowers will become a lasting part of the community.
