Protected by: Connecticut Farmland Trust, Morris Land Trust
Year Protected: 2017
Acres: 138
In partnership with the Morris Land Trust, we have jointly preserved 138 acres pre-Revolutionary era Farnham Farm in Morris.
Farnham Farm, located in a quilt-work of agricultural fields, woods and rural residents, is intersected by the well-known Mattatuck Trail. One hundred and thirty-eight acres of hay and pasture fields contain forty-three percent prime or important farmland soils.
Currently owned by Anne Howson Fellows, the Farnham Farm has been passed down to a single-family member for eight generations since 1735, when John Farnham bought it from Hezekiah Culver an original Litchfield proprietor. A direct descendant of the Farnham family ran the operation until the mid-1800s. More recently, the property was held in trust by until the current owner, Anne Fellows, was chosen to inherit the property.
Anne, who is not a farmer, was “very excited about the future of the farm” when she was in negotiations with Ethan Coutu to begin dairy farming and living on the property, back in 2017. Now Ethan, a young Morris native and graduate of the SUNY Morrisville Dairy Management Program, leases the farm and is investing his skills in the property. Under Ethan’s management, the land is now known as Maple Croft Farm.
“I milk my own twenty cows and work full time at Arethusa,” says Ethan, referring to Arethusa Dairy in Litchfield. At Arethusa Farm, Ethan oversees the heifer barn and the dry cows. He takes care of cows between the ages of five months and five years, ensuring that they are fed, cleaned, and living their best lives – just like the cows he manages at home on Maple Croft Farm.
“There have been great improvements that Ethan has made to the land since his arrival,” says landowner Anne Fellows. “We are so pleased with what he has done to bring the farm back to life!”