Protected by: Connecticut Farmland Trust, USDA-NRCS, and the Town of Lebanon
Year Protected: 2019
Acres: 75
“I grew up on the farm, it’s where my roots are,” said Scott McCall, who owns the 75-acre property with his wife, Catherine. The McCall family ran a dairy operation on the farm for many years and now Scott raises Scottish Highland cattle and hay.
Connecticut Farmland Trust was happy to work with the Town of Lebanon and the USDA-NRCS to preserve McCall Farm to help the couple honor the history (and the future) of their 300-year-old farm.
The Town of Lebanon reached out to CFT to assist in the purchase of development rights. CFT secured an ACEP-ALE from the USDA and negotiated a bargain sale with the owners. In this case, a bargain sale means that the purchase price is sixty-percent of the easement’s value. Selling their development rights at such a discounted rate points to the generosity of the couple. They just wanted to see the land protected.
“I like the idea that the farm will be in one preserved piece after I’m gone,” Scott said. “I hate to see it every time another tract of housing goes up on what was once a farm and I’d hate to see my property wind up with houses on it.”