Protected by: Connecticut Farmland Trust, CT Department of Agriculture, Sharon Land Trust, USDA-NRCS, CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Years Protected: 2010 and 2014
Acres: 144 (I) and 124 (II)
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One of the town of Sharon’s oldest and largest family farms, Wike Brothers Farm has been owned and worked by the same family for almost 150 years. In recent years, the 276-acre farm has evolved from a dairy operation to a diversified business that now raises free range chickens, pigs, and cattle. The farm is a key piece of 2,000+ acre block of protected private and public land.
CFT secured funding from the USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service for the purchase of conservation easements on the farm. Connecticut Farmland Trust’s Acquisition Fund and Sharon Land Trust provided the matching funds. The farm was protected with two different easements on two different parcels of land; 144 acres were preserved in 2010 and 124 acres were preserved in 2014.
The farm’s roadside store (32 White Hollow Road, Sharon) sells cuts of beef and pork, sausages, eggs, apple-smoked bacon, and maple syrup.