{"id":5796,"date":"2022-06-24T14:32:15","date_gmt":"2022-06-24T18:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/?p=5796"},"modified":"2022-06-24T14:33:49","modified_gmt":"2022-06-24T18:33:49","slug":"birkbeck-farm-permanently-protected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/birkbeck-farm-permanently-protected\/","title":{"rendered":"Birkbeck Farm Permanently Protected!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Birkbeck Farm in North Stonington Permanently Protected<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Federal, State, and Nonprofit\nPartnerships Ensure Farmland Remains for Future Generations<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Hartford, CT) \u2013 The Connecticut Department of Agriculture (CT DoAg)\nis pleased to announce the preservation of Birkbeck Farm in North Stonington.\nThis 69-acre farm was protected in concert with Connecticut Farmland Trust\n(CFT) and USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) bringing the\ntally of farms protected this fiscal year by DoAg to 15 farms and 1,400 acres. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m very appreciative for the support from so many people to make\nthis happen,\u201d said Michael Birkbeck, fourth generation owner of the property. \u201cMy\nfather was very conservation minded and I view my role as a steward of this\nland and hope to one day in the future see a young farm carve out their future\nhere. Knowing that the farm is preserved to make that a possibility down the\nroad means a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Birkbeck applied to the CT DoAg Farmland Preservation Program\nfollowing the passing of his father who left instructions in his will that the\nfarm was to be preserved. Birkbeck inherited the property that has been in the\nfamily since the 1920s, at one point a dairy farm, and currently the fields are\nused for hay and beef pasture for the small herd of cows and two horses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an amazing testament to the commitment of farmers that\nthey would express their desire to preserve their land in their will.  We\nare honored to have worked with the Birkbeck family to honor his father\u2019s\nwishes and protect this property in perpetuity, ensuring it is available for\nfuture farmers forever,\u201d said Agriculture Commissioner Bryan P.\nHurlburt. \u201cThis wouldn\u2019t be possible without the support of the family, and our\nlocal and federal partners.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The location of\nBirkbeck Farm, within a five-minute drive from both Eastern Connecticut\ncasinos, makes the land particularly threatened for future development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cProtecting our state\u2019s valuable working lands is critical,\u201d\nsaid Thomas L. Morgart, Connecticut State Conservationist for the USDA-Natural\nResources Conservation Service (NRCS). \u201cThe recent conservation easement placed\non Birkbeck Farm in North Stonington through this partnership ensures almost 70\nacres will never be subject to development. Approximately 62% of this land is\ncomprised of prime, statewide, and local important soils \u2013 meaning high\nyielding soils that are key to meeting short- and long-term needs to clothe and\nfeed a hungry world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through the NRCS\nAgricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), agricultural land easements\nprotect the long-term viability of the nation\u2019s food supply by preventing the\nconversion of productive working lands to non-agricultural uses. Land protected\nby these types of easements provide additional public benefits including\nenvironmental quality, historic preservation, wildlife habitat, and protection\nof open space. Connecticut Farmland Trust assisted to secure funding through\nthe USDA-NRCS ACEP-ALE program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are so\ngrateful to Mike Birkbeck for his commitment to preserving his family’s land.\nWhen you visit the farm, you can see his love for the property in the amount of\nwork and care he pours into it. Mike and his family can now rest assured that\nthe land will remain available for farming in the future,\u201d said Kathleen Doherty, Connecticut Farmland Trust Senior Conservation\nManager. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information on Connecticut\u2019s Farmland Preservation\nProgram, visit our website<\/a>\nfor program overview, frequently asked questions, and contact information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connecticut Farmland Trust is\nthe only land trust in the state dedicated solely to the protection of\nagricultural land.  Since its founding in 2002, CFT has protected 69\nfamily farms, covering more than 5,200 acres. CFT, a private\naccredited nonprofit, works with farm owners, community organizations, and\nlocal, state, and federal agencies to protect the best Connecticut farmland for\ncurrent and future generations of farmers. Learn more at CTFarmland.org. <\/em> <\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Natural Resources Conservation Service \u2013 an agency of\nthe U.S. Department of Agriculture \u2013 helps America\u2019s farmers, ranchers, and\nforest landowners conserve the nation\u2019s soil, water, air, and other natural\nresources. All programs are voluntary and offer science-based solutions that\nbenefit both the landowner and the environment.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Connecticut\nDepartment of Agriculture mission is to foster a healthy economic,\nenvironmental, and social climate for agriculture by developing, promoting, and\nregulating agricultural businesses; protecting agricultural and aquacultural\nresources; enforcing laws pertaining to domestic animals; and promoting an\nunderstanding among the state’s citizens of the diversity of Connecticut\nagriculture, its cultural heritage, and its contribution to the state’s\neconomy. For more information, visit <\/em>www.CTGrown.gov<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Birkbeck Farm in North Stonington Permanently Protected Federal, State, and Nonprofit Partnerships Ensure Farmland Remains for Future Generations (Hartford, CT) \u2013 The Connecticut Department of Agriculture (CT DoAg) is pleased to announce the preservation of Birkbeck Farm in North Stonington. This 69-acre farm was protected in concert with Connecticut Farmland Trust (CFT) and USDA-Natural Resources […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5796"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5799,"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5796\/revisions\/5799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}