\u201cYou really feel like you’re making a difference here,\u201d Quincy says.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Today, the seeds of grit, determination, and conservation have blossomed into Waldingfield Farm<\/em>, one of the state\u2019s most respected organic farms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Horans\u2019 conservation decision will prove critical for future farmers, too. As Connecticut\u2019s farmland disappears at one of the highest rates in the country, land prices have skyrocketed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAccess to affordable farmland is the single biggest challenge for young farmers,\u201d Patrick explains. \u201cWithout preserved land, it would\u2019ve been nearly impossible for us to build what we have.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n But make no mistake, success didn\u2019t come easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe had no idea how to farm when we started,\u201d Patrick admits, as he looks back more than 30 years. The brothers had to learn everything from the ground up, weathering storms both literal and economic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFarming in Connecticut means competing with states that can grow cheaper, year-round,\u201d he says. \u201cBut we found our niche. Our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model and local market presence have made our farm viable and resilient.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n They now grow food for hundreds of families, as well as for multiple farmers\u2019 markets, and are an integral part of the community.<\/p>\n\n\n For the Horans, conserving their farm isn\u2019t just about keeping development at bay. It\u2019s about sustaining a way of life and securing local food for future generations. That\u2019s true for many of the farms that Connecticut Farmland Trust has conserved over the past 23 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It often takes years for a farm family to decide if conserving their land is right for them. There are important questions to be answered, conversations about future goals and how to enhance the soil and farm viability. It\u2019s a process that can\u2019t be rushed. Our staff is only able to spend that time with these farm families thanks to the contributions of our community, people like you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOnce farmland is gone, it doesn\u2019t come back,\u201d Patrick observes. \u201cPreserving land means giving the next generation a fighting chance. It\u2019s how communities remain connected to the land and their food.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Waldingfield Farm stands today not only as a model of agricultural innovation and determination, but also proof of what\u2019s possible when land is protected and removes unrelenting development pressure for new farmers. For aspiring farmers, and for families wondering what legacy they want to leave, farmland conservation can make that possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2014or someone you know\u2014want to reduce your federal and state income taxes, protecting your land can help. You would continue to own and manage the land and can sell or bequeath the land knowing that your conservation agreement (conservation easement) will run with the land forever. We are available to discuss the details, please contact Elisabeth Moore at emoore@ctfarmland.org<\/a> or 860-247-0202, ext. 224.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the rolling hills of Washington, Connecticut, Damaris and John Horan made a decision four years ago that will ripple across generations. They chose to preserve 78 acres of their family farmland \u2014 a bold commitment at a time when development pressures loom large for most or all family farms in Connecticut. That act of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":6939,"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-6932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6932","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=6932"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6943,"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6932\/revisions\/6943"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
Learning, Innovating, Making the Impossible Happen<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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