{"id":7049,"date":"2026-04-17T14:11:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T18:11:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/?p=7049"},"modified":"2026-04-17T14:11:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T18:11:28","slug":"farming-over-generations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/farming-over-generations\/","title":{"rendered":"Farming Over Generations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Maxine Mindel and her siblings\u2019 perspective on land and its future was shaped early on, when their maternal Schwartz grandparents\u2019 100-acre farm was sold and later turned into a subdivision.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n

“I have always felt that this was such an unfortunate demise of a one-of-a-kind property. Who knew it would be obliterated?\u201d – Maxine Mindel<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In a letter reflecting on those years, Maxine recalls, \u201cOver the next few years the new owner gradually tore down all the buildings until only the house was left, and then that was torn down too. He built a number of immense chicken coops\u2026. Eventually all the chicken coops were torn down, and now the area has a small subdivision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 32 acre Mindel Farm in Lebanon had been purchased in 1956 with the intent to continue to provide the family with fresh dairy and vegetable products as had been done at their Mindel grandmother\u2019s home in Bozrah. Though the Mindels\u2019 father had a full-time career with the state highway department, his dairy farming upbringing remained with him on the Lebanon farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Mindel siblings\u2019 mother passed and their father was in declining health, the 32-acre family farm faced the same fate as their maternal grandparents\u2019 farm. The question was whether it would remain in farming or follow the same path. For Maxine and her siblings, the answer mattered deeply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maxine began exploring ways to protect the property, but options were limited. At the time, smaller farms were often overlooked by public programs. Looking for another path, she reached out to Connecticut Farmland Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With guidance from our land trust, the family chose to donate a portion of the value of a conservation easement. The remaining funding came together through partnerships with the Town of Lebanon and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. In 2011, a permanent restriction was placed on the land, ensuring it would remain available for agriculture. The farm\u2019s productive soils and its connection to more than 500 acres of nearby open land made it an important part of the town\u2019s agricultural landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the project was finalized, Maxine reflected on the process: \u201cIt has been a long journey, but with the support of my siblings, and Elisabeth Moore\u2019s encouragement and ongoing phone contact, we are seeing this to fruition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

\u201cIt would be wonderful if the agricultural nature of the origin of Lebanon is preserved. I\u2019ve seen a number of farms in Lebanon disappear over the years and I want to make sure that it doesn\u2019t happen to my parents\u2019 property.\u201d – Maxine Mindel<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The next chapter came when the Mindel siblings sold the conserved farm to Cyril and Lindsay Green, who had long hoped to farm in Lindsay\u2019s hometown of Lebanon. Like many new farmers, they had struggled to find land they could afford. The conservation easement made the farm more affordable and allowed them to move forward with purchasing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maxine shared, \u201cI know that future stewards of the property will build their own memories from the richness of the farmland.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now known as Stoneboat Farm, the property is once again active. Fields that had grown over are being brought back into use, animals are on the land, and the farm is part of the working landscape at the southern edge of town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a place where farmland has steadily disappeared, this outcome reflects a different choice. One family ensured their land would remain in agriculture. Another was able to take over the next generation of care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maxine Mindel and her siblings\u2019 perspective on land and its future was shaped early on, when their maternal Schwartz grandparents\u2019 100-acre farm was sold and later turned into a subdivision. “I have always felt that this was such an unfortunate demise of a one-of-a-kind property. Who knew it would be obliterated?\u201d – Maxine Mindel In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":7052,"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-7049","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\/7049","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=7049"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7049\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7056,"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7049\/revisions\/7056"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}