What We Do

Calabrese Farm

At Connecticut Farmland Trust, we preserve farmland for current and future generations, keeping it in agriculture and available to those who grow food, care for the land, and strengthen local communities.

Since 2002, we’ve permanently protected more than 7,700 acres of Connecticut farmland. But protection is just the beginning.

We take a broad, farmer-centered approach to land conservation. That includes helping farmers access affordable land, supporting more equitable land ownership, safeguarding healthy soils, and encouraging climate-smart farming. We work on a variety of scales, often focusing on conserving smaller farms that are more within reach for new and beginning farmers.

Our work includes four interconnected areas of focus:

Farmland Protection

We conserve farmland in partnership with farmers and landowners to ensure it is available for farming, for generations to come. Our approach ensures that farmers have the flexibility they need to manage their land, enhance the soils, diversify their operations, and enhance their farm viability. We use voluntary conservation agreements specifically tailored to agriculture, called a conservation easement, to ensure the land is protected forever.

When we can find funding, we will purchase the development rights on important agricultural lands. However, given limited funding for farmland protection, we also work with landowners who want to donate a conservation easement to conserve their land, recognizing that they often benefit through income tax deductions over a period of years. Sometimes this is referred to as donating their development rights.

We work with landowners, local partners, and government agencies to protect land that is viable, at risk of development, and critical to the future of agriculture in Connecticut.

Farmland Access

We are working to go beyond land protection to help ensure that farmland remains affordable and in production. We support farmers — especially beginning farmers and those transitioning their farm to the next generation by:

Using innovative tools like buy-protect-sell (BPS), where we purchase a farm, conserve it, and then sell it at its agricultural value. We include an option to purchase at agricultural value (OPAV) when possible.
Providing guidance and partnering with community land trusts (local groups working to provide affordable access to land), as well as land trusts (land conservation organizations), and service providers like Connecticut’s Department of Agriculture (DoAG) and the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) to expand access.

Soil Health

We recognize the critical role of healthy soils and well-managed farmland. Our land conservation work allows farmers to adapt to changing conditions and take advantage of new research, techniques, and approaches to invest in healthy soils. This is particularly important given increasing extremes of heat, drought, rain, and erratic frosts.

Our work supports farming practices that improve soil health, reduce erosion, retain water during periods of drought, and store carbon — making agriculture more productive and resilient for the future.

Community and Innovation

We believe farmland is a limited resource, and increasingly endangered due to encroaching development. We work in partnership with farmers, landowners, towns, land trusts, and community organizations — including those historically excluded from land ownership — to strengthen agriculture across the state and increase access to land for farmers who need it.

Our approach embraces innovation on the farm, farm transfer strategies, new approaches to farm viability, and testing new ideas and strategies for greater farm access.

Why It Matters

Connecticut is losing farmland at an alarming rate. Since 1985, more than 87,000 acres have been lost to development.

Farmland is essential not just for food — but for clean water, open space, local economies, and the communities we call home. We’re here to ensure that farmland remains protected, productive, and within reach — now and for generations to come.

Where We Work

We work across the state, often in partnership with local land trusts, communities, and landowners. Check out the map featuring the farms we’ve helped to conserve.

Protected Farms

We can’t live without the land that grows our food.
Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.

Check out our protected farms map