You can't grow hay in the suburbs. Bees must fly to gather pollen, despite the impact of chemicals for green lawns. Milk comes from cows, not the supermarket. That takes healthy and well managed land. Feed the land and the land feeds you and your family."As soils are depleted, human health, vitality and intelligence go with them," wrote Louis Bromfield, an American author (and one of my heroes). Bromfield was a conservationist who gained international recognition by winning the Pulitzer Prize and pioneering innovative scientific farming concepts.
Connecticut land is diverse due to geology and its people innovative in finding ways to grow, create, distribute products. Now they may be banding together to plan for all things agricultural.
American Farmland Trust (AFT) and Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) are offering up to 25 hours of technical assistance to implement strategies discussed in the new Planning for Agriculture: A Guide for Connecticut Municipalities.
Possible options include, but are not limited to: initiating an agricultural commission; reviewing farm tax reduction options; financing options for farmland protection projects; encouraging buy local opportunities; including agriculture in town conservation and development plans; and developing right-to-farm ordinances.
Workshops have been held already in a handful of towns to provide a discussion platform about the 62-page guide and how it may help those involved in agriculture.
The PDF can be downloaded at www.ctplanningforagriculture.com or at this AFT link.
Bromfield at Malabar Farm, Corbis
