A New Milford farm used to raise hay for grass-fed beef and a farm in Suffield where vegetables, hay and tobacco are grown are the latest to be protected under the state’s Farmland Preservation Program.
The purchase of the farms’ development rights ensures that the 53-acre Triple Creek Farm in New Milford and about 60 acres of the Stiles Farm in Suffield will forever remain available for agricultural production.
Hay grown at Triple Creek Farm on Hartwell Road helps feed a herd of about 250 beef cattle raised by Stuart Family Farm of Bridgewater, which leases cropland at the farm and is one of the largest grass-fed beef operations in Connecticut.
The Town of New Milford and the United States Dept. of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) were partners in the preservation.
More than 43,000 acres on about 335 farms have been protected under the state program, including nearly 880 acres in Litchfield County.
Triple Creek Farm’s 1779 farmhouse, restored by current owners Art and Marcia Patterson, and its historic hay barn were also included in the preservation project.
“Preserving the farm was always our priority ever since we purchased the property in 1998,” Art Patterson said this week. “We wanted to preserve the farm in perpetuity so that it would never be developed and this seemed the most logical way. This will ensure that the farm is protected for future generations of farmers.”
The farm contains 25.4 acres of prime and statewide important farmland soils, and 8.4 acres of locally important soils.
“We plan to continue our haying operation in the years to come,” said Patterson, a professional arborist. “Due to the farm’s prime soils it will continue to support a healthy crop of hay or other crops if desired.”
Triple Creek Farm is in close proximity to a number of active farms on the Ridge Road area of New Milford that comprise over twelve hundred acres, including the 92-acre Davenport Farm and the 80-acre Harris Hill Farm that were protected in recent years through partnerships between the town and the state preservation program.
A section of Triple Creek runs through the property, which is adjacent to lands owned by the Steep Rock Association and Weantinoge Heritage Trust.
The farm is the final one to be protected under a state pilot program called the Community Farms Preservation Program (CFPP), which was created in 2011 to encourage cities and towns to preserve small farms of local economic importance.
Applications are submitted by municipalities, who work with willing farm owners, and projects are completed with a financial contribution from the municipality.
“Protecting this farm not only maintains its value as a source of food for livestock and people, but ensures that it will forever remain a vital part of the area’s agricultural community and natural resources,” Agriculture Commissioner Steven K. Reviczky said. “The Department of Agriculture is pleased to partner with the town and USDA to leverage funds from our Community Farms Preservation Program.”
Stiles Farm on Mapleton Avenue near the Massachusetts border in Suffield is leased by the neighboring Bielonko Farms, which grows hay, tobacco and vegetables, including their specialty sweet corn.
Almost all of the 50 acres of cropland are prime and statewide important farmland soils.
The farm is also surrounded by more than 1,000 acres of active farmland within a two-mile radius.
The USDA-NRCS was also a partner in the preservation project.
“Protecting the state’s valuable working lands is critical,” said Thomas L. Morgart, Connecticut State Conservationist for the USDA-NRCS. “Through our Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, NRCS is able to help landowners protect their land and keep it in agricultural use. It was a pleasure working with the Connecticut Department of Agriculture and the owners of these two beautiful farms.”
Under the preservation agreement, no residences may be built on the Stiles property, but construction of a tobacco shed in its historic location on the farm will be allowed.
Stiles Farm is the twentieth farm to be protected in Suffield under the state program, encompassing nearly 1,900 acres.