Connecticut's Farmland Crisis: Land Grab vs. Preservation

0:00Connecticut's farmland is vanishing fast, with nearly 1,000 farms and 65,000 acres gone in just the last decade. Developers are swooping in with offers way bigger than with state preservation programs can match. Turning fields into warehouses, hotels, and solar. Farms. Farmers are getting crushed by skyrocketing property taxes, energy bills, and weak milk prices that make staying in business aggrined. Lately, proposals keep popping up, like a 120 room holiday in, on 164 acres in Simsbury last November, or A. 25 lot housing subdivision on old fruit farm and cheshire that got approved in February. We've also seen big ones wrap up, including Amazon's massive five-story fulfillment center on 147 acres in Windsor and the states. Largest solar array in East Windsor, all on spots that used to grow crops like tobacco. Farmers and officials are feeling the heat, knowing this land feeds communities and keeps traditions alive, but the cash from developers is too.

1:03Tempting. One-seller flipped 35 acres of old tobacco fields in Windsor for $350,000 per acre to go industrial, calling. Farming a liability now. State ad commissioner Brian Hurlbert, and midst they've been battling this for decades, as preservation incentives just can't compete. Take Oak Ridge Dairy in Ellington, the northeast's biggest, with 2,600 cows that's almost 14% of Connecticut's herd. They've locked in easements on some land to fund expansions and stay afloat, farming another 1,600 least acres nearby. But even they worry, with solar and housing developers dangling fat checks to landowners who might ditch the leases. Once that farm man's paved over, it's gone for good, no coming back from concrete and panels. Connecticut's got to rethink how to keep these operations viable before the whole scene flips for good. I'm Cory with the story, and you've been listening to Hartford News today, AI-powered local news.