CT Farmland Trust's Gift to CT: Lebanon Farm Saved

Dec. 22, 2011 - PRLog -- Another 32 acres of vital Connecticut farmland has been preserved by the Connecticut Farmland Trust in conjunction with the Natural Resource Conservation Service, Farm and Ranchland Protection Program. Documents were signed today that ensure there will be no future development at Skaats Farm located at 420 Clubhouse Road in Lebanon. The farm is a mix of woodland and fields and is currently being leased by a local dairy farmer.

“We are pleased to be able to help save more acreage of farmland in Lebanon, our state’s largest farming community,” says Jim Gooch, Executive Director of the Connecticut Farmland Trust. “In 2005 the Connecticut Farmland Trust identified Lebanon as our highest priority town for preservation efforts and since that time we have been able to protect Slate Farm, Cyr Farm, Mindel Farm, Stoney Hedge Farm, and now Skaats. There are over 10,000 acres of farmland in Lebanon and more than 3,500 acres are permanently protected. The Connecticut Farmland Trust is proud of its role in protecting nearly 175 of those acres at these five farms.”

Skaats Farm’s 32 acres consist of some 15 acres that are used for growing corn to feed the herd at nearby Cushman Farms, a member of The Farmer’s Cow dairy group. Additionally, Skaats is home to one acre of wetlands, 15 acres of woodland, and one acre for a farmhouse and agricultural buildings.

“I’m glad to see this land preserved for future generations,” says Richard Skaats, owner of Skaats Farm. “The future of our state’s farming community depends on our ability to keep farmland in production and not let it be lost to development.”

“We would like to thank the Town of Lebanon and the Natural Resources Conservation Service for their partnership in preserving this farmland,” says Gooch. “We also need to thank the thousands of contributors across the state that help fund the Connecticut Farmland Trust. In less than a decade we have been able to preserve more than 2,100 acres of farmland at 26 farms in our state. This is quite an accomplishment. But we still have a long way to go. So many other farms are under threat of development, it is vital that we continue to do our work to help preserve our open spaces for generations to come.”

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About the Connecticut Farmland Trust
Founded in 2002, the Connecticut Farmland Trust (CFT) is the only private statewide conservation organization that protects Connecticut’s working lands. The non-profit organization protects farmland through the acquisition of farm property and easements. To date CFT holds easements on 26 properties across the state, protecting more than 2,100 acres. The group works with farmers, landowners, land trusts, town officials, and state agencies to protect agricultural land and has become the state's leading resource on farmland conservation. For more information visit www.CTFarmland.org or call (860) 247-0202.