Evaluation of Land Use Policies and Practices for Enhancing Agricultural Sustainability in Connecticut
Marilyn Altobello, Project Director
Overview
The purpose of the proposed project is to identify and economically assess alternative policies, agricultural practices, and financing strategies for preserving farmland in Connecticut. The proposed research will involve data collection, use of existing work on public amenity valuation and use of appropriate analytical techniques including contingent valuation, cost-effectiveness and benefit cost analysis, direct estimation, and benefits transfer. Existing survey data will be used to assess the impact of farmland preservation programs on technical efficiency and profitability of Connecticut dairy farms using stochastic frontier analysis. These analytical results will provide recommendations for improving the outcomes for farmland preservation through recommending changes in existing programs, policies, and agricultural practices.
Spatial distribution of preserved farmland, farmland preservation indicators: preservation per capita, preserved farmland as a percentage of total land.
Map 1: Spatial distribution by type of program
Connecticut Preserved Farmlands data and statistics: number of farms, average size, and main activity.
According to Connecticut Department of Agriculture since inception of the Program (1978), development rights have been acquired, or approved for acquisition, on 268 farms totaling 35,518 acres by the State with help of the agricultural community and private & public partner organizations
Connecticut Farmland Trust has 1,761.50 acres and other Land Trusts have 7, 798.50 acres of preserved farmland . For a total of 45,424.58 acres, from which State has 79.0%, Farmland Trusts 21% of total preserved farmland. The following table has details of preserved farmland in Connecticut by county and town as of December 31, 2009.
Only state of Connecticut specifies the number of farms, some of the farmland trust calculate preserved farmland by acreage.
Average size by town is 491.3 acres for state and 403.4 acres for other Land Trusts
Main Activity
State of Connecticut and farmland trusts have a broad of activities: farmland and also may include protection of streams and water sources, wetland, woodland, forests, and other open spaces, including wildlife and scenic, natural and historic sites.
Table 1 is an estimation of number of acres protected by farmland preservation programs including, State of Connecticut Program, Connecticut Farmland Trust and other Land Trusts, information is as of December 2009.
This number is similar to 47,804 acres of total farmland an estimation made by the Working Alliance . From which 10,000 acres correspond to farmland protected by land trusts and towns; 1,109 corresponds to CT farmland Trust; 35,617 from Farmland Preservation Program and 1,078 obtained by Federal Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program.
| County | Town
| State Program
| CT Farmland Trust
| Land Trusts
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tolland | Andover |
307.6 |
||
| Tolland | Columbia |
38.3 |
||
| Tolland | Ellington |
524.6 |
||
| Tolland | Hebron |
835.2 |
||
| Tolland | Somers |
1731.7 |
||
| Tolland | Mansfield |
292.3 |
||
| Hartford | E. Granby |
470.5 |
||
| Hartford | Windsor |
175.0 |
||
| Hartford | E. Windsor |
436.0 |
||
| Hartford | Enfield |
867.5 |
||
| Hartford | Glanstonbury |
152.6 |
16.5 |
187 |
| Hartford | Mnachester |
11.1 |
||
| Hartford | So. Windsor |
87.5 |
||
| Hartford | Granby |
149.8 |
2000.0 |
|
| Hartford | Southington |
98.4 |
||
| Hartford | Suffield |
1667.6 |
375.0 |
|
| Hartford | Berlin |
41.0 |
||
| Hartford | Hartland |
|||
| Hartford | Farmington |
300.0 |
||
| Windham | Ashford |
571.5 |
212.0 |
|
| Windham | Canterbury |
207.9 |
189.0 |
|
| Windham | Brooklyn |
337.2 |
||
| Windham | Eastford |
393.5 |
||
| Windham | Hampton |
593.0 |
||
| Windham | Killingly |
205.2 |
||
| Windham | Andover |
307.6 |
||
| Windham | Plainfield |
64.0 |
||
| Windham | Pomfret |
1084.9 |
||
| Windham | Putnam |
229.6 |
||
| Windham | Scotland |
1264.0 |
||
| Windham | Sterling |
985.4 |
||
| Windham | Thompson |
193.9 |
||
| Windham | Windham |
708.2 |
||
| Windham | Woodstock |
1077.6 |
||
| Faifield | Bethel |
119.3 |
||
| Faifield | Shelton |
173.5 |
||
| Faifield | Sherman |
1200.0 |
||
| New Heaven | Cheshire |
90.3 |
||
| New Heaven | E. Haven |
50.0 |
||
| New Heaven | Hamden |
119.6 |
19.0 |
|
| New Heaven | Windham |
708.2 |
||
| Windham | No. Branford |
209.3 |
||
| New Heaven | Wallingford |
289.3 |
||
| New Heaven | Seymour |
65.0 |
||
| New Heaven | Southbury |
56.0 |
800.0 |
|
| Litchfield | Bethlehem |
9.0 |
||
| Litchfield | Bridgewater |
204.7 |
||
| Litchfield | Cromwell |
571.1 |
20.0 |
1241.0 |
| Litchfield | Goshen |
797.7 |
||
| Litchfield | Litchfield |
232.5 |
||
| Litchfield | Moris |
293.8 |
||
| Litchfield | New Hartford |
72.5 |
195.0 |
|
| Litchfield | New Milford |
210.0 |
40.0 |
|
| Litchfield | Canaan |
38.0 |
||
| Litchfield | No. Canaan |
410.9 |
196.0 |
|
| Litchfield | Salisbury |
1231.3 |
||
| Litchfield | Sharon |
1614.7 |
||
| Litchfield | Torrington |
426.8 |
||
| Litchfield | Warren |
228.1 |
515.0 |
|
| Litchfield | Washington |
477.0 |
||
| Litchfield | Watertown |
233.7 |
40.0 |
|
| Litchfield | Woodbury |
263.8 |
||
| New London | Bozrah |
951.5 |
||
| New London | Colchester |
89.0 |
75.0 |
|
| New London | Franklin |
2380.7 |
||
| New London | Grisworld |
535.4 |
||
| New London | Lebannon |
3725.5 |
22.0 |
|
| New London | Ledyard |
298.8 |
||
| New London | Lyme |
250.6 |
||
| New London | Montville |
169.0 |
||
| New London | No. Stonington |
381.2 |
||
| New London | Norwich |
190.0 |
181.0 |
|
| New London | Old Lyme |
144.1 |
||
| New London | Preston |
616.2 |
||
| New London | Salem |
349.9 |
282.0 |
|
| New London | Stonington |
85.0 |
96.0 |
|
| New London | Voluntown |
239.1 |
||
| Middlesex | Durham |
481.8 |
43.0 |
|
| Middlesex | E. Haddam |
565.1 |
||
| Middlesex | E. Hampton |
131.8 |
||
| Middlesex | Middlefield |
171.4 |
||
| Middlesex | Middletown |
634.5 |
||
| Middlesex | Portland |
83.9 |
||
| Middlesex | Old Saybrook |
371.0 |
||
| Total: | State of CT |
35,864.58 |
1,761.50 |
7,798.50 |
This summary of the Evaluation of Land Use Policies and Practices for Enhancing Agricultural Sustainability in Connecticut was written by Professor Marilyn Altobello.