Looking at the diminished number of farmers in the area, he said, “It’s sad what is happening in this country.”

Forced into a financial corner, Mr Paproski said, “I sold my cows three years ago because it was impossible to keep the farm. I went into agricultural tourism.”

He points directly at federal price regulations.

“The government set our price for milk and I could not make enough money to sell milk.”

In a press release from July, the state Department of Agriculture notes, “The current estimated cost for producing a gallon of milk in Connecticut is approximately $1.60. Today’s federally set price for milk provides producers with approximately $1.10 per gallon, which means that farmers are losing 50 cents per gallon.”

Connecticut Department of Agriculture Representative Rick Macsuga said consumers have an impact on the dairy industry.

“A lot of people are shopping for price and don’t care where [a product] comes from,” he said.

On the farmers’ side however, is a growing number of people who shop with an understanding of where their dairy or produce comes from. “They believe that supporting the local food system is important,” Mr Macsuga said.

The farming industry also means more than buying locally.

Mr Macsuga explained, “Some see the farm as part of history and heritage and care where [produce] comes from.” He describes a problem that is larger than the local shopping trends, however.

“Even in Connecticut we’re competing with the world and farms have to adapt,” Mr Macsuga said. Farmers have taken a creative approach to sustaining business.

“In the last 20 years you see a lot of wholesale diversifying, specialty crops…you see direct to consumer sales,” he said. Some dairy farms, including Ferris Acres Creamery, have chosen to sell ice cream, and reach the customer directly. Castle Hill offers a corn maze, hay rides, and a pumpkin patch.

Mr Paproski used the term “agritourism” to describe his current approach to business. The expression has been in the farming lingo for “quite a while” admitted Mr Macsuga.

“Basically, it’s bringing people onto your farm,” he said. He named incentives including “pick-your-own” or hayrides.

“There are a lot of innovative ideas and farmers are on top of those trends,” he said. In the coming years he feels the farming industry will gain momentum.

Already, Mr Macsuga recognizes that consumers have begun to support their local or home-grown business, he said, noting the popularity of farmers’ markets, and creameries, for example.

Quoting statistics for the state’s farming decline, Mr Macsuga said that at its agricultural apex, Connecticut contained approximately 21,000 farms at as many as 1.5 million acres. Recent counts reveal an approximate 360,000 acres and 4,200 farms.

Agritourism in Newtown

Agricultural tourism is the new twist that Stephen and Diana Paproski have applied to living off the land. They now open their Castle Hill Farm fields to hayrides through the pumpkin patch, welcome school children to tour, and enjoy evening bon fires, promote a corn maze, and sell hay.

Nearby is the Ferris Farm — a dairy farm in that family since 1864. The creamery is now in its third season, explained Shirley Ferris.

She said that the change to retail, “basically allowing the public onto the farm,” is a shift from the many years ago when her father-in-law specialized in dairy.

Ms Ferris’s children are the sixth generation of Ferrises to work the farm on Route 302 in Newtown, now home of the Ferris Acres Creamery. Brothers Charles “Charlie” D. Ferris IV and Brendan work the farm full-time.

Ms Ferris explained that her family now employs agritourism to supplement business, but the change to retailing goods is not necessarily right for everyone in the industry.

“The location, type of farm, as well as the family’s inclination are part of [deciding] if tourism is right,” she explained. “You have to have a family that’s willing to deal with the public.”

In her opinion, she feels that agritourism “is the only way to go” in this area of Fairfield County.

“My personal opinion is that it’s the only way to survive, but it doesn’t mean that every farmer is doing that,” she said. Ms Ferris also noted that other agricultural business like Planter’s Choice in Newtown do not sell retail, and are not facing circumstances her family encountered. Planter’s Choice is a large-scale grower and full service wholesale nursery, which was founded in March 1970 by Charles Newman.

Ms Ferris stresses that agritourism, although an option, is not necessarily what all farmers will begin to do.

“It is not the right thing for everyone, it depends on where you are and if it’s ideal for tourism,” Ms Ferris explained. “In other parts of the state you have enough land to sustain [traditional] farming.”

A Broader Appeal

She also notes the different types of agricultural business such as wineries that have broadened their appeal to the public, but not always out of necessity.

McLaughlin Vineyards in Newtown opens doors to visitors for wine tastings, music, and other events. Visit Mclaughlinvineyards.com for more information.

The vineyard’s main financial anchor is wine production, according to manager Frank Carbone. He explained that the wine tastings, jazz, maple syrup demonstrations, and other events welcoming the public “lend a nice aspect” to the business.

“We tap the trees, do demonstrations, offer tractor rides; it leaves a good impression,” he said.

The winery has been in the family since the 1940s, and cultivates French/American hybrid vines that thrive in the New England climate, explained Mr Carbone.

Soon, a bee colony will also call the vineyard home.

The plight of some farmers has become visible to research librarian and writer Andrea Zimmermann. She offers some insights into Newtown’s farming, and quotes from her book, Eleanor Mayer’s History of Cherry Grove Farm, saying, “Today the term diversified is designated to those who earn a living through different agricultural endeavors.”

While completing research for her book, Ms Zimmermann realized, “A lot of farms found they needed to diversify to remain viable.”

Ms Zimmermann has referenced one source that indicates the rise of land sales.

The chapter, “Machinery and Malls” refers to the Working Lands Alliance figures that report the state has been losing an average of between 7,000 and 8,000 acres of farmland annually since 1982 to nonagriculture uses such as shopping centers, housing, roads, schools…

In Eleanor Mayer’s History of Cherry Grove Farm, Ms Zimmermann explained that Eleanor Mayer “continues to fend off developers even though she makes little, if any, profit from cultivating Cherry Grove Farm.”

Relief Resources

The state Department of Agriculture has announced several incentives to aid farming in Connecticut.

Most recently are the Federal Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Funds and The Dairy Farm Reinforcement Program. Both can be found at the Department of Agriculture (DOAG) website, ct.gov/doag.

The reinforcement initiative release states, “The program is designed to help the industry reverse recent financial losses by providing grants, loans and access to credit to offset costs incurred due to federal price controls and high energy costs.”

The reinforcement program involves grants, low interest loans, loan guarantees, energy conservation, and legislation.

The DOAG has also recently announced its Federal Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Funds where the US Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) awarded the state DOAG $838,458 of matching funds for farmland preservation projects. The funding is localized to three farms located in Suffield, “and the town will be assisting with the purchase of development rights.”

Overall, the Farmland Protection Act has been in existence since 1987 with the goal of preserving 130,000 acres of farmland, 85,000 acres of which are classified as possessing prime and important soils for the production of food and fiber, the release explained. Roughly 30,000 acres have been protected so far.

Also lending support to agriculture is The Working Lands Alliance (WLA), which aims to preserve the state’s farm lands. Visit www.workinglandsalliance.org.

Drawing the spotlight toward agriculture is next month’s Tour des Farms, a statewide initiative to direct public awareness back to the farms. (See related article, this issue).