There's a real need to preserve farmland. Nearly 500 more acres in the state now protected.
The Gallup Homestead Farm in Voluntown has been a farm for more than 350 years. Now, it can stay a farm forever.
On Sept. 1, the 498-acre farm is now fully protected by the Farmland Preservation Program. Through buying the development rights, the land is designated for agricultural uses only, according to a press release from the Connecticut Department of Agriculture.
The Farmland Preservation Program is meant to protect farmland to help maintain agriculture in the state’s economy. The farmland is still owned by the farmer, and taxes are still paid on it, according to the Department’s website.
Since 1979, Connecticut has protected 415 farms and 48,540 acres, the press release states.
This is important, as the United States continues to lose farmland to development, a total of 11 million acres between 2001 and 2016 alone, according to the American Farmland Trust.
Preserving farms protects the food supply
Supporting local agriculture protects the food supply from larger changes. During the pandemic, transportation issues led to vegetable shortages. Earlier this year, there was an egg shortage, said Elisabeth Moore, executive director of the Connecticut Farmland Trust, which partnered with the state on this project, along with the USDA.
“There’s a real need to make sure we have food in New England, so people can be fed,” she said.
The Gallup Farm has been in the Gallup family for over 350 years. Over 100 acres of land were first given to Capt. John Gallup by the General Court of Connecticut for his services in the Pequot Indian War. The farm had grown to over 1,000 acres over the centuries, until 600 acres were sold to the state in the 1930s, the press release states.
Currently, it’s owned by 13th generation farmer Byron Gallup. After graduating from UCONN in 1972, he became a partner in the farm with his father. After his father’s passing in 2014, Gallup began working with the state to preserve the farmland, the press release states
After years of work, the farmland was preserved in four easements, Commissioner Bryan Hurlburt of the Connecticut Department of Agriculture said.
“It’s been a process, but I give Mr. Gallup a lot of credit,” he said. “He stuck with it. He understood the value of it, and the desire to see this through.”
Cost of land is a barrier to new and experienced farmers
Due to cost, access to farmland is a challenge for new and experienced farmers alike, Hurlburt said.
Dividing the land helps future farmers, Moore said.
“It’ll be more affordable because the pieces are smaller, “she said. “It’ll be the size of property they actually need for their farming operation.”
The land’s agriculture-only status also helps lower the cost, as it limits what kinds of buyers would be interested in the land, Hurlburt said.
When the time comes for the Gallup family to sell the land, the Connecticut Department of Agriculture and the Connecticut Farmland Trust will make sure the land is in the hands of another farmer through the CT Farmlink program. Currently, the program has over 400 farmers looking for land, Moore said.
“Farmland doesn’t do any good for anybody unless it’s farmed,” she said. “That’s the reason why protecting it in smaller pieces is important.”
Even though Gallup Farm is currently a dairy farm, the Farmland Preservation Program doesn’t restrict the types of agricultural use. This allows for flexibility when there’s change in the industry, whether it’s agricultural practices, different products, or climate change, Moore said.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Gallup Farm in Voluntown preserved through Farmland Preservation Program
