New One-On-One Business Support from CT DOAG through 3 Partner Organizations

New One-on-One Support Available to Connecticut’s Agriculture Industry

Largest Dairy Farm in Northeast U.S. Powers Sustainability with Innovative Solar Energy Installation from Maxeon

Oakridge Dairy in Connecticut is home to nearly 3,000 cows and includes a massive, 8-acre barn topped with 752 solar panels capable of generating up to 1,200 kilowatt hours of energy per day. System designer and installer Earthlight Technologies optimized the system’s power generation with Maxeon high efficiency solar panels that enable clean energy to meet Oakridge’s significant electricity needs.

Read more here:

Largest Dairy Farm in Northeast U.S. Powers Sustainability with Innovative Solar Energy Installation from Maxeon (yahoo.com)

Dec, 22, 2023, Danbury News Times: New Milford Couple opens Agrotourism barn for their farm to promote, preserve town’s rural roots

Biden-Harris Administration Makes Available Historic $3 Billion for Climate-Smart Practices on Agricultural Lands Through Investing in America Agenda

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is making more than $3 billion in funding available for agricultural producers and forest landowners nationwide to participate in voluntary conservation programs and adopt climate-smart practices in Fiscal Year 2024 as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. The announcement comes as the Biden-Harris Administration hosts the first-ever White House Climate Resilience Summit

These funds are provided by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act – the largest climate and conservation investment in history. This law invests an additional $19.5 billion for USDA’s popular conservation programs. These programs also advance the President’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to ensure 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain climate, clean energy, and other federal investments reach disadvantaged communities that have been marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. On the heels of last week’s announcement that USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) saw record producer interest in these resources in fiscal year 2023, the agency is now accepting applications from producers interested in this additional conservation assistance for fiscal year 2024.

These additional investments are estimated to help hundreds of thousands of farmers and ranchers apply conservation to millions of acres of land. These funds provide direct climate mitigation benefits, advance a host of other environmental co-benefits, and expand access to financial and technical assistance for producers to advance conservation on their farm, ranch or forest land through practices like cover cropping, conservation tillage, wetland restoration, prescribed grazing, nutrient management, tree planting and more.

USDA is opening up the application period for FY2024 conservation assistance giving producers the opportunity to apply for this historic funding. However, in the event of a lapse in government funding, technical assistance, one-on-one help in answering questions, and other support for producers in navigating the application process would not be immediately available until the funding lapse ends. In the event of a funding lapse, NRCS would notify producers when staff are available to assist.

Learn more by clicking here.

Sullivan Farm’s proposed agri-education campus in New Milford marks a ‘change in direction’

New Milford’s Sullivan Farm proposes agri-education campus (newstimes.com) September 18, 2023

May, 2023: Kimberly Farm to open Ice Cream shop

Across the street from their existing farmstand in New Milford on Route 109, their new Ice Cream shop is set to open very soon.

Read about it here

2023 CT Grown Free Downloadable Report Available

Connecticut Grown 2023

UConn DARE Zwick Center 2023 Farm to School Report available

Farm to school (FTS) programs across the State of Connecticut connect schools with fresh, local food producers. Using local procurement, school gardens, and education, these programs benefit both local producers and nutrition programs.

• Since 2006 CT has operated a farm to school program through the Departments of Education and Agriculture, including support for local purchasing and implementation of events such as Connecticut Grown for Connecticut Kids week. The Department of Agriculture also runs the CT Grown for CT Kids Grant which provides funding to support farm to school programming.
• UConn Extension’s Put Local on Your Tray connects schools with local farms through programs including their Farm to School Directory
• The Connecticut Farm to School Collaborative connects state agencies, non-profits, and professional organizations to support FTS efforts across CT

Click here for the downloadable report

Farm Business Management and Benchmarking (FBMB) Competitive Grants Program, due April 10, 2023

Farm Business Management and Benchmarking (FBMB) Competitive Grants Program improves the farm management knowledge and skills of agricultural producers by maintaining and expanding a national, publicly available farm financial management database to support improved farm management. The FBMB program supports intellectual talent and collaborative efforts to meet the challenges facing the nation’s agriculture and food systems. Application closes on April 10. For more information, read the FBMB funding opportunity

The Climate Smart Farming: Agriculture and Forestry Grant can fund projects in a variety of areas including, but not limited to:

1. Providing technical assistance.
2. Distributing a grant to producers.
3. Coordinating training programs.
4. Coordinating projects that pilot or demonstrate water and land-based conservation practices.
5. Creating tools that help reduce barriers to accessing assistance for climate smart farming.
6. Establishing equipment-sharing programs.
7. Other activities that will increase the number of farmers who are implementing climate-smart agriculture and forestry practices.

Any agribusiness or entity, including nonprofit organization, soil and water conservation district, colleges and universities, municipality or for-profit organization in the State of Connecticut are eligible to apply.

All agricultural commodities can participate including aquaculture, agriculture and forestry. In addition, all production types will be supported including conventional/organic, indoor/outdoor, soil/water, and urban/rural.

CT DoAg plans to issue awards in varying amounts for program implementation from May 1, 2023, through May 1, 2028.

There will be four application funding tiers:

• Project duration: Up to 18 months

• Project duration: 18 months up to 2 years

• Project duration: 2-3 years

• Project duration: 3-5 years

There is no match requirement for this grant.