The state’s Department of Agriculture will receive more than $8 million in federal funds to help keep farmlands in agricultural production, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced.
The Farmland Preservation Program purchases development rights from farmers who apply in exchange for a permanent restriction on nonagricultural uses.
The agreement with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) extends farmland protection funds obligated to the state through March 31, 2015. That will give state officials more flexibility in negotiating agreements with farmers.
With the help of $20 million in assistance from NRCS, the state has preserved more than 13,000 acres of farmland, but officials want to ultimately preserve 10 times that amount.
