A 101-acre parcel in Ellington that comprises part of Oakridge Dairy will be preserved as farmland in perpetuity, based on an easement that prevents it from being developed.
A combination of federal, state and local funding sources were used to purchase the easement, which is held by the Connecticut Department of Agriculture and Connecticut Farmland Trust.
It’s the second of three pieces of land on the state’s largest dairy farm to be preserved. In addition, 52 acres was protected in 2021, and an easement on a third parcel is expected, for a total of 250 acres of protected land, according to the Connecticut Department of Agriculture.
The Bahler family, which owns Oakridge Dairy, plans to reinvest the money from the easement into their 130-year-old farming operation.
“Ensuring that our land is permanently protected is important to the future of agriculture, not only for our business, but also our community which values open space,” CEO Seth Bahler said.
The easement preserves part of the farm along Jobs Hill Road, Muddy Brook Road and Hoffman Road. The land is used for growing corn and hay to feed a herd of 2,600 dairy cows. The cows provide milk for Guida’s Dairy in New Britain, and a home delivery subscription service, The Modern Milkman.
The Connecticut Farmland Trust helped secure funding through the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Agricultural Conservation Easement Program. The Town of Ellington also contributed.
The Connecticut Department of Agriculture said it has protected eight farms this fiscal year, totalling 602 acres.
“The collaboration among local, state and federal partners, in concert with the landowner, is critical to advancing the protection of working farmlands in Connecticut,” Agriculture Commissioner Bryan P. Hurlburt said.
