Colin McEnroe Show: New Ideas For Connecticut Farms
How can Connecticut farms get more sustainable?
As a casual and sometimes avid observer of local farms, I can't help but be encouraged by everything I've seen in the space of five or ten years.
Yes, we're still losing farmland, but we've seen an explosion in farmer's markets and CSAs. Travel out to Coventry any Sunday morning, and you'll see a kind of teeming activity that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. Accompanying this has been a new creativity among the farmers in terms of what they choose to grow and what kinds of alliances they form, especially with the new wave of restaurants eager to put local meat, cheese and produce on their menus.
But what a scene like this needs is even more new ideas, and that's what you'll hear today from an activist, a state official, a farm and food lawyer and the owner of local organic cafe.
We'll even explore the question: What is a farm? The answer may surprise you.
You can join the conversation. Leave your comments below, e-mail colin@wnpr.org or Tweet us @wnprcolin.
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We are extremely rigid in the utopian view that farms have cows and a lot of land.
Comments
E-mail from Jerry
Years ago there was concern about farms that were too near highways and urban areas, because the crops might absorb pollutants. The big one was lead from gasoline, which is now gone, but are there any other problems we should worry about?
E-mail from Llyn
Thanks, Colin, for being a continuing voice for local farms. Could you please mention that people who want to preserve local farms and local food might want to join the Working Lands Alliance? The Working Lands Alliance is a statewide coalition of individuals, businesses, and organizations such as anti-hunger groups, farmers, conservationists, and foodies who work together to halt the loss of Connecticut's remaining farmland. Their website, workinglandsalliance.org, has information on the issues.
Thanks!
E-mail from Chris and Max
The Willimantic Food Co-op sells local food. It's at 91 Valley Street.
It's the oldest Co-op in Connecticut. Great produce!
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