- Implement the Option to Purchase at Agricultural Value (OPAV) in Connecticut
- Increase purchase amount for buy-protect-sell projects
- Remove the $20,000 maximum amount the state can spend on farmland per acre
- Prioritize establishing new pathways to increase the number of agricultural appraisers and surveyors
- Increase the CT Department of Agriculture’s Farmland Preservation Program staff capacity
- Explore and support recommendations to make the CT Farmland Preservation Program more accessible to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). These recommendations will be developed by the CT Department of Agriculture’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Securing Land Access Sub-Committee
- Explore and support recommendations to establish an urban agriculture easement program in Connecticut
- Ensure full funding levels and integrity of the Community Investment Act
- Continue farmland preservation and community farms funding
- Remove the $20,000 award maximum per project from the updated Farmland Restoration and Climate Resiliency Grant Program
- Support the allocation of $7 million in bond funding to the Climate-Smart Agriculture and Climate Resiliency Program
- Support additional funding opportunities for climate-smart agricultural practices, including investments in soil health and adaptation strategies
- Support policies and incentives to encourage forest resiliency
- Create a state definition of Climate Smart Agriculture and Forestry Practices that includes and is not limited to practices outlined by USDA-NRCS
- Amend the Global Warming Solutions Act to ensure monitoring and reporting on carbon inventory associated with natural and working lands (farms, forests, etc.). The link to specific legislative language can be found in CT Forest and Park Association’s Testimony here.
- Increase incentives for schools and other public institutions to procure more CT Grown products, including CT Grown Forest products
- Support incentives that connect more CT Grown products to individuals and families that are experiencing food insecurity
- Support increased funding for the CT Department of Agriculture’s CT Grown for CT Kids program
