Press Releases

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• 9/26/2019 SIXTH CONNECTICUT HORSE FOUND POSITIVE FOR EASTERN EQUINE ENCEPHALITIS VIRUS

• 5/22/2020 CT Farmers Impacted by COVID 19 Eligible for Coronavirus Food Assistance Program

  HARTFORD, CT – Governor Ned Lamont, Congressman Joe Courtney, and Agriculture Commissioner Bryan P. Hurlburt are encouraging Connecticut farmers and producers to sign up to receive financial assistance through the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Coronavirus Food Assistance program (CFAP), which was authorized by Congress through the bipartisan Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (H.R. 748). Earlier this week U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue released additional details on CFAP which will provide up to $16 billion in direct payments to deliver relief to America’s farmers and ranchers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

• 9/30/2020 Eighth Generation Family Farm Protected Forever

  The Connecticut Department of Agriculture (CT DoAg), with assistance from Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy (NCLC), has permanently protected the Maple Bank Farm in Roxbury, owned by Cathleen and Howard Bronson.

• 11/2/2020 Farmers' Market Nutrition Program Extended Until November 23 in Connecticut

  Continued access to fresh fruits and vegetables for WIC and Seniors at Connecticut farmers’ markets

• 4/9/2020 Connecticut's dairy farm families provide support to ensure access to milk and dairy products in Connecticut

  (HARTFORD, CT) – Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz and Department of Agriculture Commissioner Bryan P. Hurlburt today joined Jason Jakubowski, President and CEO of Foodshare, and Paul Shipman, spokesperson of Connecticut Food Bank, to present a donation totaling $40,000 on behalf of Connecticut’s dairy farm families to ensure that milk and dairy products are available to food insecure households. In addition to the financial support, Dairy Farmers of America, Guida’s Dairy, and Cabot Creamery Cooperative have committed to donating dairy products to be distributed through Connecticut’s food bank networks.

• 4/3/2020 DoAg Facilitates Continuation of Farmers Market and Shellfish Sales during COVID 19

  HARTFORD, CT – The Connecticut Department Agriculture (DoAg) has released guidance documents to facilitate the continuation of farmers’ markets and shellfish sales during the COVID-19 crisis. Per Governor Lamont’s Executive Order 7H, and 7S and DECD’s guidance on essential services and Safe Stores, food and agriculture, including aquaculture, as well as, farmers’ markets and farm stands are deemed essential. The guidance documents contain practices and protocols to be implemented as necessary in an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 while providing access to supply of local, fresh food.

• 10/9/2020 Department of Agriculture begins initiative to increase market share for Connecticut producers

  Plans include research, development and roll out of a 12-month marketing campaign to promote Connecticut Grown agriculture and aquaculture.

• 6/16/2020 Beloved Watertown Farm is Protected Forever

  The Connecticut Department of Agriculture (CT DoAg) in coordination with Connecticut Farmland Trust (CFT) is pleased to announce the preservation of Gustafson Farm in Watertown. The farm has been a popular destination for area families since 1907. The preservation of Gustafson Farm was a complex feat of partnership and teamwork involving USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Housatonic Valley Association, CT DoAg and CFT, in the farm’s preservation. For many families, the idea of conserving their land is like a seed – it takes many years to mature. For the Gustafson family, the seed was planted over a decade ago by the past generation of Gustafsons, who knew their 301-acre orchard and beef farm was something special that they wanted to preserve. That seed has finally come to fruition with the work of their descendants: cousins Katie Barnosky, Frank Gustafson, III, and Kristie Weidemier.

• 2/19/2020 Connecticut Representatives Vote to Pass Farm Workforce Modernization Act

  On December 11, 2019, Connecticut’s representatives to the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass the Farm Workforce Modernization Act (H.R. 5038), a bipartisan bill that seeks to address the growing labor crisis in the agriculture industry by creating a new pathway to legal status for undocumented citizens working in the U.S. agriculture industry.

• 11/2/2020 Connecticut's FFA Chapters and Students Win National Honors

• 5/29/2020 Connecticut Department of Agriculture Awards Farm Transition Grants

  HARTFORD, CT – Agriculture Commissioner Bryan P. Hurlburt announces that the Connecticut Department of Agriculture has awarded 16 grants totaling $547,784.41 to strengthen the economic viability of Connecticut farmers and agricultural cooperatives seeking to expand, diversify, and improve their existing operation.

• 6/1/2020 Survey Underway to Assess Availability of Food Storage and Meal Preparation Sites in Connecticut

  HARTFORD, CT – The Connecticut Department of Agriculture, in partnership with other state and local agencies, is surveying various entities on their willingness to collaborate with local emergency food distribution agencies (e.g.; local food pantry) who are seeking additional food storage space and meal preparation services for home-bound individuals and families.

• 1/8/2021 Farmland Preservation Program Reaches Milestone

  State of Connecticut Purchased Development Rights to more than 1,000 Acres in 2020

• 9/15/2020 Celebrate Fall Harvest Season

  Shop for Connecticut Grown Products

• 2/5/2020 CONNECTICUT REGIONAL MARKET TRANSFERRED TO CAPITAL REGION DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

  (HARTFORD, CT) – Per Section 10 of Public Act 18-154, the Connecticut Regional Market located at 101 Reserve Road in Hartford has been conveyed to the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) from the Connecticut Department of Agriculture (DOAG). A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) effective January 1, 2020 clearly outlines the duties of each entity going forward.