CNLA testifies to keep nurseries and greenhouses in farmland preservation

Connecticut Nursery & Lawn Association (CNLA) reported in its Sept. 28, 2012 newsletter that CNLA Executive Director Bob Heffernan testified before the Legislative Program Review Committee that nurseries and greenhouses should not be excluded from the state’s largest agriculture program. The newsletter says the committee is studying the effectiveness of the farmlang preservation program. The state has spent almost $120 million over the past 30 years to buy 36,572 acres on 278 farms. CNLA said the CT Department of Agriculture should endorse research research by University of Connecticut, University of Rhode Island and the Experiment Station that sets best management practices for using soil, including soil replacement.

The newsletter reports that Heffernan noted that land is too expensive in Connecticut to take the soil and let it go unused. It also says many nurseries have active composting programs to replenish their soils, and new technologies, such as pot-in-pot, do not damage existing soils. CNLA Legislative Chair Kevin Sullivan made progress the past year-and-a-half advocating with the Working Lands Alliance and other ag groups to reach agreement on a process for nurseries and greenhouses to access the farmland preservation program.

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