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Awardees

Implementation Grant Awardees

  • Adamah, Inc.** (Falls Village) will receive $16,000 to implement energy efficiency upgrades in their greenhouses, improve their irrigation system, purchase a solar-powered generator, and purchase an electric mower, along with other field improvements. These investments will reduce fossil fuel use, improve water conservation, and enhance soil health, contributing to both climate mitigation and adaptation.
  • Averill Farm* (Washington) will receive $50,000 to install a high tunnel around the farm’s blueberries and raspberries that they use for prepared foods. This project will protect the plants from new and invasive pests, such as Spotted Wing Drosophila, reducing the need for chemical pesticides.
  • Beavertides Farm* (Falls Village) will receive $17,000 to develop silvopasture through the purchase of tree seedlings and establishment materials, and to enhance rotational grazing of their sheep and beef cows through fencing. The integration of forestry and rotational grazing enhances biodiversity and allows pastures to sequester more carbon. Silvopasture also improves livestock health through protection from extreme weather patterns.
  • Canaan View Dairy, LLC** (East Canaan) will receive $24,000 to purchase a dragline toolbar. This equipment promotes efficient manure application, which reduces nutrient loss and fuel consumption, decreases greenhouse gas emissions, and improves soil and water quality.
  • Carlwood Farm, LLC** (Canaan) will receive $10,000 to purchase seeds and soil amendments for crop rotation with cover crops. This project reduces compaction, controls erosion, and improves soil biology. Improved soil health can increase carbon sequestration and reduce chemical inputs.
  • Sarah Lang – Conundrum Farm** (Kent) will receive $30,000 for energy efficiency upgrades in the greenhouse, including establishing an airtight seal, ridge vent, and automation software. These upgrades will lower the greenhouse’s energy consumption while improving growing conditions for year-round production.
  • Cricket Hill Garden, LLC** (Thomaston) will receive $15,000 for a row mulcher for mulching and compost application. Organic mulch suppresses weeds, reduces erosion, and improves the soil’s water-holding capacity. In turn, improved soil quality reduces the need for chemical inputs and increases carbon sequestration.
  • Chandravir and Roberta Ahuja – Great Ring Farm** (Sandy Hook) will receive $3,000 to plant native perennials. These deeply rooted perennial plantings will improve soil structure and support diverse plant and animal life.
  • Hathor Hill Farm, LLC** (Lakeside) will receive $20,000 to restore and relocate access roads, remediate a portion of pasture, and plant contour buffer strips. These improvements will reduce future erosion by enhancing the soil’s water infiltration, promoting healthier pastureland.
  • Howling Flats Farm, LLC** (Canaan) will receive $8,000 for an electric mower and trimmer. This equipment will reduce fossil fuel use and soil compaction while supporting the increased maintenance needs of the farm’s newly planted silvopasture.
  • Joon Gardens* (Newtown) will receive $6,000 to remove invasives surrounding the farm and plant native perennial shrubs and trees. Replacing invasive species with perennials protects the farm’s biodiversity, ensuring that native plants and ecosystems thrive, while enhancing soil health through deep root systems.
  • Kalenauskas Farm, LLC** (Watertown) will receive $21,000 for a vertical beater multi-product spreader. This equipment will optimize nutrient management, reducing nutrient runoff and improving soil organic matter through the efficient spread of manure and amendments.
  • Michael Crotta – Lakeside Farm** (Lakeside) will receive $12,000 for a walk-behind tractor and accessories for soil health improvement. This equipment allows for reduced soil disturbance, protecting soil carbon stocks and facilitating sustainable practices like cover cropping.
  • Maple Bank Farm* (Roxbury) will receive $10,000 to purchase a raised bed mulch layer with a fertilizer hopper. This equipment streamlines the planting process, reducing tillage passes and minimizing soil disturbance. Targeted nutrient delivery to the plant prevents nutrient losses to the environment and saves costs.
  • Northwest Corner Farm* (Winchester) will receive $14,000 to establish a windbreak to protect the hilltop farm, and develop and expand pollinator habitat. These plantings reduce erosion, enhance soil health, and provide food and shelter for wildlife and pollinators.
  • Rowledge Pond Aquaculture, LLC** (Sandy Hook) will receive $23,000 for a fuel-efficient tractor and forestry and hatchery equipment. This equipment will lower fuel use and enhance the operation’s forest management, helping to offset greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Smokedown Farm* (Sharon) will receive $30,000 to purchase fencing to enhance rotational grazing of sheep and beef cattle around a 9-acre hopyard and additional pastures. This project helps integrate crops and livestock, reducing chemical inputs through nutrient cycling and pest management. Rotational grazing restores soil and pasture health, promoting carbon sequestration.
  • Steep Rock Association, Inc.** (New Preston) will receive $12,000 for roof-mounted solar panels. This project will directly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by powering the processing and distribution center for the land trust’s farm, Judea Garden.
  • TheCBGGurus* (Harwinton) will receive $12,000 to purchase a rainwater storage tank, soil moisture sensors, and microirrigation. Rainwater storage tanks help capture and store rainwater for irrigation throughout the season, reducing farm energy needs. Moisture sensors and microirrigation promote efficient application and water conservation.
  • The Stead Farm, LLC** (Barkhamsted) will receive $9,000 for mobile chicken coops to enhance multi-species rotational grazing. Multispecies rotational grazing improves soil health, enhances biodiversity, and controls weeds and parasites, increasing pasture and animal resilience and improving carbon sequestration.
  • Thy Neighbors Farm* (Torrington) will receive $20,000 to purchase portable fencing, stock tank, shelter, and other equipment to rotationally graze their growing flock of Katahdin sheep. Through the movement of livestock between paddocks, rotational grazing helps forages recover, facilitates manure distribution, improves soils, and reduces fuel and chemical use to manage fields.
  • Town of New Milford – Sullivan Farm** (New Milford) will receive $6,000 for a roller crimper for cover crop management. This practice reduces the need for chemical herbicides and promotes soil organic matter, enhancing carbon sequestration and long-term soil fertility.
  • Van Vleck Farm* (Woodbury), owned by Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust, will receive just under $33,000 to install a solar array, supplying power to lights, incubators, fans, and fencing at its North Barn complex, as well as the farm store and workshop. This renewable energy source will offset over 20,000 pounds of CO2 equivalent per year.
  • Waldingfield Farm* (Washington) will receive $50,000 to install two high tunnels for vegetable production. High tunnels help farmers adapt to climate change by shielding plants from extreme weather conditions such as heavy rains, strong winds, and unexpected frosts. They can reduce the need for chemical inputs, promote soil health practices, and conserve water.
  • Wright Farm, LLC** (Goshen) will receive $3,000 to plant pollinator habitat. Pollinator-friendly plantings support biodiversity, enhance ecosystem services essential for food production, and promote carbon sequestration.

Climate-Smart Agricultural Assessment Awardees

  • Adamah Farm* (Falls Village)
  • Autumn Harvest Orchard* (Norfolk)
  • Babbling Brook Farm* (Sherman)
  • Bill Blass Preserve* (New Preston)
  • Conundrum Farm and Marble Valley Farm* (Kent)
  • Fort Hill Farm* (New Milford)
  • Foxhole Farm* (Washington)
  • Frazier Farm* (Woodbury)
  • Good Hill Farm and Ox Hollow Farm* (Roxbury)
  • Great Ring Farm* (Sandy Hook)
  • Hamlin Preserve** (Sharon)
  • Hathor Hill Farm* (Lakeside)
  • Lakeside Farm* (Lakeside)
  • Mary Moore Preserve** (Sharon)
  • Milde Farm* (Litchfield)
  • Northwest Corner Farm* (Winchester)
  • Ridgway Farm* (Cornwall)
  • Riverbank Farm** (Roxbury)
  • Rowledge Pond Aquaculture** (Sandy Hook)
  • Smokedown Farm* (Sharon)
  • Smyrski Farm* (New Milford)
  • TheCBGGurus* (Harwinton)

*Awarded in 2024, **Awarded in 2025

 

Press Releases

October 8, 2024 – Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy Announces Climate-Smart Grant Awardees

April 2, 2025 – Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy Invests in the Future of Farming with Climate-Smart Agriculture Grant Awards

 

Last updated 4/2/25