Cows, silage, and outbuildings at a working farm in New Milford, Connecticut

Launching June 4, 2026 · Radio & podcast

Save Connecticut farms — update Right to Farm

Update Right to Farm for how agriculture works today.

Farm building and storage shed in rural Connecticut — Connecticut

Tobacco barn on a Connecticut farm — Connecticut

Historic dairy barn at Werner's Woods in Canton, Connecticut — Canton, CT

Autumn forest in western Connecticut — working woodlands and open space — Western Connecticut

Autumn in Kent, Connecticut — Litchfield County farmland and hills — Kent, CT

5,500

farms across Connecticut

Approximately 380,000 acres of working farmland

$4B

added to the state economy annually

Jobs, local food, and rural businesses

23,000

acres of farmland lost or compromised

2001–2016 — among the highest rates in the U.S.

169

towns — one farm visit each

Building support to update Right to Farm in every municipality

What does it mean to update Right to Farm for modern agriculture?

Save CT Farms is a statewide campaign to strengthen Connecticut’s Right to Farm laws so they match how family farms, forest operations, and local growers actually work today—production, education, on-farm sales, conservation, and the community connections that keep land in agriculture.

Right to Farm was never meant to be a empty promise on paper. When statutes and local ordinances do not clearly protect lawful modern farm activities, neighbors’ complaints, cease-and-desist orders, and years of permit fights can matter more than what happens in the field.

Through the 169 Towns Tour, farm stories, and advocacy for a statewide Right to Farm update, we are asking lawmakers, selectmen, and zoning boards in every municipality to align state law with the economics and stewardship of 21st-century Connecticut agriculture.

Get involved Farm stories

How do we protect farming by updating state law?

Connecticut needs a Right to Farm statute for modern agriculture: clear definitions of farming and incidental agricultural uses, consistent protection from nuisance claims, and alignment between state law and what the Department of Agriculture already promotes for farm viability.

The Right to Farm update

Why Connecticut needs a Right to Farm update

From the Planning for Agriculture guide and the 2025 Regional Farm Viability Study

$17M

from on-farm enterprises (2017)

Diversified income—tours, events, direct sales—on 233 farms. Modern agriculture depends on more than commodity crops alone.

Source: Census of Agriculture / Planning for Agriculture

PA 490

land use value program under pressure

Use-value assessment keeps farm and forest land in production—but reassessments and conflicting local rules can undermine farms already protected on paper.

Source: Planning for Agriculture

Right to Farm

laws written for another era

Connecticut’s Right to Farm framework was meant to shield working agriculture from nuisance claims and incompatible land use—not to leave farms guessing whether education, on-farm sales, and stewardship activities count as farming.

Source: Planning for Agriculture; local RTF ordinances

Town by town

different rules, same state

Some municipalities have strong Right to Farm ordinances; others rely on outdated zoning. Farmers need a updated state standard that recognizes modern agricultural practices.

Source: Regional Farm Viability Study 2025

Our vision

A Connecticut where Right to Farm clearly protects modern agricultural practices—so farmers can invest in their land, welcome the public, and diversify income without fear that yesterday’s definitions will shut down tomorrow’s livelihood.

The Right to Farm update

Real farms, real stakes

Connecticut families navigating outdated Right to Farm rules, zoning, and the cost of uncertainty

Right to Farm & zoning · Seymour

Red Clover Farms

For more than a century, Red Clover Farms has been part of Seymour. Workshops and community programming became part of how the farm survives—until regulatory uncertainty and a cease-and-desist order showed why Connecticut needs Right to Farm rules that fit modern agriculture.

Visit farm website →

All stories →

Get involved!

Help update Connecticut’s Right to Farm law for modern agriculture. Whether you farm, serve on a board, or value open land—we need you on the road, in your town, and online before the June 4 launch.

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Contact

hello@savectfarms.org