Connecticut Town Proposes "Right to Farm" Law

Monroe, a small town in southwestern Connecticut, used to boast a bounty of family farms. In fact, it wasn't uncommon to find a dairy farm, chicken farm, and horse stable all on the same road. But as time goes on, many of these small, agricultural operations are transforming into McMansions and modern homes. "I do see a lot of growth in Monroe," Rosanne Plavnicky, a Monroe resident, told the Connecticut Post. "And in a way it's sad."

A proposed ordinance aims to save Monroe's farming sector and allow it to thrive once more. Patrick O'Hara, a Monroe farmer, recently proposed a "right to farm" ordinance, a law that would offer small farmers some protections and encourage farming throughout the city. If the ordinance goes through, farmers could stop worrying about issues that threaten to destroy their livelihoods, like complaints from neighbors.

Indeed, opposition from neighbors has already done a number on Monroe's small farms, reports the Connecticut Post. Folks may nag about the noise of a crowing rooster or tractor or the smell coming from a stable. These complaints as well as the usual struggles farmers face discourage farming in Monroe, to the detriment of the local food scene.  Wheeler Road, for example, used to house a chicken farm, dairy farm, and a horse stable. Now, the horse farm is the only agricultural operation that still calls the street home.

The situation in Monroe is far from unique. Across the country, small, family-run farms are falling victim to urban sprawl and development. According to American Farmland Trust, a farm conservation non-profit, America loses two acres of productive farmland to development every minute of every day. Combined with the fact that farmers are aging — the average age of a farmer is now a very senior 57 — small, local farms are quickly going the way of the Dodo. Meanwhile, massive factory farms and industrial agricultural operations expand and thrive.

Which is why it's so important that local ordinances like Monroe's "right to farm" go into effect. A law like this would not only encourage small, local producers to keep on growing, it would give the city a competitive advantage to earn state and federal farm conservation grants. The ordinance would ensure that Monroe citizens live amongst a thriving local food scene, preventing folks from having to rely on environmentally degrading Big Ag to get their vittles.

Monroe's "right to farm" ordinance wouldn't just benefit the small, southwestern Connecticut town — it has the potential to serve as model legislation that other American cities can follow. Sign our petition asking Monroe's planning and zoning commission to support the "right to farm" ordinance.

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