May Advocacy News

Several CT NOFA State Advocacy Priorities Are Ready to Move Forward in the State Senate!

Action Alert #1

Contact your State Senator to say you want Senate Bill 1497 to pass with all the important items in the Farm Bill Amendment (LCO 7746). (If you don’t know how to reach your State Senator, look here.)

With a bit less than one month left in the legislative session, the “Farm Bill for Connecticut,” proposed by Senator Cathy Osten, co-chair of the Appropriations Committee, is now available, and it includes many of CT NOFA’s priority items.

In an Uncalled Amendment LCO 7446 to Senate Bill 1497, Senator Osten has laid out her Farm Bill priorities. Here are priorities in this amendment important to CT NOFA, our farmers, and our communities:

• Section 504 would exempt hoop houses and high tunnels for agricultural use from building standards related to hurricane proofing of permanent or temporary structures.
• Section 505 would establish the Farmers’ Crop Loss Reimbursement Grant Program to reimburse farmers for crop loss due to significant acute weather events. DoAg would set up the details. Any application would be acted upon not later than 60 days after receipt.
• Section 506 would authorize $10 million in bonding for the Farmers’ Crop Loss Reimbursement Grant Program.
• Section 507 would establish immunity from civil liability for agritourism businesses (including pick-your-own, farm markets, etc.) for certain causes.
• Section 517 would appropriate $1 million for CT Grown for CT Kids, a popular program bringing schools and early childcare centers together with farms and gardens for educational experiences.
• Section 518 would appropriate $2 million for shipping container gardens for schools and food pantries.
• Section 519 would appropriate $5.6 million for the Local Food for Schools Incentives Program,
• Section 520 would appropriate $3.7 million for the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, which connects underserved communities with locally grown healthy food.

Action Alert #2

Also tell your Senator you support Senate Bill 1522, increasing the funding for the Community Investment Account.

Another bill important to CT NOFA is Senate Bill 1522, which would increase the recording fee for the Community Investment Account. The fee funding this account has been at the same level for 20 years, and provides funding for farmland preservation, the FarmLink program matching farmland owners with farmland seekers, the agricultural viability grant program, and several other agricultural programs. (It also funds preservation of open space, historic preservation, and affordable housing.)