Beginning Farmer Programs

CT NOFA is proud to announce the launch of our Equipment Share Program. In partnership with The Hickories in Ridgefield, Connecticut, this program aims to provide both commercial farmers and home gardeners free access to both specialized equipment and expertise in a shared environment. Equipment Share days at The Hickories will include free soil analysis, seed winnowing services, nut cleaning, compost tea brewing workshops, and much more.

Thanks to support through the USDA’s Transition to Organic Partnership Program, CT NOFA has made available this Organic Crop Production record keeping checklist. This checklist is intended to provide a framework for management of records that are required when a farm operation is preparing to certify organic, or a current organic farm is preparing for recertification. Additional checklists can be viewed on our Resources page.

UConn Extension is partnering with CT DoAg (Connecticut Grown) to improve farm marketing capacity for Connecticut organic farms through free, one-on-one technical assistance. This assistance, available to certified organic and transitioning organic farm businesses, will aid in marketing and branding, and will inform you of the best ways to increase consumer awareness of the value of your USDA certified organic products.

Earlier this year, CT NOFA faced a critical funding crossroads. Well into our budgeted programming for the year, we faced sudden and substantial cuts to federally funded programming that constituted the majority of our work for 2025. But then, something moving happened.

Hoadley Hills Farm (South Kent) is the first certified organic livestock farm in Connecticut. They produce pasture-raised pork, chicken, turkey, and eggs, as well as grass-fed and pasture raised beef.

Last summer, we were proud to announce the organic certification of farm graduates from our Transition to Organic Partnership Program. We’re equally pleased to report the organic certification of three more farms, all members of our 2025 TOPP cohort: Steadfast Farms, Farmington Valley Fungi, and Autumn Harvest Orchard.