Connecticut farm permanently protected

ROXBURY — A family has farmed on what is now Maple Bank Farm since the early 1700s, and because of a preservation easement, that will always be the case.

Cathleen Bronson is the eighth generation in her family to farm the land and she said she’s glad that she and her husband, Howard Bronson, are able to protect it through the Farmland Preservation Program.

“It’s so to the core of what we’ve done and who we are,” Bronson said. “It’s very exciting and emotional.”

Under the program, the state buys the developmental rights for farms, adding a permanent restriction on non-agricultural uses to the deeds for these properties. Farmers apply for the program and the farm itself remains privately owned. Each property is assessed and various factors, especially the soil condition, determine the price.

The Bronsons said they know farmers who felt they had no choice but to sell their land for development and welcomed this alternative.

“Once it’s gone, it’s gone,” Howard Bronson said.

With this program, farmers can plan for their future, preserve it for farming and use the funds to pay off debts. This, in turn, helps new and young farmers break into the industry because it removes the developer competition.

“It’s a really important tool to make farmland affordable to new farmers and beginning farmers,” said Dakota Rudloff-Eastman, who is leasing Maple

Bank Farm to grow vegetables.

The Bronsons knew about the program for years but thought they were too small to qualify. They began to seriously consider it in 2016 when members of the Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy approached them.

Of their 80 or so acres, about 51 are included in the easement, including the popular farm stand, apple orchard, greenhouses, flower beds, pick-yourown blueberry fields and the grassy hills the sheep and chickens roam.

The Bronsons said it was hard to look at their plans for the property and see what was still feasible under the agreement. Cathleen Bronson said a key condition was the ability to have a classroom at some point. She said she wants to help educate the public on where their food comes from and how to use it, building on her interactions with customers at the farm stand and the school groups that visited before the pandemic.

Howard Bronson said it was important to still have that flexibility needed in farming to meet the community’s agricultural needs, the farmers’ interests and weather conditions.

He knows the farm will change under new owners just as it did when they took it over in 1980, switching from mostly poultry and apples to mostly fruits, vegetables and items people can take home to plant themselves. They expanded the acreage, as well as the apple orchards, and built and expanded the farm stand.

Growing up, Cathleen Bronson and her seven siblings would sell the farm products on specific routes through

Danbury, Waterbury and Naugatuck. She was able to meet a wide variety of people and learned to make pasta from some of her customers.

Now, most of the items are sold on the property or a farmers market, allowing for new chances to bond with the public.

“Our connection with our community is so deep,” Cathleen Bronson said.

The feeling seems to be mutual. When hail destroyed their crops in 2002, residents bought vouchers for produce the following year.

Roxbury First Selectman Barabara Henry applauded the Bronsons’ foresight to get the easement to forever protect “this beloved historical haven.”

Foundations from the original farmhouse are can be found next to the farm stand behind trees hundreds of years old.

“Knowing we will always have the beloved farm and farm stand in the heart of Roxbury is truly a joyous occasion,” Henry said. “A grateful town conveys our thanks.”

For the Bronsons, the farm is not only a testament to the state’s rich agricultural history but to Cathleen Bronson’s family — the Hurlbuts. The couple has stories for every acre.

One spot is where Cathleen and her siblings constantly fed an outdoor fire to boil sap and produce 55 gallons of maple syrup. Another is where her mother and aunt would plan the annual display for the Danbury Fair, creating King Tut, the American flag and a spaceship completely out of apples that all had to be polished.

“There’s little bits of history all over our farm,” Howard Bronson said.