Valley Independent Sentinel

Malloy Visits Shelton, Talks Agriculture

by Kate Ramunni | Jul 21, 2010 2:52 pm

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Posted to: Shelton

Supporting the state’s farms not only helps perpetuate a tradition centuries old, but will provide desperately needed jobs, the Democratic-endorsed candidate for governor said Wednesday at one of the state’s premier farms.

Dan Malloy, along with running-mate Nancy Wyman, made a morning stop at Jones Valley Farm, where they sampled the blueberry crop while discussing the state of the state’s agriculture trade with local officials.

Growing up, once a year he and his siblings made the trek to his uncle’s West Hartland farm to pick blueberries, Malloy said, a memory he cherishes.

“When the call came in, our parents would load up the wagon and we would be pressed into berry-picking service,” he said. “Farming is part of our history and one thing that makes our state great.”

As governor, it would be high on his list of priorities, he said.

“We are talking about making it easier to consume Connecticut-grown produce in this state,” he told a small contingent of local officials, including Alderman Jack Finn and farm owners Terry and Jamie Jones.

This summer the 400-acre farm is employing upwards of 40 people, Jamie Jones said, and every year that number increases.

“This year for the first time we have third generations coming back,” Terry Jones said.

As governor, he would work to make it easier for farmers to sell their crops, Malloy said, by expanding farmer’s markets to places such as highway rest stops and train stations, and instituting a state portable food service license for vendors at farmer’s markets.

Currently vendors must obtain local permits to sell at the markets.

“We want to develop a state-wide permit for sellers of food so that each jurisdiction doesn’t have too much control,” he said. “We don’t want to override local control but this supersedes it because it is a state-wide interest.”

He also have a vision that would link the farmer’s markets with the state’s bed and breakfast industry, Malloy said.

“I’m intrigued at the concept of making bed and breakfast’s closer tied to the farming industry. I think that is something to look at in the longer term.”

He will continue to pursue the purchase and preservation of open space, continuing to secure at least 2,000 acres a year, he said.

Shelton has been a leader in that area, Terry Jones said, thanks to the cooperation of local leaders from both parties.

“When land conservation is on the table, it has to be a bipartisan effort,” said Jones, a former Conservation Commission chairman.

Now is the time to act, Malloy said, because if steps aren’t taken not to ensure farms not only survive but thrive, they will disappear.

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