Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan Gives Hopeful Keynote Address at Connecticut Farmland Conference

Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro’s inspiring introduction of Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Kathleen Merrigan, highlighted her many accomplishments on behalf of agriculture and gave attendees at our conference in New Haven last month a sense of the Deputy Secretary’s commitment to local farms and food.

The Deputy Secretary discussed the importance of farmland protection and focused her address on the USDA’s “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative.

She described this as an effort to create new economic opportunities by better connecting consumers with local farmers. It is also a national conversation about the importance of understanding where your food comes from and how it gets to your plate.

Connecticut Department of Agriculture Commissioner Philip Prelli, Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan, Jiff Martin (AFT), and Ben Bowell (AFT)

Afterwards, American Farmland Trust’s New England Director Cris Coffin referred to Secretary Merrigan and Congresswoman DeLauro as arguably the two most important women involved in agriculture in the U.S. today– prompting a big round of applause from the audience of over 150 farmers, conservationists, anti-hunger advocates, chefs, planners, students, and locavores.

The conference—Plowing Ahead: Farmland Preservation in 2010 and Beyond—held on March 27^th at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in New Haven and hosted by the Working Lands Alliance (a project of AFT), gathered important state and federal leaders in agriculture and farmland preservation programs.

Click here for conference materials and presentations.

Attendees enjoyed delicious Connecticut-Grown meals including morning treats prepared by The Harvest Kitchen at Jones Family Farms, a “Windsor Soils Cake” by Kip Kolesinskas, and “Farmland Crunch” ice cream by The Farmer’s Cow.

We would like to extend a big ‘thank you’ to everyone who participated and look forward to a very productive year.

About the Author: Jiff Martin is the Working Lands Alliance Project Director and Connecticut State Director for American Farmland Trust.