CT Agricultural Extension Service: Connecting to Farms, Gardens, and Communities
The Connecticut Agricultural Extension Service serves as a network, linking the University of Connecticut Department of Agriculture, Environmental Sciences and Natural Resources with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Stations and County Co-operative Extension Centers to our farms, gardens, and communities.
Bonnie Burr, who serves as the department head & assistant director of the UConn Extension Service, coordinates and ties these statewide services together. The Extension Service additionally shares resources with the FDA and other federal agencies, as well as 40 other states.
The mission of the Extension Service is to advance and share agricultural knowledge, improve farm viability by introducing and supporting sustainable practices, and foster community engagement. The Litchfield County office reaches out to our communities, constantly working with us to improve food production, handling, preservation, storage, and marketing—initially reaching out to our farms, assisting them to best use their resources to enhance their yield, their income, and their livelihood.
Soil analysis helps our farmers and gardeners determine nutrients, select crops best adapted to their soils and climate, minimize fertilization costs, reduce pesticides and chemical pollutants, and improve water quality. The Agricultural Extension Service offers soil analysis, water testing, plant, and veterinary diagnoses. Studies are done both at the university and at the Agricultural Experiment Stations to address and remedy agricultural concerns.
Connecticut established its Agricultural Experiment Station in 1875, as the first in our nation. Here they examine plant and animal tissue from garden, farm, forest, and waterways. They record and track this data, searching out solutions for ongoing problems. Over time, they have introduced healthier, disease- and pest-resistant varieties of fruits and vegetables.
In 1901 the office of Entomology was added to check crop damage. Today they test and track mosquitos, ticks, bedbugs, and other insects carrying bloodborne pathogens, like Lyme disease, West Nile virus, and Eastern Equine Encephalitis.
They also monitor and control invasive, destructive insects like the Asian long-horned beetle and the emerald ash borer. They provide diagnostic services for insect damage and plant diseases.
They have also created a registry for apiaries and their hives. They continue to monitor the health of our honeybees, studying the effects of pesticides and pollutants.
In 1913, the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station was first to discover and isolate vitamin D, opening the door to further recognition of the various vitamins we see and use today as supplements and in the production of enriched foods.
Experiment Stations have expanded to several locations and specialties throughout Connecticut. They have developed the first organic pesticides. Through the use of gas chromatography in the ’60s, they learned to measure and track toxic pesticide and pollutant levels in plant matter and in produce. Currently they additionally monitor these pollutants, in ponds, lakes, and waterways.
They have helped control the spread of Dutch elm disease in 1946 and the Chestnut Blight of 1973. Since, they have looked toward forest management. CAES estimated Connecticut is about 60% forested, despite the population density of its cities and suburbs.
In 1989 CAES found a fungus that would wipe out the gypsy moth infestation then devastating our woodlands. They continue to monitor and manage the health of our forests.
CAES studies have shifted to include wildlife, observing behaviors of deer and bear, in hopes of keeping their growing numbers off our roadways and away from our crops.
In 2010 Gov. Jodi Rell signed legislation allowing Experiment Stations to protect their patents, licensing agreements, trademarks, or equipment, reinvesting any income to fund future research.
While our county extension service may redirect some of our inquiries toward the university or an experiment station, it remains eager to disseminate information, educate, and train youngsters, introducing tower projects (based on the STEM science program) to grade schools, guiding local 4H chapters, and assisting the students who run our Goshen 4H Fair.
They’ve partnered with Arethusa to run a summer day camp at their farm in Bantam this summer. They also work at the high school level with Future Farmers and Vo-Ag programs, providing lecturers, workshops, and guidance for individual projects.
In mid-January Litchfield County Extension began its Master Gardener Certification course — 100 hours of online and classroom education and 60 hours of hands-on training and community service – ending in October. Once certified, Master Gardeners may be added to the list of speakers and specialists available to schools, libraries and community centers, garden clubs, senior centers, and civic groups.
Our Extension Service continues to offer courses on a variety of horticultural topics, from designing sustainable landscaping to urban farming. It also continues to maintain a Resource Library: a reservoir of agricultural information from state and federal sources available to all of us.
Community outreach and education is key to sustaining our lands, providing and marketing more nutritious locally grown meats and produce. Strengthening our farms gains us all a little more independence in the open market.
For further information on programs, training, registration, and resources at the Litchfield County Extension Service, contact Christine Smith at 860-626-6240.
