Southeastern Connecticut's communities are still largely rural and many continue to have economic activities related to agriculture. While the scale of agricultural production is small, it is important to the economy of the region and is critical for providing for the protection of open space and the diversification of the area's fisheries. We recognize the importance of agriculture to our region. Even as a relatively small employer sector, agriculture provides land preservation, and availability of quality local foods to residents.
Some of our regional Agricultural Enterprises are:
With growing demand from consumers for local and organically grown products to feed their families, a number of smaller scale farms are seeing increasing demand for their products including fruits, vegetables, maple syrup, eggs, poultry and grass fed beef.
According to the State of CT, during the next decade, aquaculture is expected to be among the top ten growth industries in the United States. Currently, aquaculture is the nation's fastest growing agricultural business and Connecticut leads the northeast in aquaculture production by virtue of its oyster industry, several producers of which are located in Southeastern CT.