Connecticut

A

Agriculture

There were 4,200 farms in Connecticut in 2005. Of those a minority produced annual income of more than $10,000; most of the rest were sidelines for operators who held other jobs. Farmland covered 145,687 hectares (360,000 acres), of which 48 percent was used to raise crops. Most of the rest was pasture for livestock.

A

1

Livestock and Livestock Products

Sales of livestock and livestock products accounted for 34 percent of the total sales of Connecticut’s farm products in 2004. The production of poultry and eggs is a leading agricultural activity in the state. Eggs and chickens for distribution in the nearby urban markets are produced on specialized poultry farms. Incubators, brooder houses, and other costly equipment are needed for poultry raising, but fertile soils and flat land are not required. Poultry raising is, therefore, well suited to the farms in the Eastern and Western highlands, though it is concentrated in the Eastern highlands. Dairy farming is another leading agricultural activity. Most of the state’s dairy farmers specialize in the production of milk for urban markets. Beef cattle, sheep, and hogs are also raised on Connecticut farms.

A

2

Crops

Sales of greenhouse and nursery products are the leading source of farm income in Connecticut. Hay, sweet corn, and tobacco are the most valuable field crops. Yet tobacco fields occupy only about 1 percent of the cultivated cropland. Tobacco is grown mainly in the Connecticut Valley Lowland. Connecticut Shadegrown, a variety of premium tobacco used for cigar wrappers, is grown under a permanent cover of open-mesh cloth. The cloth, supported several feet above the crop by poles, protects the tobacco from direct sunlight and heavy rains. Other types of tobacco are grown in open fields. Potatoes, hay, and corn are sometimes grown in rotation with tobacco.

Vegetables and fruits are cultivated in the lowlands. Sweet corn is sold directly to markets and consumers rather than processed, and commands a high price because of its freshness. Many other vegetables, raised on farms in the vicinity of the larger cities, are also sold directly to consumers. Apples, grown mainly in the Connecticut Valley Lowland, are the principal fruit crop.

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B

Fisheries

Salmon and shad were once abundant in the rivers of Connecticut, and a variety of other fish and shellfish were once taken from the coastal waters. The annual fish catch declined after the late 19th century, partly because of the increasing water pollution of the rivers and coastal waters. Since the early 1970s Connecticut has successfully followed a program that improved both coastal water quality and shellfish production. Water quality management, habitat improvement, and the seeding of shellfish has revived the industry, and large amounts of coastal waters are leased to private shellfish farmers. The eastern oyster and the hard-shell clam have been the focus of the program, although soft-shell clams and bay oysters have also benefited. The principal fish caught in Connecticut today are bluefish and striped bass. Lobster and oysters are the leading shellfish and provide most of the income from fishing. The value of the fish catch was $33.4 million in 2004.

C

Forestry

Lumbering now plays only a minor role in the state’s economy. During the 18th and 19th centuries, lumber was cut for use in Connecticut’s shipbuilding industry and was also the major fuel used in buildings, lime kilns, and brass mills. Hardwood trees, principally white oak, American basswood, and hop hornbeam, provide most of the cut lumber.

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