News
When the Paproski family first took the reins at Castle Hill Farm in 1927, they had plenty of farming neighbors. In the nearly 100 years that Castle Hill has been in operation, the surrounding area has lost three quarters of its farmland. In November 2020, Castle Hill became the first farm protected by Connecticut Farmland Trust (CFT) in Fairfield County.
In partnership with the USDA-NRCS and the Town of Newtown, 31 acres of Castle Hill Farm’s best farmland were permanently conserved. The Paproskis have been able to keep their farm viable by diversifying into agritourism. People come from all over the area to pick pumpkins, choose their Christmas trees, and get lost in the farm’s popular corn maze.
While agritourism is becoming an important part of many small farms, it can make preservation more challenging. CFT’s guidance and expertise were essential to preserving Castle Hill Farm…