Date: Fri 29-Aug-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

agriculture-disabled-vets

Full Text:

Farming Venture At Fairfield Hills Will Bring Disabled Vets To The Land

(with cuts)

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

Joseph Dippel looks across an expanse of prime bottomland rich with Agawam

fine sandy loam at Fairfield Hills.

The broad field lying northwest of Wildlife Road and west of the Pootatuck

River holds some of the best alluvial farmland soils in the state.

The state formerly farmed the land to supply meat, produce and dairy products

for the residents of Fairfield Hills Hospital, the sprawling state mental

institution which closed in 1995.

For more than a decade, the farmland primarily has been used by private

growers to produce hay, a wintertime fodder for their livestock.

"This is one of the last large open space parcels in Fairfield County," Mr

Dippel said. He is in charge of the state Department of Agriculture's (DOAg)

farmland preservation program.

Although most recently used to grow grass, alfalfa and clover, "When properly

(maintained) you can grow any crop on that land," he said.

The fields were once beneath an ancient lake created during the last glacial

period. When the lake evolved into meadows, rich sediments suitable for

agriculture were left behind. Bottomland soils are much more fertile than the

common upland soils of New England.

To preserve the agriculturally valuable property, the state legislature has

designated approximately 200 acres at Fairfield Hills as protected land

overseen by the agriculture department.

To keep the farmland in production, the DOAg last spring solicited bids from

farmers and growers interested in working 125 prime acres of the property.

VetCAP

One of three groups which have gained DOAg approval to farm the land is the

Veterans Claims Assistance Program, a private, non-profit organization that

helps military veterans obtain benefits from the federal government.

The group, known as VetCAP, plans to construct four greenhouses linked to a

head house on five acres just northwest of Wildlife Road.

Disabled veterans and other disabled people will grow the organic tomatoes and

other vegetables which are required by people who have Multiple Chemical

Sensitivity (MCS), a malady in which past exposure to toxins causes a person's

immune system to malfunction. Some veterans who took part in the Persian Gulf

War have MCS syndrome.

Chemicals which are used in conventional food production are injurious to MCS

patients.

DOAg Commissioner Shirley Ferris said the plastic dual-membrane greenhouses

will be constructed on metal frames. The DOAg is exploring how water and

electricity will be provided to the greenhouses.

The year-round greenhouse operation will cover about three-quarters of an

acre, explained Manuel Machado, Jr, VetCAP president. Other land on the

five-acre site will be used for mulch cropping and composting.

VetCAP will be charged $1 per year for five years by the state for the use of

the five acres.

Mr Machado said VetCAP is working with a doctor who treats people with MCS for

technical advice on growing the organic crops. The doctor will serve as

VetCAP's agent in distributing the organic produce.

Mr Ferris said the federal government is expected to soon publish standards

for organically-grown foods.

VetCAP will be operating near other farmers who practice conventional

agriculture, including the use of pesticides.

"As long as we can communicate, we'll be fine," Mr Machado said of VetCAP's

need to know the conventional farmers' schedules for applying chemicals and

pesticides to their crops.

Those farmers will be growing hay, fruit and vegetables on 108 acres near the

VetCAP greenhouses.

Those farmers are Randy Vaszauskas of Southbury and Jon Audietis of Oxford,

who will jointly farm 100 acres, and Bernard Dzielinski of Ridgefield who will

farm eight acres.

The Governor's Horse Guard, Company 2, won't be affected by the agricultural

uses of the property near its facilities at Fairfield Hills, Mrs Ferris said.

The greenhouses will be designed to allow people in wheelchairs to work on the

crops. Soil in the greenhouses will be mounded high enough to let wheelchair

users work directly on crops while the plants remain in the ground.

Some plants will be hydroponically grown, Mr Machado said. In hydroponic

growing, plants are produced in nutrient-rich solutions or moist inert

materials instead of soil.

With heated greenhouses, VetCAP's work therapy program will be able to produce

tomatoes 47 out of the 52 weeks of the year, he said.

The greenhouses' air pressure will be higher than outdoor air pressure to

create a pressure seal and prevent contaminants from entering the buildings,

Mr Machado said. Access to the greenhouse complex will be through an airlock.

Mr Machado said he hopes an arrangement can be worked out with the Governor's

Horse Guard to allow VetCAP to use horse manure in its compost production.

The veterans group hopes to begin greenhouse construction as soon as November.

The various farming and growing operations at Fairfield Hills will meet

standards set by the National Resource Conservation Service, Mr Dippel said.

The farming to be done on the 125 acres will seek to minimize soil erosion and

to maintain or improve soil productivity, as well as protect water quality.

Rotational cropping will be used.