Avon Council Approves Fisher Farm Lease

The Avon Town Council approved the Avon side of the Fisher Farm lease last Thursday and authorized the town manager to enter into a lease agreement with the new tenants. 

The three-year lease covers 160 acres of land in Avon, including 47 "tillable" acres where crops can be grown, Town Council Chairman Mark Zacchio wrote in an email to Patch. 

Roger and Isabelle Phillips of Hartford are scheduled to move into the farmhouse on the Farmington portion of the property in January, according to Farmington Town Manager Kathy Eagen.

Town Manager Brandon Robertson said that the new tenants will pay $1 a year for the Fisher Farm lease and donate 1 percent "of the crop yield" to local non-profits and schools. 

The organic farmers spoke at the annual Avon Land Trust meeting on Friday, Nov. 15 at the Avon Free Public Library about their experience "managing community farms and their belief in the importance of sustainable agriculture," the history of the farm and their plans for it in the future, according to a notice from the town.

The town of Farmington is in the process of renovating the house to bring it up to code. Former tenant Ron Simmons' contractor recently harvested the cornfields and cleared them.