Mannington, Salem County Farm Preserved (2000th Farm)

By Phil Dunn


MANNINGTON TWP. — A milestone in farmland preservation was announced here Friday as officials from all over the state gathered to ceremonially celebrate the 2,000th preserved farm in New Jersey.

The 102-acre farm, owned by Mannington Township Committeeman and retired farmer Ernest Tark Jr., was among the recent preservation projects that helped the New Jersey farmland preservation program reach the mark of 2,000 farms.

The State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC) preserved Tark’s class-one farm on Quaker Neck Road in December.

The development rights were bought by the SADC from Tark for $715,000.


“Salem County is no stranger to farmland preservation,” said Tark. “It’s my belief that class-one farms should never be developed. It doesn’t matter if it’s houses or solar panels.” 

Tark thanked the SADC and recognized that even though he is retired, he and his sister, Maxine Rauch, who are co-owners of the farm, have plans to sell the land to local farmer Frank Battiato.

A third-generation vegetable and grain farmer, Battiato currently farms 400 acres in Mannington and Carneys Point townships.

He spoke to how important preservation is for the future of farming.

“Farmland preservation is really important. It allows the next generation to come along and expand their operation at an affordable rate,” said Battiato. “I’m really proud that Ernie is selling this ground to me, and I plan to farm this for a long time and maybe some day pass it on to my kids.”

Freeholder Director Lee Ware, also a farmer, was overjoyed that three of Salem County’s municipalities were top 10 in farmland preservation in the state this year.

Upper Pittsgrove, Mannington, and Pilesgrove have preserved 7,500, 5,600, and 4,700 acres of farmland, respectively.

“Salem County is truly the garden spot of the Garden State,” said Ware.

New Jersey Agriculture Secretary Doug Fisher applauded all those involved in making this 2,000th preserved farm a reality.

“This achievement would not have been possible without the strong partnership efforts at all levels of government, by the non-profit community and by the scores of landowners who made the commitment to preservation,” said Fisher. “While our work is far from over, the preservation of 2,000 farms is a major step toward ensuring that we will continue to have abundant opportunities to buy the freshest food and other farm products.”

Michele Byers, executive director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, said she found a sincere warmth in Salem County. She said she is happy to report that Salem County is number one in the state for farmland preservation with more than 28,000 acres preserved.

“New Jersey Conservation Foundation is thrilled to have assisted in the preservation of this landmark,” said Byers. “The preservation of the 2,000th farm underscores New Jersey’s continued role as a national leader in farmland preservation.”

The SADC preserved its first farms in 1985. 

To date, approximately 190,000 acres of farmland have been permanently preserved under the program in 18 counties.

Carneys Point, Salem County Farms Preserved

By Michael Williams


CARNEYS POINT TWP. — The South Jersey Land and Water Trust finalized the preservation of two farms here Monday, with the presentation of a $17,000 check to reimburse the township for costs associated with the project.

The 78.2-acre Yetneck Farm is located along North Pennsville-Auburn Road, with the 59.29-acre DiGregorio Farm located adjacent. Both are now officially preserved — which means they are protected from development and will remain as farmland in future generations — and have joined 28,000 acres worth of preserved land across Salem County.

“This preservation is important because it helps to keep working farms in this area,” said Christina Nolan, executive director for the SJLWT. “Its important to other surrounding farms, and helps to create a farming area.”

Nolan explained that farmland preservation works best with concentrated areas of preserved land. Preserving these two farms paves the way for more farms to seek preservation in the Carneys Point area, she said.

In 2005, the County Agricultural Development Area was expanded into Carneys Point, enabling farms within the expanded ADA to qualify for preservation funding.

In 2008, the SJLWT received a grant from the State Agricultural Development Committee to cover 50-percent of the costs to preserve the Yetneck and the DiGregorio farms. The Federal Farms and Ranchland Protection Program granted the other 50-percent.

Carneys Point Township stepped into the project to cover soft costs — such as appraisals, survey work, and title work — with funds set aside for preservation.

On Monday, the township was presented with a check to reimburse a portion of the invested funds.

“It’s important for us to keep Carneys Point a rural community,” said Committeeman Joseph Racite, who accepted the check on behalf of the township. “We had enough funds in place to cover the soft costs of the preservation, and now a portion of those funds have been returned back to us. It will go right back toward our funds for preserving farmland.”

SJLWT also worked with the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, State Agricultural Development Committee, and the Natural Resources Conservation Services to preserve the farms.

“We need to support and maintain our agricultural communities, as it is a strong component of Salem County and of Carneys Point,” said Janet Eisenhauer, project manager with Conservation Foundation. “It’s important to support farming in this locale, and the best way to do that is to support our farms.”

The owners of the newly preserved farms were excited to complete the project, and were happy to know their farms would pass from generation to generation.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted,” said Rosemary Yetneck, owner of the Yetneck farm with her husband Walter. 

“It’s so important for the farm to continue on,” she said. “This is great, it’s just great.”

Sam DiGregorio agreed, and said that he’d like to see farmland continue to remain available for the future of the township
“I’d like to see farmland continue to be here for future generations, and it’s a little part of our county’s history,” he said. “I’m really excited about it.”

Senate President Stephen Sweeney, and Assembly members John Burzichelli and Celeste Riley also praised the farms’ preservation in statement released Monday.

“This program has been vital in helping us maintain our reputation as the Garden State,” said assemblywoman Riley, who attended Monday’s presentation. “It’s great to see so many entities working together to boost the farming industry to benefit both the farming industry and local residents.”

Four Farms Preserved in Cumberland County

By Lauren T. Taniguchi/The News of Cumberland County 


Four privately owned farms totaling 171 acres in the county were recently preserved by a partnership between Cumberland County, New Jersey Conservation Foundation, the State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Cumberland County purchased the development rights on the four farms, which will continue to be privately owned. The farms are: the 70.7-acre Jones farm on Ye Greate Street in Greenwich Township, the 45-acre Newton farm on Old Mill Road in Greenwich Township, the 38-acre Garton farm on Northville Road in Upper Deerfield Township and the 17-acre Kacewich farm on Drunken Bridge and Stow Creek roads in Stow Creek Township.

Through this preservation, the owners have agreed to keep them in agriculture forever, according to a New Jersey Conservation Foundation media release distributed Wednesday.

“We’re very pleased to help Cumberland County preserve these farms, which will maintain the area’s rural, agricultural and scenic character,” said Greg Romano, assistant director of New Jersey Conservation Foundation and head of its land preservation program.

The farmland easement on the Jones farm was purchased for $274,000; the Newton farm easement for $195,850; the Garton farm easement for $195,202 and the Kacewich farm easement for $135,704, totaling $800,576 paid by Cumberland County for farmland easements on the four farms. 

These costs were offset by a $358,389 contribution from New Jersey Conservation Foundation and a $100,065 SADC contribution. The county expects to be reimbursed for the balance of its contribution when more state funds become available.

“We’re glad to have that (federal) money to help preserve farms, especially in the wake of New Jersey not freeing up any bond money yet,” said Cumberland County Freeholder Tom Sheppard, referring to the $400-million bond referendum that was approved by voters in November 2009.

The farmland easements were purchased using part of New Jersey Conservation Foundation’s federal Farm and Ranch Lands Preservation Program (FRPP) grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. The FRPP funds were matched by Cumberland County farmland preservation funds for the easement on the Newton, Jones and Kacewich farms and by SADC funds for the easement on the Garton farm.

“The goal of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmland Protection Program is to protect the long-term production capacity of our state’s prime agricultural lands,” said Janice Reid, assistant state conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. “We are especially pleased to help preserve these four farms, which encompass some of the best soils in Cumberland County.”

181 Acres Preserved in Sussex County

N.J. Conservation Foundation, county and federal governments buy land

BY TOM HESTER SR.

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Another 181 acres of the Springhouse dairy farm in Fredon, Sussex County have been preserved as farmland at a cost of $1.02 million through the combined effort of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, the Sussex County government and the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service.

One hundred acres of the farm owned by Pete and Marilyn Southway on Phil Hardin Road have already been preserved. The Southways make artisanal cheeses on the farm.

The newly preserved portion of the farm consists of rolling fields and wooded and scrub wetlands with the Bear Brook, a tributary of the Pequest River, running through it. The farm is adjacent to other preserved farmland and is near the state’s Whittingham Wildlife Management Area.

“Our customers really enjoy knowing that I mowed the fields, milked the cows, poured the milk into a cheese vat, made the cheese, and then cut it into slices for them,” Pete Southway said Tuesday. “People identify with a physical place that they can see, touch and feel.

“We really love the land, the open space,” Southway added. “To see it someday get developed is something we didn’t want to do.”

“We were very pleased to help permanently preserve this farm, and to protect the rural and agricultural character of Sussex County,” Greg Romano, Conservation Foundation assistant director and head of the organization’s land preservation program, said.

Southway said he and his wife became interested in preserving the farm while planning for the estate they will leave to their six children, who range in age from 9 to 27. They subdivided the 330-acre farm into six parcels of 40 to 50 acres each. Two of the lots had already been preserved by a previous owner.

The Southways sold the development rights for the 181 acres acres for the $1.02 million. The remaining 30 acres, including a greenhouse that sells flowers and vegetable seedlings to garden centers, was not part of the preservation project.

A native of North Haledon, Pete Southway said he was always interested in learning about growing crops and raising animals. He and his wife bought the first section of their farm in 1994, while he was working as a commercial banker; they later expanded it when adjacent preserved lands came onto the market.

The Southways now keep 50 Jersey and Guernsey cows, whose milk is used to make a semi-firm farmers cheese that is flavored with herbs, vegetables and dried fruits. They make batches of cheese once or twice a week and sell it at their stand, the county farmers market, and in local stores.

They also grow crops like corn, alfalfa, hay and oat. They sometimes use draft horses to plow the fields and spread manure the old-fashioned way. “It’s slower but quieter,” Southway said. “A lot of our farm equipment is adapted so we can use it with a horse or a tractor.” The greenhouse rounds out the farming operation.

The Conservation Foundation is a private, member-supported nonprofit that preserves land and natural resources throughout New Jersey. Since 1960, it has protected more than 120,000 acres of open space – from the Highlands to the Pine Barrens to the Delaware Bayshore, from farms to forests to urban and suburban parks.

Stockton Property Preserved in Hunterdon County

15.5 acres overlooking Delaware River saved at a cost of $554,000

A 15.5-acre property along the Delaware River bluffs in Hunterdon County that could have become four building lots has instead been preserved as permanent open space, the New Jersey Conservation Foundation announced Monday.

Using a combination of grants and donations, the Foundation and the New Jersey Water Supply Authority purchased the property near the intersection of Route 29 and Worman Road in Stockton for $554,000.

The property is located behind the historic John Prall house, a circa 1795 stone building on Route 29 that is owned by the Foundation and used as a regional office.

The acquisition expands the Wickecheoke Creek Preserve, a green belt of preserved open space and farmland along the stream for which it is named, and will allow connections to be made between existing public hiking trails.

“We’re thrilled to be able to add this beautiful property to the Wickecheoke Creek Preserve,” Michele S. Byers, Foundation director, said. “It had preliminary approval for four building lots, so it could have very easily been developed. We’re very grateful to our partners and donors for making this acquisition possible.”

Funding for the property’s purchase and stewardship came from the Water Supply Authority ($262,250), the state Green Acres program ($131,125), the Hunterdon County Open Space Trust Fund ($100,860), and substantial private donations from nearby residents Dr. David and Karen L. Holmes and Suzanne Perrault and David Rago.

“The authority is pleased to help preserve this parcel using funds provided by its water customers and financing through the NJ Environmental Infrastructure Financing Program,” Henry Patterson, the agency’s director, said. “Protection of this property will contribute to the health of the D&R Canal, a drinking water source for more than one million central New Jersey residents.”

"The New Jersey Conservation Foundation is to be congratulated for its foresight and longstanding efforts in creating the Wickecheoke Creek Preserve. This particular parcel is very unique, with a fabulous overlook of the old quarry pond," Pam Thier, Green Acres program development specialist, said.

“This property is a major save in a small community like Stockton,” Hunterdon Freeholder Ron Sworen said. “It is a great use of our Open Space Trust Funds.

The Foundation is a private, member-supported nonprofit that preserves land and natural resources throughout New Jersey. Since 1960, it has protected more than 120,000 acres of open space.

— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Two Farms Preserved in Cranbury Township, Middlesex County

By Christopher Sacco, eastwindsor.patch.com

Two Cranbury Township farms have entered the Middlesex County Farmland Preservation Program, the county has announced. Sallie Toscano’s 43-acre Rejay Farm and the Lum family’s 48-acre vegetable farm have joined 31 other Cranbury locations previously preserved by the county and township. All told, 2,600 acres of farmland have been preserved in Cranbury thus far.

The county’s program, which to date has preserved 67 farms, organizes the purchase of easements on the land it plans to preserve. Typically, the state pays 60 percent of this amount and the county and municipality contribute 20 percent each. Rejay Farm’s development easement cost approximately $1.3 million, while the permanent agricultural easement on the Lum property cost $898,000. Cranbury contributed $263,000 and $180,000, respectively.

Committeeman Dan Mulligan said he sees participation in the preservation program as not only environmentally sound, but also fiscally responsible for the township.

“Middlesex County's land preservation program is extremely important to Cranbury Township as it is one of the key benefits we receive from the county taxes we pay as residents,” he said. “Overall, land preservation provides multiple benefits to the residents of Cranbury Township as we not only benefit from land that is preserved for agriculture as well as open space.”

The township has eight more locations targeted for preservation, which would add 600 more acres to its preserved land total. The county hasn’t decided if Cranbury will be selected for further preservation and other municipalities are also being considered. Farms located in Monroe and South Brunswick are expected to join to the program over the next several years.

With the addition of the most recent Cranbury farms, more than 5,000 acres of farmland have been preserved throughout the county. This figure includes preservation easements purchased through the preservation program funds as well as purchases made directly by New Jersey, Middlesex’s municipalities, non-profit organizations and donated land.

Middlesex County Freeholder Charles E. Tomaro, liaison to the Middlesex County Agricultural Development Board, said he's pleased that these two farms are joining the program.

“This is great news, and I want to thank our partners at the state and the township and especially Sallie Toscano and the Lum family for helping us preserve Middlesex County’s agricultural heritage,” Tomaro said.

Rejay’s Farm Stand, located along Plainsboro Road, offers organic eggs, naturally grown herbs, vegetables, cut flowers and fresh honey. The Lum farm allows visitors to pick their own vegetables from June to September and also operates a seasonal Asian vegetable and fruit stand from June to October. The Lum property lies on John White Road.

According to the freeholders, the Middlesex County Farmland Preservation Program will continue work to “maintain the county’s high quality of life.”

“We have saved forever more than 12,000 acres of open space and farmland and are actively pursuing more acres so that these precious lands can be enjoyed now and in the future,” said Freeholder Director Christopher D. Rafano.

A list of all preserved farms in New Jersey as of 2010 can be found here.

88 Acres Preserved in Warren County

FRANKLIN TWP. — An 88-acre township farm is adding to the more than 20,000 acres of farmland preserved in Warren County.

The Land Conservancy of New Jersey recently announced that the Santini Farm has been preserved. Owned by Santino and Clara Santini, this farm is “part of a rich agricultural farm-belt near Warren County’s southern border with Hunterdon County,” states a release from Land Conservancy of New Jersey. “The Santini Farm is located within the Pohatcong Ridge Project Area identified in the township’s Comprehensive Farmland Preservation Plan completed by Township and The Land Conservancy of New Jersey in 2008. By preserving this farm, the rural character of the area will be maintained and protected.”

The Land Conservancy of New Jersey and Warren County Freeholders purchased the development rights of the property. The Land Conservancy’s funding for this project came from the Garden State Preservation Trust via the State Agricultural Development Committee (SADC) non-profit grant program. These funds were matched by Warren County for a total purchase price of $564,768. Warren County’s contribution was approved by the County Agricultural Development Board.

This acquisition is the latest in a series of closings that The Land Conservancy has completed in Warren County. The Conservancy has spent over $1 million in helping to preserve six different farms in Warren County since 2005. “The Land Conservancy is delighted to continue our partnership with the Freeholder Board to preserve critical farms that preserve an important but threatened way of life in Warren County,” said conservancy President David Epstein. “We thank the Township of Franklin, the Warren County Board of Chosen Freeholders, and the State Agriculture Development Committee for their contributions and interest in preserving this beautiful land.”

The Land Conservancy of New Jersey is celebrating its 30th anniversary as a non profit member supported organization dedicated to preserving and protecting New Jersey’s vital natural lands and drinking water resources. To date, the conservancy has helped preserve over 17,600 acres of open space lands and helped towns receive more than $210 million for their land conservation projects.