The Van Wagoner farm from the adjacent Arney’s Mount Park in Springfield, Burlington County.
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Those who don't live in New Jersey often base their impressions of our state on their drive through congested roads and bridges in North Jersey on their way to other states.
"Garden State? What gardens?" they joke.
Agriculture is alive in New Jersey, with the top five counties, as measured by acreage in agriculture, in order: Salem, Burlington, Hunterdon, Sussex and Warren. Maybe those out-of-state drivers who navigated the New Jersey Turnpike through Salem and Burlington counties forgot about the lush green by the time they reached the counties in the northeast part of the state.
In 2022 — according to the latest available Census of Agriculture from the U.S. Census Bureau — acreage devoted to farming totaled 711,502, down 17% from 25 years before. Sixty percent of the total NJ acres were in the top five farming counties.
Given the high housing demand and desire by developers to spread warehouses everywhere, is the state's agricultural land in danger? New Jersey has lost nearly a quarter million acres of farmland since 1974.
New Jersey has an active state-sponsored farmland preservation program. So far, the state and local governments have spent nearly $2 billion to permanently preserve land as agriculture. As of April, 252,979 acres and 2,890 farms have been saved under the program.
One of the most aggressive counties preserving agricultural land is Burlington County. Using state, county and other programs, Burlington County has preserved a total of more than 67,000 acres of farmland, according to the county.
The county last week agreed to preserve yet another farm: the 270-acre Van Wagoner family farm in Springfield, Burlington County. A developer wanted to turn the land into housing but was held off in court.
"This farm was on the county's list for preservation for decades," County Commissioner Deputy Director Allison Eckel said in a statement. "It's a beautiful property and we're thrilled to finally be able to take this action to keep the land as agriculture and open space forever."
Read the article on 70and73.com here.
In Cranbury, Gov. Phil Murphy last week got involved in a battle over the Township's push to use eminent domain to take over a 175-year-old local farm for affordable housing.
"Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday announced a potential end to the controversy, saying his administration and the involved parties have reached an agreement to ensure the farm remains under its current ownership while Cranbury leaders look elsewhere to build affordable housing." reporter Nikita Biryukov wrote on Thursday in New Jersey Monitor.
Read the article on New Jersey Monitor here.
Read Gov. Murphy's statement on preserving Cranbury farm here.
