A trio of local farms is the first to go into a new state preservation program aimed at saving large blocks of land.
By: Frank C. D’Amico
A trio of local farms is the first to go into a new state preservation program aimed at saving large blocks of land.
The contiguous farmland, which totals 239 acres and spans the Millstone-Roosevelt border, has been preserved using a "planning incentive grant" from the State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC). The parcel is located off the intersection of Nurko and Windsor roads.
The Millstone-Roosevelt project received approximately $1.8 million in the form of two state grants. A state press release said the program is designed "to make it easier for counties and municipalities to preserve large blocks of farmland."
Rather than applying to preserve farms individually, municipalities or counties target areas containing several farms. The state developed the program as alternative to farmland preservation and Green Acres open space preservation programs.
The SADC evaluates each application with the following factors in mind: soil quality, percentage of tillable acres, bordering farms and open space, local commitment to agriculture, size of the farm, agricultural density of the area and threat of development.
Payment for the development rights to farmland is done through an appraisal process.
To date, the SADC has received 43 applications to preserve 856 farms totaling 50,000 acres. Nine are sponsored by counties and 34 are from municipalities.