South Brunswick farms
List for preservation includes three
South Brunswick farms
By brian donahue
Staff Writer
PHOTOS BY JERRY WOLKOWITZ Three generations of the Von Thun family work on the farm in South Brunswick. Pictured left to right are Tim Von Thun, 10, Robert Jr. and Robert Sr.
Dramatically increasing the rate at which local farms are being enrolled in the state’s Farmland Preservation Program, Middlesex Coun-ty officials have recently announced that nine more farms, totaling 485 acres, will be preserved.
In the 12 years since the first area farm was enrolled in the program in 1990, the development rights to another 21 were purchased through the program, and during the next year officials expect to close on the latest nine, which will bring the total number of Middlesex County farms enrolled in the program to 30.
Through the program, landowners sell their development rights, also known as easements, to the county, which uses state, county and municipal funding in the purchase.
The landowners retain ownership of their land and can continue farming it, but they agree to a permanent deed restriction that allows only agricultural uses on the property.
The 72-acre Von Thun Farm on Ridge Road, South Brunswick, is one of nine approved by Middlesex County for farmland preservation. Final approval by the state is expected next month.
The nine most recent farms include one in East Brunswick — a 48-acre farm on Fresh Ponds Road owned by William J. Warren III.
The development rights were purchased for $1.68 million, including $1,008,000 from the state; $352,800 from the county; and $319,200 from the township of East Brunswick.
Two of the farms are located in Monroe.
These include a 29-acre Schoolhouse Road farm owned by Warren R. Barnes, whose rights were purchased for $1,329,650 — and the 44-acre Kovacs Estate farm on Federal Road, which cost $374,000.
Von Thun farm employee Shannon Fiorentino crates peaches at the South Brunswick farm on Ridge Road
A 12-acre farm on Cottrell Road in Old Bridge, owned by Ann Miller, was entered into the program for $250,000.
The largest of the nine farms are the 130-acre Simonson farm and the 87-acre Barclay farm, both in Cranbury, and the 72-acre farm owned by Robert C. Von Thun on Ridge Road in South Brunswick.
The Von Thun property was enrolled in the program for $3,549,600 — the highest costing easement among the nine.
Two other South Brunswick properties, the 53-acre Seven Kay Associates farm on Dey Road and the 10-acre Ippoliti farm on Davidson Mill Road, were the other two farms entered into the preservation program.
"This was the biggest year," said William J. Kruse, the county’s assistant planning director, referring to the farms rounded up and approved by both the state and the County Agricultural Development Board (CADB).
During most of the 1990s, he noted, the county added between zero and four farms per year to the state’s program.
The increasing number of farms enrolled, he said, "could possibly continue, but that depends on the landowners."
The program is designed to preserve farmland by giving farmers an alternative to selling their land to a developer.
"The farmers who enroll have an interest in maintaining their farm as part of their lifestyle, and they feel their family has a sufficient interest in long-term farming," he said.
Robert Von Thun Jr., who owns one of the South Brunswick farms being enrolled, said his family started the application process two years ago.
"We want to keep the farm as it is," he said this week.
The family operates a crop farm and a market.
He said the closing on the sale is scheduled for next month.
In order to enroll in the program, landowners apply to the county CADB, which reviews the applications for screening and forwarding to the State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC).
The SADC prioritizes applications from around the state through a ranking system that assigns points for factors, including soil quality; percentage of tillable acres; suitable boundaries and buffers, such as other nearby farms and open space; the local commitment to agriculture; the size of the farm and agricultural density of the area; and the imminence of development.
To determine the cost of the development rights, the farms are appraised by two independent appraisers and an appraiser from the SADC.
Middlesex County had 12 farms entered into the application process for this latest round of enrollment, Kruse said, but two of the farm owners did not accept the purchase offer, and a third did not receive state approval.
Kruse said all nine properties in the latest round are actively farmed, and that most of them are farmed for crops.
"This is the greatest number of farms the CADB has approved in one year, and reflects the outreach efforts of the board and staff and the interest in the program by municipalities in the county," said CADB Chairman Peter Cantu, who is also the mayor of Plainsboro.
County officials also announced recently that they have closed on the easement purchase for the Lantier family farm on Dey Grove Road in Monroe and Manalapan.
The farm, which contains fields of evergreen/Christmas trees, has 54 acres in Monroe and 23 acres in Manalapan.
"We are pleased that this land will remain as farmland forever," said Freeholder Camille Fernicola, liaison to the CADB.
"We deeply appreciate the participation of the Lantier family and other farmers in preserving this important resource. We are constantly willing to work with farmers to relieve the development pressure so that they can continue their livelihood."
The farm easement was purchased for $439,245, of which 66 percent was funded by the state and the rest by the county and the township of Monroe.
Previously, the Jamesburg Training School farm in Monroe was also entered into the preservation program.