By jamie dougher
Staff Writer
PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT John Gasko Jr. (l) fertilizes cabbage plants at his farm on Federal Road in Monroe. At right, a field of corn reaches higher under the summer sun on the Gasko farm.
MONROE — More local farmland will remain intact thanks to its expected acceptance into the state Farmland Preservation Program.
John Gasko and Son Greenhouses, at 111 and 113 Federal Road, encompasses about 43 acres of land, with John Gasko owning about 35 and his son, John Jr., laying claim to about 7.
The Farmland Preservation Program allows landowners to sell their property development rights, also known as easements, to the government to ensure the land is preserved. The state, county and municipality all share the cost, with the state usually shouldering about 60 percent and the county and township each paying 20 percent.
The farmland in question is being considered for acceptance into the preservation program, a deal that could be finalized in 2004.
In 2001, the government also purchased 126 acres in farmland across the street for approximately $700,000.
John Gasko Jr. said he and his father recently applied to have their acreage preserved in order to eliminate development in the Federal Road area.
"We don’t want to see any more developers coming over here," he said. "They always came around."
He said development has become too far-reaching in many towns, including those outside New Jersey.
JEFF GRANIT Cabbages and kale are fertilized on the Gasko farm.
"Long Island was all potato farms. Now look at it," he said.
The farm has been in existence for about 30 years, John Jr. said, and was started by his grandfather, who passed it down to his son. The family members all lived in the area their entire lives, he said.
"We were all born and raised here," he said.
Gasko said his mother, Evelyn, and wife, Linda, help out on the farm when they can.
He said his family wants to preserve the land and tradition by continuing to farm throughout the years. He will pass the farm along to his son, just as it was passed down by two generations before him.
"We want nothing to do with selling," he said. "Farms are selling left and right. We’re not going to sell it. No, no, no."
Gasko said that adjacent to his farm is a baseball field at James Monroe Park, which is protected by state Green Acres, the program designed to preserve land through the Department of Environmental Protection.
Gasko said the combination of the field and his farmland makes the area a good example of the positive benefits to conserving open space in New Jersey.
Twenty acres of corn were planted this year, but Gasko said the crop did not do as well as usual because of the rainy weather. He said the farm has greenhouses and sells both annual and perennial flowers.
The farm also planted pumpkins and 3 acres of mums for the fall season. It re-opens for business on Sept. 1.