Farmland is being preserved at a quickening pace in Middlesex County, and that’s a good thing considering the rate at which farms are sold to developers for housing.
A recent update by those involved with the state Farmland Preservation Program shows that the county is acting fast to keep its farms away from builders. In fact, it is more than doubling its inventory of farms in the program. While 24 farms have been officially entered into the program, another 25 are in various stages of the approval process and are all likely to be added to the list within the next year and a half.
While it will never catch up with more rural areas of the state — where land values are far less and it is cheaper for the government to buy the easements — Middlesex County is close on the heels of some of its more heavily farmed neighbors. So far, Monmouth County has 64 farms preserved, while Mercer County has 56 farms and Somerset County has 39.
It’s a terrific program for both the farm owner and the community as a whole. The farmer is given a certain amount of money — in Middlesex County the per-acre price given to farmers in the past has averaged about $7,400 — in exchange for the development rights to the property, which he can continue to farm. The town still collects taxes on the land and residents can take comfort in knowing they won’t ever see houses spring up on the farm.
While most of the farms being preserved in Middlesex County are located in its rural southwestern corner, namely in Plainsboro and Cranbury, more and more farms are being picked up in towns such as Monroe, East Brunswick, South Brunswick and other communities.
Even Old Bridge, with some 60,000 residents surrounding the major state highways that traverse the town, will soon see its second and third farms entered into the program.
Farmland preservation is a preferred alternative to any type of development. Here’s to hoping that more local farmers and their respective governments recognize its benefits and take full advantage of it.