BY CHARLES W. KIM
Staff Writer
A horse farm in South Brunswick will remain a farm, forever. The 10.763-acre Ippoliti farm on Davidson’s Mill Road has been purchased through the Middlesex County Farmland Preservation Program.
"We are the ones that encourage farmers to put farms into the program," Mayor Frank Gambatese said Wednesday.
The $180,400 cost for the farm was shared by the state, county and township, according to a press release from the county freeholders. South Brunswick paid $34,576, the county paid $37,583, and the remaining $108,240 was paid by the state, according to the release.
The program allows farmers to sell their non-agricultural development rights to their land in return for an agricultural preservation easement on the property so that it may not be sold for residential or commercial developers.
The purchase closed on Feb. 24 and brings the total amount of land in the program to 3,389.073 acres in the county.
The program in Middlesex County is voluntary, and farmers must submit an application to see if their land meets the criteria of the Middlesex County Agricultural Development Board and the state Agricultural Development Committee. The application deadline for this year is March 31.
"Farmland is such a precious commodity. Preserving this farm helps preserve a part of New Jersey’s history and legacy," Freeholder Camille Fernicola said.