Blaso farm becomes Monmouth County’s 100th preserved (April 6)
By: Purvi Desai
UPPER FREEHOLD In a major milestone for the Farmland Preservation Program, an Upper Freehold farm recently became the 100th preserved in Monmouth County, ensuring agriculture will thrive for generations, state agriculture officials said.
"We congratulate Monmouth County on this tremendous achievement and look forward to our continued partnership to preserve many more farms in the years ahead," said State Agriculture Secretary Charles M. Kuperus in a press release from the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
The newly preserved farm is owned and operated by the Blaso family, which sits on 21 acres on Arneytown-Hornerstown Road, said William Heine, director of public information for the county freeholders. The farm breeds standard-bred horses.
Mr. Heine said the county buys development rights so that farms can continue to operate as is, thus preserving the land and protecting it from industrial or commercial development. The land is then deed-restricted for agriculture use only, which also is binding on all future owners of the property.
"With more than 20 percent of its farmland protected for the future, Monmouth County is proud to be a leader in farmland preservation efforts," Freeholder Director William C. Barham said in the press release.
"For years, Monmouth County has been assertive in the acquisition of state farmland preservation funds and since the inception of the Farmland Preservation Program, we have secure the second-largest appropriation of those funds of any county in New Jersey," he said.
Matt Shipkey, Farmland Preservation Program Coordinator, said the largest state appropriation for those funds goes to Hunterdon County.
Monmouth County has preserved a total of 9,486 acres to date, and of that figure, 56 farms totaling 6,696 acres have been preserved in Upper Freehold. The Blaso farm was preserved through the County Easement Purchase Program.
Mr. Shipkey said farmland preservation development rights easement acquisitions are jointly funded by the state, county and municipality.
State funding comes from the Garden State Preservation Fund bond act passed in 1998. County funding comes from the County capital budget, while Upper Freehold funds its share through a local open space tax, Mr. Shipkey said.
The County Easement Purchase Program is one of several farmland preservation programs administered by the state through which farmland preservation applications are processed, he said.
Applications are submitted on specific farms once a year to the state by the county on behalf of interested landowners, Mr. Shipkey said. The state is looking to replace this program with one wherein counties apply for block-grant type funding allocations that can be used at any time of the year on properties that meet certain general criteria.
This type of approach is already in use in the municipal Planning Incentive Grant farmland preservation program, he said.
"Farmland preservation is a priority in Upper Freehold and we are grateful for the financial and technical support from Monmouth County, the state of New Jersey and the Monmouth Conservation Foundation," Upper Freehold Mayor Stephen Fleischaker said in the release.
"With the continued support of all our partners on easement purchases, and the implementation of innovative municipal planning techniques, we can preserve a significant portion of what is one of the largest and finest concentrations of farmland anywhere in New Jersey," he said.

