The State We’re In column
By Michele Byers, N.J. Conservation Foundation
George “Dutch” Urban, an 89-year-old farmer, was seriously ill and couldn’t keep farming his 106-acre farm in Gloucester County, owned by his family since 1938.
Dutch’s farm was one of the last active farms in West Deptford, a town not far from Philadelphia with high development pressure.
But in October 2012, just before he passed away, Dutch sold the development rights on his property to Gloucester County, thus preserving it as farmland forever.
The story doesn’t end here. With the land’s development value knocked out of the financial equation, another farmer could buy the property for about a third of its former value.
And that’s just what’s happening now. The availability of this affordably priced farm is allowing a pair of soon-to-be new owners — brothers Fred and Rosario “Hoss” Grasso — to purchase the Urban Farm and expand their existing farming operation.
This “win-win” story of the Urban Farm was recounted Oct. 15 at an event there celebrating the 30th anniversary of New Jersey’s Farmland Preservation Program.
The Garden State’s program has been a galloping success. In three decades, more than 204,000 acres of farmland have been permanently preserved, more than a quarter of New Jersey’s agricultural land base.
More than just land has been saved. The agricultural community and industry — everything from the farmers who grow the crops to the folks who work at farm stands to the businesses that sell tractors and harvesters — get a boost every time a farm is preserved. Agriculture is the state’s third largest industry, generating at least 61,000 jobs statewide.
But more farmland still must be preserved to ensure the long-term viability of farming in this state we’re in. The State Agriculture Development Committee aims to preserve at least 350,000 more acres!
”Preserving our farmland not only prevents sprawl, but it helps keep our economy moving and protects our hardworking farmers,” said Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem. “We’ve done everything possible to protect the environment, grow our economy, create jobs and maintain the rural character that makes us the Garden State.”
But without more state funding for farmland preservation, the program will slow to a crawl.
In 2009, voters approved $400 million for farmland, open space and historic preservation as well as “Blue Acres” acquisitions of flood-prone properties. That money is gone now, with funds either spent or allocated.
An effort this past summer to secure a sustainable, long-term source of preservation funding — $200 million a year for 30 years — failed to make it to the ballot for a vote this year.
If we want to keep the “garden” in the Garden State, we need to continue to preserve farms like the Urban Farm. And we need to replenish the funds!
Current plans and hopes rest on getting a sustainable funding measure on the November 2014 ballot. Please contact your district’s legislators and ask them to take action!
To find your legislators, go to www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/legsearch.asp.
Visit the New Jersey Keep It Green website and sign the sustainable funding statement of support at www.njkeepitgreen.org/statementofsupport.htm#.UmAIEtK-1I4.
Michele Byers is executive director of the N.J. Conservation Foundation. For information, contact her at [email protected] or visit NJCF’s website at www.njconservation.org.

