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HAMILTON: State preserves 62-acre Black Farm for $620,350

By Jennifer Kohlhepp, Managing Editor
   The state has permanently preserved a 62-acre township farm that was once considered for housing and later proposed for a solar facility.
   The New Jersey Conservation Foundation approached the landowner to consider farmland preservation after the township rejected the solar plan. The foundation entered into a contract to purchase the Black Farm, conducted appraisals and worked with the owner to apply to the State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC) to sell the development rights of the farm. The property is located on Crosswicks-Hamilton Square Road between the Hamilton Marketplace and Yardville-Allentown Road.
   ”The SADC was happy to be able to preserve the Black Farm to further preservation efforts in this area of Hamilton and to ensure that the farm will always remain available for agricultural production,” Hope Gruzlovic, spokesperson for the SADC, said.
   She added, “This was an application to the state acquisition program so when someone applies to the SADC we typically fund 100 percent of purchase.”
   The state purchased the development rights to the farm for $620,350 on June 25, according to Ms. Gruzlovic.
   ”This was an application the New Jersey Conservation Foundation facilitated so it was a good candidate for preservation,” Ms. Gruzlovic said. “Nearly half of it is ‘prime’ soil, the highest ranking soil. (The farmland) is important for its soil and proximity to other preserved farms.”
   The farm is contiguous to preserved farmland and consists entirely of the highest quality soils for agricultural production, known as “prime” and “statewide” soils, according to Sandy Stuart Perry, communications manager for the New Jersey Conservation Foundation.
   ”Preserving this farm protects the scenic character of the community and water quality in the creeks, and is consistent with preservation planning goals,” Ms. Perry said. “It also helps to protect the future of agriculture in the Garden State.”
   This is New Jersey Conservation’s first farmland project in Hamilton; additional projects on nearby properties are in the works, according to Ms. Perry. She said she could not elaborate on those projects at this time.