Beach Erosion at long branch already.

Southerly storm, but the winds are driving hard out of the north.

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Local Preservation Efforts in West Deptford Enhance New Jersey Farmland Preservation Efforts

Recently the 106 acre George H. Urban farm in West Deptford Township was preserved via the efforts of Gloucester County Freeholder Robert Damminger. The newly preserved farm sits adjacent to 42 acres of previously preserved open space and has been owned and farmed by the same family since 1938. Over the course of its history the Urban farm has produced watermelon, tomatoes and asparagus and been a key part of the agricultural landscape of the South Jersey river towns. During his time in office, Freeholder Damminger has helped to preserve 17,690 acres of farmland and open space across Gloucester County.

This local announcement came a week after New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Doug Fisher and State Senate President Steve Sweeney announced a major milestone in the New Jersey Farmland Preservation Program, the acquisition of 200,00 acres of preserved farmland across New Jersey.

Local efforts like Freeholder Damminger’s in West Deptford contribute greatly to the state’s efforts to continue to preserve New Jersey farmlands and ensure that farming remains a viable economic activity throughout New Jersey.

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200,000 Acres of New Jersey Farmland Preserved!

Salem County’s Cassaday Farms recently joined the state’s farmland preservation program, helping the state to surpass a critical milestone of 200,000 acres of permanently preserved farmland.

On October 9th, NJ Agriculture Secretary Doug Fisher and State Senate President Steve Sweeney joined George Cassady, the owner of Cassaady Farms, and other local officials to celebrate this milestone. Cassady plans on using some of the proceeds he will receive from the Farmland Preservation Fund to purchase additional farmland which he then plans to preserve under the program as well.

The Gloucester County Times Editorial Board in discussing the state’s farmland preservation efforts came out with strong support for continuing the farmland preservation program and rightly notes that under this plan 14,698 acres of farmland have been preserved in Gloucester County and an additional 13,000 acres of farmland in Cumberland County have been preserved as well. Salem County leads the state with 29,418 acres of farmland preserved.

The state’s overall goal is to preserve 550,000 acres of farmland statewide which is roughly equivalent to the existing farmland acreage in New Jersey. Over a thirty year period, New Jersey lost 384,000 acres of farmland to development and large-lot development is increasingly becoming the norm in New Jersey’s suburban and semi-rural counties. Or perhaps more precisely, counties that used to be semi-rural.

Farmland preservation is an issue of great economic importance to the state. Preserving and growing our statewide farming activities and redeveloping our agricultural processing sector is the right way to come back.

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