by Gary Mount
As we celebrate our 50th anniversary, we also celebrate the expansion of our farmland and preservation of our land. From 55 acres of our home farm purchased
in 1975 to now farming 250 acres in 2025!
This means that all of the farms that we farm on Cold Soil and on Van Kirk Roads are now permanently preserved. The importance of this to us can hardly be overstated. To plan for the future and to maintain a viable farm enterprise, farmers need stability, especially those who grow permanent crops such as our apples, peaches, pears, cherries and berries.
Farmland Preservation is many good ideas in one program. In New Jersey, the Program started with legislation and a bond referendum in 1981. It was designed to slow conversion of farmland to development and to assure a viable farming industry for the future. However, it got off to a slow start. In our county it was about five years before we had our first applicant, the former Ed Hendrickson dairy farm which is now a thriving nursery. As a preserved farm, it does not require additional municipal services, such as education for the families who might have lived there had it been developed. The farm provides open space for the whole community. And it helps a viable farm business to continue into the future. The crops grown on New Jersey’s preserved farms do not have to be trucked in – they are grown right here.
To date about $1.8 billon dollars has been spent. Approximately 2,800 farms have been preserved – over 250,000 acres! This makes New Jersey a national leader in farmland preservation.
Of even stronger importance to us is the meaning of permanence to the next generation of our farm family. We are lucky to have children who are interested in our farm business. Having the land available to farm is the basic building block for the future generation to have to opportunity to be involved in farming.
For us to preserve a farm means giving up something. We get paid by the government to do it, but we give up the opportunity to sell to a developer who would most times pay more. But we still own the land and it is available to us for farming. The money is used for farm improvements, new barn, apple cold storage, winery which have been dreams.
As we celebrate 50 years, we also celebrate our growth and support of our community in the future of our lands. We are assured that they will remain open space for the years to come.