$1.7M to help preserve farmland

Gov. Phil Murphy has signed legislation to fund preservation efforts at five farms in northwestern New Jersey.

Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia, R-24, was one of the sponsors of the bill (S2793/A3698), which reallocates $1.7 million from corporate tax revenue and a 2009 farmland preservation fund to the state Agriculture Development Committee, which oversees the state’s Farmland Preservation Program.

The committee will use the money for grants to help farmers pay for approved preservation projects.

“Preserving farmland throughout New Jersey, and especially in the northwestern part of the state, ensures that generations of residents will know where their food comes from, how livestock is cared for and the permanent value of our agricultural communities,” Fantasia said.

“We have to help farmers if we want to live up to our Garden State slogan and preserve a way of life that is cherished in New Jersey. I know these farms will put the funds to good use and they deserve this support.”

The grants will go toward preservation efforts at farms in Stillwater and Wantage, two farms in Hunterdon County and a farm in Blairstown in Warren County.

The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 37-0 in May. It passed the Assembly by a vote of 76-0 on June 28.