Farmland

New Jersey is the country’s most densely populated state and, according to researchers at Rutgers University, may be the first state to be completely built out. A robust farmland preservation program protects our most productive soils, keeps farms in business, prevents unwise development, and puts fresh wholesome food on our our tables.

Family farms

Farming is a tough business in the best of circumstances. New Jersey’s high cost of living and constant development pressure doesn’t make it any easier. Farmland preservation helps keep family farmers on the land by giving them an option to sell development rights while retaining ownership of the property.

Economic development

Farmers in the Garden State generate more than $1 billion a year. Farmland preservation helps sustain the viability of the agricultural industry by keeping existing farms in production and attracting new farmers.

Tax benefits

As the saying goes, cows don’t go to school—the point being that farmland preservation tends to keep taxes down because residential developments require costly services such as education, roads, and policing.

Quality of life

Farms can be a beautiful part of the landscape, a tourist attraction, and a visible link to a community’s rural heritage.

Good food

Local farms are a source of fresh, nutritious foods with a fraction of the transportation and environmental costs of foods imported from faraway places.