FY-2003 New Jersey Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program

Customer Focus

A 1026-home River Walk development was slated for development in Pohatcong Township, Warren County. However, with the help of USDA's Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP), 564 acres of farmland were protected. The River Walk Farm, contains not only valuable farm land soils but also has significant ecological value.

"This farm lies within a highly viable agricultural and ecological area. . . Over 90 percent of the farm's soils are listed as prime, unique or of state wide importance, and it is home to four grassland nesting bird species on the State's threatened and endangered species list," says Wayne Maresch, former NRCS State Conservationist.

The 564-acre tract is the largest purchase of farmland by the State Agriculture Development Committee. With assistance from FRPP, the New Jersey Audubon Society, the Phillipsburg Riverview Organization, the New Jersey Conservation Fund, and Warren County's farmland preservation program, New Jersey's Department of Agriculture kept the farm in agriculture. Eyed by developers since the 1980s, the River Walk Farm will now be leased to a farmer who will grow crops, as well as harvest certain types of grasses to support the breeding and migration of the threatened and endangered birds.

"It (The River Walk purchase) was a big and complicated deal," Riverview member Laura Oltman said. "It's not going to be a housing development, and that's the best part."

Overview

The USDA Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) helps farmers and ranchers keep their productive land in agriculture. The program partners with States, Tribes, local governments and non-profit organizations to purchase conservation easements for the purpose of protecting topsoil by limiting non-agricultural uses of the land. NRCS provides up to 50% of the fair market value of the easement to the cooperating entity, which acquires, manages, and enforces the easement. Landowners participate voluntarily, and protected farms remain in private ownership.

Conservation plans are developed on all highly erodible cropland. Nationally, over $101.3 million have been obligated to state and local entities since establishment of the program in 1996. The 2002 Farm Bill produced some changes in the program, including the addition of a provision providing for the protection of historical and archaeological resources on farm and ranchlands, and the inclusion of nongovernmental organizations as eligible entities. The Farm Bill also significantly increased the amount of financial assistance available under FRPP, authorizing nearly $600 million through Fiscal Year 2007. Sixty-seven million dollars was allocated to states to purchase easements in FY 2003.

Accomplishments

Cooperating entities' proposals are selected through a competitive process designed to protect parcels that will help accomplish FRPP and local land use goals. FRPP easements protect entire working farms, woodlands, wetlands, important natural areas, and historical and cultural resources. Through FY 2002, $5.6 million in FRPP funds have been awarded to purchase easements on approximately 8,994 acres of valuable agricultural land in New Jersey. Due to increasing development pressure throughout the state, requests for FRPP funds have increased dramatically in recent years, far outpacing the program's funding capacity. In FY 2003, partners in New Jersey requested $17,200,000 in FRPP funds. This request represents over 26 percent of the total amount of FRPP funds available nationwide in FY 2003. New Jersey was allocated $3,463,000 to purchase conservation easements in FY 2003.

Outlook

There are over 10,000 farms in the "Garden State," and many of them are under intense development pressure. New Jersey's average per acre cost of farmland is among the highest in the nation. In 1999, Governor Christine Todd Whitman signed into law the Garden State Preservation Trust Act to greatly enhance preservation efforts. This act became a national model for farmland and open space preservation. The law set the frame work for preserving 500,000 acres of farmland over 10 years. If successful, the result will be the permanent preservation of approximately 40 percent of New Jersey's total landmass. As of June 2000, 432 farms covering 64,739 acres had been permanently preserved under the program.

Status of FRPP Easements in New Jersey

Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program - New Jersey Easements as of June 2003
Counties with Acquired and Pending FRPP Easements

Click on map to enlarge.

Percent Change in Population, New Jersey, 1990-2000

Trends in Population by County - New Jersey 1990 to 2000 (Census Data)

Click on map to enlarge.

The table below provides a detailed accounting of New Jersey FRPP easements and federal expenditures for the FRPP from 1999 through 2002, (as of June 2003 Number, Acres, Easement Costs by County).

* Totals do not include FY 2002 pending easements.

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Printable version of the New Jersey Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program

Program Contact

David Smart, New Jersey FRPP Manager
Phone: (732) 246-1171
dsmart@nj.usda.gov

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