Home > News > Press Releases > 2007 > 5 PRESERVED FARMS IN BURLINGTON AND HUNTERDON COUNTIES FOR SALE AT AUCTION
5 PRESERVED FARMS IN BURLINGTON AND HUNTERDON COUNTIES FOR SALE AT AUCTION
Contact: Hope Gruzlovic
(609) 984-2504
(TRENTON) -- The State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC) will offer for sale five permanently preserved farms in Burlington and Hunterdon counties at public auctions that will be held in June.
“We were pleased to be able to purchase these farms for preservation purposes and now look forward to returning them to private ownership,” said Agriculture Secretary Charles M. Kuperus. “The auction of these farms with permanent deed restrictions will ensure they always will remain available to contribute to agriculture and the quality of life in their communities.”
The farms to be offered at auction include three in North Hanover Township, Burlington County: the 180-acre former Limm farm on Meany Road, the 138-acre former Erb farm on Sykesville Road and the 310-acre former Russell farm on Jacobstown-Arneytown Road. The Limm farm was most recently farmed for field corn, the Erb farm for flowers and the Russell farm for soybeans. The Hunterdon County farms to be auctioned are the 93-acre former Riback farm in Lebanon Township and the 128-acre former Romano farm in Clinton Township and Lebanon Borough. The Riback farm was most recently farmed for field corn and the Romano farm for grain.
The auctions of the Burlington County farms will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, June 8, at the former Russell farm at 274 Jacobstown-Arneytown Road. Tours of these farms, where SADC staff will be available to answer questions, will be held on April 18, May 10 and May 25, at 10 a.m. for the former Limm farm, 10:45 a.m. for the former Erb farm and 12:30 p.m. for the former Russell farm.
The auctions of the Hunterdon County farms will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, June 22, at the offices of the New Jersey Water Supply Authority at 1851 State Route 31 in Clinton. The Authority assisted in the purchase of the Riback farm, which is located in the Highlands Preservation Area. Tours of the farms will be held on May 16 and June 6, at 11 a.m. for the former Riback farm and 12:30 p.m. for the former Romano farm.
Farmland is most commonly preserved through the sale of development rights, in which landowners retain ownership of the land but give up the right to develop it for anything other than agricultural uses. Some landowners, however, want to sell their farmland outright. The SADC typically makes several purchases from willing landowners each year. It then resells the farms at public auctions with deed restrictions permanently protecting the land for agricultural uses.
In addition to ensuring permanent protection of the land, this method of preservation also helps make farmland available at more affordable prices. Since re-sale prices reflect only farm value, not development value, farmers often are able to afford to purchase preserved farmland at auction to begin or expand their agricultural operations.
The SADC has set minimum auction bids of $905,000 for the former Limm farm, $1.14 million for the former Erb farm, $1.585 million for the former Russell farm, $890,000 for the former Riback farm and $840,000 for the former Romano farm.
More information on all the farms and bidding procedures can be obtained on the SADC’s website at www.state.nj.us/agriculture/sadc/sadc.htm or by calling (800) 474-5314.
The State Agriculture Development Committee administers the state Farmland Preservation Program. To date, more than 1,500 farms covering more than 155,000 acres have been permanently preserved statewide.
