The Farmland Preservation Program seeks to maintain a permanent agricultural land base in order to ensure that residents will always have access to fresh, locally-grown food. To that end, Burlington County seeks to preserve 1,000 acres per year.
To date, the Farmland Preservation Program has preserved more than 55,000 acres, which ranks #1 in the state in terms of total acreage preserved. In fact, over 1,500 acres were preserved just last year. $63.5 million has been spent as part of the Freeholder Board’s effort to preserve farmland across Burlington County.
Not only has the Farmland Preservation Program been a success on the state level, it also ranks in the top 10 in the nation.
Burlington County was also the first county in New Jersey to preserve a farm, and this year marks the 30th anniversary of that accomplishment. Since 1985, that number has grown to 225 individual farms, including 10 farms in 2014, which have been preserved by the Freeholders through this program.
You can visit the program’s webpage to learn more about the county’s Comprehensive Farmland Preservation Plan