Leah
S. McCormack from Middletown, Monmouth County, is
the proud new owner of the former Brandenburg Farm
in Plumsted Township, Ocean County. The 125-acre
farm was auctioned back into private ownership by
the State Agriculture Development Committee yesterday.
McCormack
outbid four other registered bidders for the property,
offering $425,000 for the farm. Closing on the property
is expected in the next 60 days.
Farming
has been a way of life for the McCormack family for
four generations. McCormack and other family members
currently run a 28-acre vegetable farm in Monmouth
County. The newly acquired farm will enable the family
to expand production.
The
Brandenburg Farm farm was acquired by the SADC in
fee simple last November as part of its continuing
farmland preservation efforts around the state. The
total cost of the property, $720,475 was shared by
the SADC, Ocean County ($219,275) and USDA's Natural
Resources Conservation Service ($63,908).
The
federal participation was authorized through the
1996 Farm Bill's Farmland Protection Program which
has contributed a total of $2.6 million for New Jersey's
farmland preservation efforts since the farm bill
passed.
Proceeds
from yesterday's sale will be returned to the Farmland
Preservation Program and used to preserve other New
Jersey farms. The SADC will hold the development
rights on the property. Under the terms of the deed
restriction that goes with the property, the farm
cannot be used for a non-agricultural use.
Statewide,
349 farms totaling 52,758 acres have been permanently
protected under the Farmland Preservation Program
with almost 22,700 additional acres pending preservation.
This transaction represents the 13th farm preserved
using the fee simple method, bringing the total acreage
of farms preserved using this unique method to over
3,200 acres. |
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