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Nonprofit Groups Should Apply Now
for Farmland Preservation Grants
 
For Immediate Release: May 26, 2000 Contact:

Hope Gruzlovic
(609)292-8896
hope.gruzlovic@ag.state.nj.us

     

Nonprofit groups who want to help permanently preserve farmland have until July 3 to apply for this year's funding round. Grant awards will be announced by August 31. This is the first time the State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC) has had the authority to make grants available to private, nonprofit organizations to fund up to half the costs of farmland preservation projects, Agriculture Secretary Art Brown, Jr., said. "I am pleased to welcome nonprofit organizations as the newest partners in farmland preservation," said Governor Whitman. "By working together, we in New Jersey can ensure a greener future for our children and all future generations who will continue to benefit from our million-acre open space investment in the Garden State." "Under the Garden State Preservation Trust Act, the SADC now is authorized to provide cost-sharing grants to nonprofit groups," said Brown, who also serves as chair of the SADC. "We look forward to working cooperatively with them as we work toward Governor Whitman's goal of preserving 500,000 acres of farmland over the next decade." Grants will help fund the costs of acquiring development easements on farms or the costs of purchasing farms outright from willing sellers. Grants are available for up to 50 percent of the purchase costs; there is no minimum or maximum grant request amount. Any funding awarded by the SADC is subject to approval by the Garden State Preservation Trust and State Legislature.

Application packages are available from the SADC at (609) 984-2504.