Farm Special Use Permits Available

January 18, 2017

The NJ Department of Environmental Protection is putting out to bid Agriculture Special Use Permits on land owned by the Department and managed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife's Bureau of Land Management. The Special Use Permits (SUP) will afford more farmers access to agricultural opportunities on State lands. For generations, the Department has worked closely with farmers to the mutual benefit of agriculture, our natural resources, and our resource users.

Each SUP will be effective from February 15, 2017 to December 31, 2018, with the exception of the Prospertown 02 parcel which will be effective July 1, 2017 to December 31, 2018.

Rental values and minimum bids are based on the soil types of each parcel and calculated using the soil rental rates established by the United States Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency (FSA), discounted by 20 percent to take into account disadvantages of farming on public land.

The bids are open to all interested farmers. This is a sealed bid process - farmers may submit only one bid per SUP. The SUP will be awarded to the highest bidder. Bids must be received by 3:00 p.m., Friday, February 3, 2017.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING A BID

Farmers should review the material contained in the "Bid Information Package" for each SUP they are interested in submitting a bid for. Each bid package will contain:

• A map of the fields included in the Special Use Permit and any in-kind service areas
• The minimum bid based on current soil rental rates
• The in-kind service obligations for 2017, if any
• A copy of the Agriculture SUP that will be signed by the winning bidder

Bid Forms and Information Packets