The
State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC)
today awarded planning incentive grants totaling
nearly $1.8 million to Monmouth County - the first
grants issued under a new program designed to make
it easier for counties and municipalities to preserve
large blocks of farmland that will help promote
the long-term viability of New Jersey's agricultural
industry. "Planning incentive grants are an important
new tool to help counties and municipalities preserve
farmland in designated project areas through a
streamlined application process," said Agriculture
Secretary Art Brown, Jr., who chairs the SADC. "These
grants to Monmouth County are the first of hundreds
more that will help municipal and county governments
play a more active role in targeting and preserving
critical farmland." Rather than applying to preserve
farms individually, municipalities and counties
identify project areas consisting of multiple farms.
Planning incentive grants encourage careful planning
of these project areas, joint applications between
municipalities and counties, and funding coordination
among all levels of government - including the
use of installment purchases and other innovative
funding techniques. The program also for the first
time enables municipalities to apply directly to
the SADC for funding, providing them with an opportunity
to play a more active role in the preservation
process. To date, the SADC has received a total
of 43 applications to preserve as many as 856 farms
totaling more than 50,000 acres under this program.
Nine of those applications were sponsored by counties
while 34 applications were submitted by municipalities.
The two grants awarded by the SADC today will help
preserve approximately 240 acres of farmland in
Roosevelt Borough and Millstone Township, Monmouth
County.
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