PRESERVING AGRICULTURE FOR THE FUTURE

As a locus of innovation, consumerism, labor, and land use, agriculture is central to New Jersey life, past and present. But farming in the twenty-first century is not easy, especially in the New York metropolitan area where cost of living and land values are so steep. As farmers sold their land, retired, or moved on to different, more economical pursuits in the mid-twentieth century, the State of New Jersey responded with efforts to preserve a land base that could sustain the agricultural industry, which is key to food sources, the state economy, and the state’s heritage. The state’s Farmland Preservation program has preserved 233,751 acres of land for agriculture since 1983. Nearly a third of all agricultural land in New Jersey is preserved, and the program has stemmed the tide of agricultural decline in the state. Agricultural land in New Jersey increased from 2012 to 2017 for the first time in almost fifty years.

The farm behind this garden is one such preserved farm, a visual and active reminder of the legacy of innovation, production, labor, and land still impacting the lives of New Jerseyans today.