FRELINGHUYSEN TOWNSHIP [December 3, 2003] – Warren County reached a milestone this month with the preservation of its 10,000th acre of farmland, an achievement that was celebrated by county and state officials at the Frelinghuysen Township farm responsible for surpassing that record.

Gathering at the farm of Michael Staufenberger, officials noted the success of Warren County’s farmland preservation program and pledged to keep up their efforts.

“The preservation of 10,000 acres is an important milestone for the citizens of Warren County and for our agricultural industry," said state Agriculture Secretary Charles M. Kuperus, who joined in the outdoor celebration overlooking Staufenberger’s farm on a chilly December morning.

“When we preserve farmland, we help promote smart growth, protect the quality of life in our communities and strengthen our agricultural industry,” Kuperus said. “We're proud to have played a partnership role in Warren County's success to date, and look forward to continuing to work together to preserve many more farms.”

Warren County recently finalized the purchase of development rights on 125 acres of Staufenberger’s 134-acre farm. The preservation program only includes agricultural land, and not homes or other buildings on the property. Farmers are paid to permanently surrender their right to develop the land, keeping it green and available to be farmed forever.

Warren County made its first farmland preservation acquisition in August 1989, preserving nearly 600 acres in Allamuchy. Since then, the County Agriculture Development Board (CADB) has steered preservation acquisitions protecting farms throughout Warren.

With the Staufenberger project, Warren County now has 10,082 acres of permanently protected farmland, and ranks fifth in the amount of acreage preserved of the 18 counties in New Jersey with farmland preservation programs. About 10 percent of New Jersey’s total preserved farmland is located in Warren County.

Staufenberger, a Frelinghuysen resident for the past 13 years, said the farmland preservation program has helped him to achieve his dream. A financial advisor who grew up in Colonia, Staufenberger said he remembers going fishing when he was six years old on the Musconetcong River in Warren County and falling in love with the rural area. “I always said, this is where I’m going to live.”

Staufenberger has been restoring the farmhouse, parts of which date back 200 years, and said he is looking into agricultural areas to expand beyond hay production at the farm. “My intention is to bring the farm back to life,” he said.

The farm had been looked at for housing developments, a golf course and other development plans, which would have dramatically changed rural Frelinghuysen, Staufenberger said. Developers approached him after he purchased the farm, but Staufenberger said he had no interest in seeing it lost to agriculture.

Instead, “It will stay farmland in perpetuity. I like the idea of that,” Staufenberger remarked. To be able to preserve the property to pass on to future generations “is a wonderful thing,” he added.

CADB Chairman Joel Schnetzer, who was master of ceremonies for the event, recognized the former and current board members as he praised the people who started Warren County’s farmland preservation program in the 1980s.

“We wouldn’t be here today without all the hard work they devoted to this,” Schnetzer remarked. Even though farmers and landowners were cool to the preservation program when it started, the original members of the CADB persevered, Schnetzer said, adding, “Those people had a vision.”

Orrie Terpstra of Knowlton, who was the CADB’s first chairman, said people were skeptical about the program in those days. “We were elated to preserve the Gibbs farm,” he said, referring to the Allamuchy farm that launched Warren County’s preservation effort.

Kuperus praised the State Agriculture Development Committee and Executive Director Gregory Romano, who also attended the event, for their efforts on the preservation programs in Warren and other counties statewide. “We’re committed to preserving 20,000 acres a year” in New Jersey, Kuperus said.

Although it took some 14 years to reach this milestone in Warren County, “I’m hoping we can save another 10,000 acres in five years,” said Freeholder Deputy Director Rick Gardner.

Freeholder John DiMaio stressed the need for investing in farmland preservation, adding, “Mr. Staufenberger, what you’re doing here is very important to Warren County.”

Freeholder-elect Everett Chamberlain noted, “We have a big job to do yet but I think we’ll get it done. The freeholder board is behind this program 100 percent.”

“Warren County has made significant strides in retaining our traditional rural quality of life through the farmland preservation program,” Assemblyman and Freeholder Director Michael Doherty said in a statement. “This is our legacy to generations to come.”

Also participating were Frelinghuysen Township Committeemen Thomas Charles and David Boynton; farmer Harry Schnieber of White Township, who retired after a long career teaching agriculture at Belvidere High School; and students from the FFA chapters at North Warren Regional, Warren Hills Regional and Belvidere high schools.

Formerly known as Future Farmers of America, FFA has 516 members active in Warren County every day, said Rebecca Schnetzer of Franklin Township, the past president of the Warren Hills FFA chapter and Joel Schnetzer’s daughter. “But it’s not every day the 10,000th acre of farmland is preserved,” she noted, adding that farmland preservation “ensures that FFA members can continue the bright future of agriculture.”