file photo Dom
Bergen County Farm saved
JUNE 22, 2014 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, JUNE 22, 2014, 1:21 AM
THE RECORD
CONSIDERING how congested Bergen County is, the idea of preserving whatever open space remains always sounds good in theory. Sometimes, though, the details can prove difficult.
It’s nice to see that the Demarest Farms in Saddle River and Hillsdale will be preserved. Seeing other farm properties in the area close and redeveloped as retail or housing shows that this outcome can’t happen in every instance.
The Bergen County Freeholders voted unanimously last week to spend about $2.6 million in open-space money for the development rights to a 17-acre section of the Saddle River property. The money came from the county’s share of a state farmland preservation program, with an additional $1.15 million from the Garden State Trust Fund.
The owner, Peter Demarest, said he and his family, who have owned the farm property since 1886, probably could have made up to $1.5 million more if they sold it to a developer.
But they instead chose to sell the county the development rights, which allows two of the farm’s longtime employees to take over the operations going forward. The Demarest family sold development rights to a 10-acre portion in 2004 and will move on from the area after selling the rights to the remaining section.
The new portion of Demarest Farms is Bergen County’s eighth successful farm preservation project, with a total amount of about 331 acres in permanently preserved farmland.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-editorials/farm-saved-1.1039448#sthash.kMVZMwiE.dpuf
Some of the Cider turn to hard apple jack , you could get a little hi if you knew “how” to do it.
But, that another story…………… d
so very cool . this is one of the last’s farm’s around.