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For the first time since 2016, two farms in Camden County will be preserved under a state program.

The New Jersey State Agriculture Development Committee announced Feb. 8 Sleeter family farm in Gloucester Township and Stella Farm in Winslow Township – representing a cumulative 93 acres – were approved for preservation.

The SADC is the Farmland Preservation arm that operates in, but not of, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture. The approval came at the panel’s monthly meeting Jan. 26. According to the committee, the move is the result of collaboration and planning with and among Camden County, the municipalities and the landowners.

“The preservation of these Camden County farms is an example of how cooperation between state, county, and municipal agencies can make a long-term positive impact on a community,” New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas Fisher, who is also the chair of the SADC, said in a statement. “These operations remaining as agricultural entities is another example of how this program is protecting New Jersey’s rich farmland.”

Under the program, both the Sleeter and Stella families will remain the owners of their respective farms. And even if the land is sold in the future, it will “remain farmland forever,” according to the SADC. The committee said it and the county will purchase easements on the properties in the near future.

Following that, preserved farmland under the SADC program in Camden County will total approximately 1,100 acres.

The sale of development easements is one of four ways farmland is preserved under the initiative. The others are donation of development easements, sale of an entire property or term farmland preservation. According to the SADC’s website, the sale price for these easements – and the way most farms have entered the program – is based on the difference between what a developer would pay for the land and what it is worth for agriculture.

Down on the farm

In a statement, Gloucester Township Mayor David Mayer described the Sleeter farm, which will have just over 40 acres preserved, as a priceless asset for the community that has spanned generations, “and nothing makes me happier to think that this site will be enjoyed for decades to come and continue to be an operational farm for perpetuity through this important state program.”

Owned and operated by the late Gerald Sleeter, his wife, Carolyn Sleeter, and their son Kurt, it is one of the oldest thoroughbred equine production farms in the state. Family-owned and operated since 1879, its operation includes breeding, raising, and pasturing horses, many of whom have been top performers at Monmouth Park, according to SADC.

Located in the Pinelands rural development area in Winslow Township, the Stella Farms parcel will add 53 acres of preserved land to its existing farmland holdings, SADC said. Owned and operated by Ed and Barbara Stella, the farm was established in 1921 and grows a variety of vegetables – though the committee noted it is particularly known for its sweet corn. Overall, the property is approximately 121 acres spread across several parcels.

“The residents and visitors of New Jersey all know and love Sleeter and Stella Farms. These farms are a huge asset to our county by contributing to our garden state tradition through the produce from the Stella farmstand and the horses everyone knows and loves at Sleeter,” said Camden County Commissioner Jeff Nash, liaison to the Parks Department. “Allowing developers to possibly buy and develop these farms that both hold such rich family histories in Camden County would be a criminal act and the State Agriculture Development Committee has helped us ensure that it will never happen. Furthermore, we knew preserving these wonderful green spaces was the right thing to do and will underscore the importance of agriculture in the county and the state.”

To date, 248,000 acres of farmland have been preserved under the program across the state.