Farmland Preservation Program

Under the County Easement Purchase Program an interested landowner voluntarily agrees to sell to the County Agriculture Development Board the development rights to his or her property, and a permanent deed restriction is then placed on the land. A landowner’s agreement to accept permanent agricultural deed restrictions in return for compensation is known as “sale of development easements.” Landowners retain ownership of (and may even choose to sell) preserved land, with the new deed restriction ensuring that the land will not undergo non farm development. The county and state share easement purchase costs, which represent the difference between a property’s farm (or deed restricted) value and its full market value. Land value is determined by appraisal. Most farms have entered the Farmland Preservation Program through the sale of development rights.

If you are interested in preserving your farm by selling the development easement, below you will find information about the application process, program summary, deed restrictions, historical easement values, application form, as well as other useful information.

• Farmland Preservation: An Overview(PDF, 94KB)
• Questions & Answers: Sale of Development Easement(PDF, 22KB)
• Application Process for the Sale of Development Easements(PDF, 9KB)
• Ranking System(PDF, 10KB)
• Deed of Easement (Deed Restrictions)(PDF, 44KB)
• Easement Values (All preserved farms in Morris County)(PDF, 577KB)
• Preserved Farms – Re-Sale Information(PDF, 1MB)
• Application to Sell a Development Easement(PDF, 1MB)
• Preserved Farmland Signs (available from the SADC)(PDF, 495KB)

Under the Eight-Year Program, landowners voluntarily restrict development on their land for a period of eight years. There are two types of eight-year programs: municipally approved programs, which require a formal agreement among the landowner, county and municipality, and non-municipally approved programs, which require an agreement between only the landowner and county. Landowners apply to their county agriculture development board. Although they receive no direct compensation, landowners enrolled in both programs are eligible to receive grants for up to 50% of the cost of conservation projects such as irrigation systems, erosion control measures, underground or permanent open drainage systems, windbreak restoration, contour farming, terrace systems and more. Additionally, those in municipally approved programs enjoy greater protections from emergency fuel and water rationing, and eminent domain actions.

If you are interested in applying to the Eight-Year Program, below you will find information about the program, including applications, sample agreements, list of projects eligible for Soil & Water Conservation Project Cost Sharing, as well as, other useful information.

• Eight Year Program
  • List of Current Eight-Year Programs in Morris County(PDF, 22KB)
  • Eight-Year Program: Summary of Benefits(PDF, 6KB)
• Municipally Approved Eight-Year Program
  • Municipally Approved: Application/Petition(PDF, 22KB)
  • Municipally Approved: Sample Agreement(PDF, 89KB)
• Non-Municipally Approved Eight-Year Program
  • Non-Municipally Approved: Application/Petition(PDF, 22KB)
  • Non-Municipally Approved: Sample Agreement(PDF, 82KB)
• Soil & Water Conservation Cost Sharing
  • Procedural Rules(PDF, 445KB)
  • Eligible Projects(PDF, 1MB)

• List of Policies(PDF, 13KB)
• Policy: P-1, Agricultural Labor Housing(PDF, 15KB)
• Policy: P-2, Residual Dwelling Site Opportunity(PDF, 48KB)
• Policy: P-3, Application Fee(PDF, 5KB)
• Policy: P-4, Imminence of Change(PDF, 6KB)
• Policy: P-5, Exceptions(PDF, 6KB)
• Policy: P-6: withdrawn
• Policy: P-7, Division of Permanently Preserved Farmland(PDF, 86KB)
• Policy: P-8, Easement Purchase Program Eligibility and Ranking System(PDF, 20KB)
• Policy: P-9, Agricultural Development Area (ADA)(PDF, 16KB)
• Policy: P-10, Deed of Easement Violations(PDF, 9KB)
• Policy: P-11, Replacement of Residence on Preserved Farmland(PDF, 11KB)
• Policy: P-12, Proposed New Uses on Preserved Farmland – Interpretation of Deed of Easement(PDF, 24KB)
• Policy: P-13, Meeting Agenda & Submission of Supportive Documentation(PDF, 15KB)
• Policy: P-14, Retention of Recordings(PDF, 13KB)
• Policy: P-15, Equine Activities on Preserved Farmland(PDF, 19KB)

• List of Preserved Farms(PDF, 691KB)
• Information About Preserved Farms
• List of Farms Pending Preservation(PDF, 56KB)
• Chart – Cumulative Preserved Acres(PDF, 41KB)
• Annual Acres Preserved Chart(PDF, 205KB)
• Easement Values (All preserved farms in Morris County)(PDF, 577KB)
• Preserved Farms – Re-Sale Information(PDF, 1MB)

The Morris County Farmland Preservation program began with the permanent preservation of the Cupo Farm, a 14-acre farm in Washington Township, on December 28, 1987.

Since 1987, over 8,200 acres of farmland have been permanently preserved. The “Cumulative Preserved Acres”(PDF, 35KB)  chart shows the progress of the Morris County Farmland Preservation effort since 1987. The “Annual Preserved Acres”(PDF, 207KB)  chart shows the number of acres that were preserved each year since 1987. 

This year, 2023, is the 40th anniversary of the Morris County Agriculture Development Board. We want to celebrate this occasion by illustrating all the farms preserved by the County Easement Purchase Program. Click to view the StoryMap.

The Morris County Preservation Trust Fund was established in 1992. The regulations governing the Trust Fund allocate 25% of the fund exclusively for farmland preservation purposes. The following table summarizes the county funding for the Farmland Preservation Program. The levy for 2012 has been set at 1.25 cents per $100 of equalized county valuation.

Funding Source, Morris County Preservation Trust Fund, Farmland Preservation Allocation (25%)