Morris County Agriculture Development Board

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, an additional 105 farms have been permanently preserved. The "Cumulative Preserved Acres" chart shows the progress of the Morris County Farmland Preservation effort since 1987. The "Annual Preserved Acres" chart shows the number of acres that were preserved each year since 1987. As of July 2008, 106 farms totalling 6,865 acres have been permanently preserved (List of Preserved Farms). Another 7 farms are currently in various stages of the easement purchase program, which will raise the total permanently preserved acreage by the beginning of 2009 to over 7,217 acres in 13 municipalities (List of Farms Pending Preservation).

Towns with permanently preserved farms include: Boonton Township, Chester Borough, Chester Township, Harding Township, Lincoln Park Borough, Long Hill Township, Mendham Borough, Mendham Township, Montville Township, Mt. Olive Township, Randolph Township, Rockaway Township, and Washington Township (see table below). Washington Township leads in the number of preserved acres in the county. This is not surprising since Washington Township ranks 1st in farmland acreage in the county with 11,165 acres (see table below). Chester Township is second in the county in the number of preserved acres and ranks 2nd in farmland acreage with 3,880 acres.

Municipalities with pending applications include: Chester Township, Denville Township, Harding Township, Mine Hill Township, Mt. Olive Township, and Washington Township.

Another 6 farms, consisting of over 529 acres, are currently enrolled in the Eight-Year Program. They are located in Chester Township, Mendham Borough, Mount Olive Township, and Washington Township.