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 118 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 June 2011, 119 farms totalling 7,323 acres have been permanently preserved (List of Preserved Farms). Another 3 farms are currently in various stages of the easement purchase program, which will raise the total permanently preserved acreage by 2012 to over 7,512 acres in 15 municipalities (List of Farms Pending Preservation).

Towns with permanently preserved farms include: Boonton Township, Chester Borough, Chester Township, Denville 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 10,815 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: Mendham Township, Morris Township and Washington Township.

The "Morris County Municipal Land Area and Farmland Acreage" chart shows the percentage of preserved farmland for each municipality. The "Morris County Preserved Farmland Acreage vs. Town Size" chart shows the total preserved farmland acreage vs. town size.

Another 4 farms, consisting of over 111 acres, are currently enrolled in the Eight-Year Program. They are located in Chester Township, Mendham Township, and Washington Township.