Farms

i'm going to go ahead and jump the gun on this one. If someone could straighten out for me a rumor about non-farming residents in our area actually making formal complaints about farming procedures, stands, smells and tractor speed. A friend said they read it somewhere, but I have yet to hear this from any other source. I have lived in this area for 35 years and come from a long line of dairy, horse,pig and vegitation farmers. (yes big family) There are other places for opposing non-farmers to live, and there are laws to protect the farmers. N0 FARMS NO FOOD. PLEASE GIVE ME SOME INSIGHT, AS I FIND THIS HARD TO BELIEVE

Jocylyn Galante

January 3, 2008 12:08 pm · Link

Hey Jocylyn; This is tammy from the Foodshed Alliance. I'm also an ag writer and non-farmer complaints are a growing concern in nortwestern NJ.

Right to Farm challenges have occured, and I've included a link below to one of the recent issues that occured in Hampton Twp.

Yes, right to farm challenges have occured right here, also. While many people seem to think we can remain rural while permitting suburban development.., it certainly doesn't work that way for agriculture in general.

BY engaging municipalities to enact strong right to farm laws, ordinances that allow legitimate farming activities, and even formal, legally-binding contracts signed when any property is sold stating "this is within x amount of feet of a working farm and associated smells, noises, tractors, etc are necessary for the farm and we will not bring legal action" type of thing, our leaders can reassert the AGRICULTURAL economy and heritage of the area, and even help to rebuild some of the infrastructure needed for a thriving farm economy.

Here is the link to the article mentioned above: http://www.americanfarm.com/njtopst ory1.01.2008a.html

For more information on local farming, please contact us at: info@foodshedalliance.org or 908-362-7967

Tamara Scully

January 4, 2008 11:11 am · Link

Yes people do complain. It is just human nature to do so. But you must keep an eye out for township ordinances which may cause severe hardships on farming and farming activities. Today we are lucky to have the internet as a great communicating tool. Check out the Blairstown committee site and read the minutes to find out if any such ordinance have been introduced or discussed.