Summer 2019 Issue
CELEBRATING MIRACLES
Each spring, with the winds of March, I get the brash idea to turn my backyard into a full-on mini-farm. I picture obedient rows. Organic strawberries. Defiant sta...
TIDBITS
Farm Surge – The Number of Farms in New Jersey Continues to Grow
An April report by the US Department of Agriculture shared some positive news for New Jersey.
According to the Department’s 2017 Census of Agriculture, the number of farms in the Garden State rose by more than 800 since the previous census in 2012. New Jersey now has 9,883 farms. The land devoted to agriculture in the Garden State also increased by almost 20,000 acres for a total of 734,000 acres.
NJ’s rise in number of farms and land in farming went against the national trend which saw decreases of 3.2 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.
“We take great pride in knowing that so many more residents of our state have decided to become intricately involved in agriculture,” notes New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas Fisher. “The increase demonstrates the many and diverse opportunities that are available right here in the Garden State.”
Noah Thomases, who returned to New Jersey to farm in 2012, is one of the people behind the statistics. After attending college in NYC, he discovered farming apprenticeships were a great way to travel and “fell in love with farming” during stints working on farms abroad and in New England. At first, he considered starting a farm “in Vermont or somewhere [else] where there was a community based around local food.” One day he called up friend Joe Lynch and said, “Let’s move back to New Jersey and start a farm.”
“I’m New Jersey born, bred, and raised,” Thomases explains. “This is where the money is, this is where the people are, the climate is good, the soil is good.” From its start as an acre and a half “backyard farm”, Flocktown Farm has grown into a I20 acre small-scale diversified farm. It launched its first CSA (community support agriculture) program in 2013 with 20 members. As of press time, 800 members have signed on for the 2019 CSA season. Recent enhancements include free home delivery and online ordering.
“We don’t have any wealthy backers. We built the farm on the backs of our community. All the money we spent on seeds, equipment … came from the CSA. It’s really been a community.”
It’s “challenging to build a community like that in New Jersey because of the [lack of] access to land. Land is much cheaper in other parts of the country,” he notes. “We’ve survived and existed by growing really big as fast as we can.”
The NJ native seems to have created the opportunity he once saw elsewhere. “We live and work in the community that we serve. People know us.” Flocktown Farm is in the process of purchasing the land it farms on.
FLOCKTOWN FARM
552 Pittstown Rd, Pittstown
flocktownfarm.com
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