The Morris County Agriculture Development Board recently preserved the 13-acre Tinc Farm, a hay and cattle farm located on Tinc Road in Mt. Olive.

The purchase of the development easement on this property from owners Judy Hanna and Steven Tinc by the Morris County CADB restricts the land from non-agricultural uses, thus permanently preserving the farm.

The Tinc farm is adjacent to another 69-acre farm that also is preserved through the state program.

It is the 129th preserved farm in Morris County and the sixth preserved agricultural property in Mount Olive, according to Katherine Coyle, director of the Morris CADB.

It is also the second Morris County farm preservation closing in two weeks. The 74-acre Scheller Farm in Washington Township was permanently enrolled into agricultural use two weeks ago.

The easement purchase was made in conjunction with a grant from the State Agriculture Development Committee, which provided 60 percent of the $197,835 acquisition price, or $118,701 to preserve the farm. The Morris County Open Space, Farmland, Floodplain Protection and Historic Preservation Trust Fund provided the remaining $79,134.

“This is an excellent program that over the past several decades has been very effective in preserving Morris County’s agricultural roots, and  creating a permanent and viable agricultural business district in the county,’’ said Freeholder Christine Myers, the county governing board’s liaison on preservation matters.

In contrast to open space preservation, the agricultural landowner retains ownership of, and may even choose to sell, the preserved farmland. But the land retains a deed restriction ensuring that it cannot undergo non-farm development.

Agricultural development of the farm is permitted and the type of farming activity can change in the future.

The Tinc Farm has been owned and farmed by the same family since 1924. The original dairy barn, springhouse and henhouse were built of native stone in the 1920s.

The adjacent preserved farm is owned by Felix McManus. That farm was preserved in 2007 through the State Agriculture Development Committee’s Direct Easement Purchase Program – the landowner applied directly to the SADC, which provided 100 percent of the funding.

Preservation of Tinc Farm brings the total area of preserved farmland in the county to 7,835 acres or the equivalent of 12 square miles, which is approximately the area of Long Hill Township, which is the 15th largest municipality in Morris County.

Morris County has a busy year planned for farmland preservation, with 13 more farms, totaling 514 acres in Chester Township, Harding, Mine Hill, Rockaway Township, and Washington Township scheduled for closings later in 2016.

For detailed information on the county’s agricultural preservation program, visit:  https://morriscountynj.gov/planning/divisions/prestrust/farmland/.