They just started a fresh social media campaign to get people to call and complain about the shows being postponed, but have yet to tell anyone the role they play in the situation. As a business owner trying to survive the covid reality, I completely understand the implications of lost business, but can’t get on board with the lack of transparency.
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BUT I’d be thrilled if they got something done with the Department of Ag so I could get farmland assessment on my farm :lol:. I probably have a better chance of winning the lottery
Editted to correct my misinformation: they did not delete the original post, only unpinned it so it had dropped down their newsfeed.
this is Not a question of is Ag Use or Not for taxes purpose as the only way one can get land into this Farmland Preservation is that the land had already been determined to be Ag by the taxing authority… the question is is he following the requirements of the Farmland Preservation program
I assume that is why he was “going to bred horses for sale” as in the New Jersey Farmland Preservation Overview
A carefully thought-out application will leave flexibility for current and future residential and non-agricultural needs which support the overall agricultural strength of the farming operation.
https://www.nj.gov/agriculture/sadc/publications/2019.05.15.4fpoverview4pagebooklet.pdf
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This was the response from the Dept of Ag:
Dear Friend of the Equine Community,
This letter is in response to the correspondence you recently sent me concerning equine shows scheduled at Hunter Farms/Princeton Show Jumping (PSJ) this fall. Please know that I am fully aware of the importance of PSJ’s shows to New Jersey’s equine community. The decision of the State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC) was in no way related to COVID-19 safety protocols employed at the facility. Our understanding is that PSJ has done an exemplary job of ensuring public safety during all of its events and PSJ has indicated it will continue to abide by all required social distancing guidelines.
PSJ’s event facility is located on a farm that was preserved through the State’s Farmland
Preservation Program (FPP). The SADC has been in dialogue with PSJ for several years in an effort to support holding equine shows in a manner that complies with the requirements of the FPP. To that end, in December of 2019 the SADC approved PSJ’s holding up to 9 equine shows in 2020, including the remaining shows originally scheduled for this fall. However, PSJ made the decision to conduct more shows earlier in the season, during spring and summer, thereby exhausting the total 9 permitted shows prior to the September/October show schedule. At last week’s meeting, the SADC voted to uphold its prior decision that conditioned approval of any more than 9 shows on PSJ’s full compliance with the FPP requirements.
I hope this information clarifies the SADC’s actions at its meeting last week.
Regards,
Douglas H. Fisher, Chairman
State Agriculture Development Committee
And from the municipality:
it says that PSJ failed to satisfy the conditions of approval set forth in its May 2013 approval and its September 2019 approval. Disputes that the township believes horse shows are not agricultural stating the denial is rather an effect of non compliance with PSJ’s 2013 and 2019 approvals which “advance important purposes for the long-term preservation of agricultural lands in this State.” And further states that the “Township is a recognized leader in the State for its open space, farmland and agricultural preservation efforts.”
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I see something similar in Massachusetts where APR landowners are criticized for actually trying to make money from agriculture by having farm type days with hay rides, corn mazes. This is from a 2014 article in the Hampshire Gazette: “The state would say, ‘We can’t allow this road race to take place because of soil compaction,’ where you might have a farm right next to it with a pick-your-own operation that’s seeing more foot traffic and car traffic than an APR farm that wants to do four road races a summer,” said Bonanno, pointing to what he sees as an economic disadvantage for APR farms.
“APR farms shouldn’t be second-class citizens,” he said. “As farmers have wanted to do more of these activities, the state was saying ‘no.’ The goal of the department is not just to protect the farmland, but also to ensure the economic viability of the farm. Yet if all you are is in the wholesale business, it’s very, very difficult to make ends meet.”“The state would say, ‘We can’t allow this road race to take place because of soil compaction,’ where you might have a farm right next to it with a pick-your-own operation that’s seeing more foot traffic and car traffic than an APR farm that wants to do four road races a summer,” said Bonanno, pointing to what he sees as an economic disadvantage for APR farms.
“APR farms shouldn’t be second-class citizens,” he said. “As farmers have wanted to do more of these activities, the state was saying ‘no.’ The goal of the department is not just to protect the farmland, but also to ensure the economic viability of the farm. Yet if all you are is in the wholesale business, it’s very, very difficult to make ends meet.”
And for people laughing out loud about my horse showing as part of the agriculture of horse raising/selling/training…why are there cow shows and 4-H shows? We don’t have to eat everything to have it considered agriculture. There are flower shows and green houses.
Then petition the the legislature to change the definitions. Don’t flour the rules and expect to be forgiven time and time again because you wish the law was different
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Agree but as horse owners/exhibitors/consumers of other ag products (hay and grain) we are doing ourselves a disservice if we don’t support and promote horse training and showing as part of an agricultural industry. We allow all kinds of other farming to get the breaks and then we get treated as an industry that doesn’t need economic aid or breaks because everyone acts like its all rich people hanging out with horses. It is not. Our industry supports hay farmers, grain dealers, vets, farriers and so many other occupations that rely on horse people to support their agricultural endeavor (if we didn’t have a horse business, hay farmers would have fewer customers), so why are hay farmers more agriculture than we are?
Brazenly refusing to follow the rules is not a great way to promote the equine industry
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That is a part of my complaint.
No one can deny that HF/PSJ is a huge force for the equine business in the area. But I have a problem with the people who RUN horse shows not wanting to follow rules THEMSELVES.
Players large enough, may play fast and loose with the regulations, while profiting from a system that holds others to account (sometimes harshly.)
At the very least, it does not look good. At the worst, it perpetuates the worst mechanics of politics and bureaucracy.
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