Nearly 400 acres of farmland will be preserved soon after the Gloucester County Board of Chosen Freeholders purchased the rights to five farms in Harrison and Franklin Townships.

According to Freeholder Deputy Director Robert M. Damminger, these five farms are part of 20 farms that the county will close on this year, adding up to over 1,000 acres that will eventually be preserved.

"It benefits the county and it benefits the municipalities," Damminger said. "It keeps a strain off of municipal services."

By preserving this farmland, outside developers are prevented from buying the parcels from farmers to build upon. The acreage will continue to be farmed on as usual. The properties include: 40 acres owned by Fred Arcangeli, 28 acres owned by Henry Weber Jr., 81 acres owned by Ralph F. Travaglione and Marc R. Travaglione, 180 acres owned by Clendining Farm and 60 acres owned by John E. Clendining.

"This is something people are very passionate about," said Damminger. "We like the local farm stands."

According to Damminger, there are over 15,000 acres of farmland already preserved in Gloucester County. The Farmland Preservation Program, which made all of this possible, relied on funding from state grants that go down to the county level. In most cases, the state pays for more than half of the settlement costs for each property. The county provides the rest, using funds created by voter's passage of a county farmland preservation and open space tax.

"This is one of the nicest programs we have," Damminger said. "The money the farmers make is turned back into their farm for the people of the entire county. It's a win-win situation."