NEW JERSEY 



Legislation adopted in 1964 (Chapter 48 

 Laws of 1964) provided that land actively de- 

 voted to agriculture might, upon application of 

 the owner, be valued in such use. Agricultural 

 use was denned to include the production for 

 sale of trees and forest products. New Jersey 

 falls within the group of States providing for 

 assessment of forest lands at their "present use" 

 value. 



To implement "present use" assessment, the 

 1964 Act created a State Farmland Evaluation 

 Advisory Committee charged with determining 

 a range of values for each of the several classi- 

 fications of agricultural land in the various 

 areas of the State. Excerpts from the 1966 re- 

 port of the Committee 1 are reproduced below. 



FARMLAND ASSESSMENT- 

 STATUTORY LIMITATION 



The Farmland Assessment Act authorizes 

 and mandates assessment of qualified farmland 

 on the basis of its productivity value in agri- 

 culture or horticulture rather than on the basis 

 of its market value. 



PRODUCTIVITY VALUE 



Assessment of farmland on the basis of its 

 productivity value presents a number of diffi- 

 culties. The principal difficulties arise for two 

 important reasons: 



1. Exact measures of the innate produc- 

 tivity of the 215 soil types in New Jer- 

 sey are not available although there is 

 a scientific base for making reasonable 

 estimates of productivity. 



2. The productivity of farmland varies 

 with its particular use. 



A method of overcoming the principal diffi- 

 culties lies in combining the scientific knowl- 

 edge available on the characteristics of New 

 Jersey soils and their economic potential ac- 

 cording to current uses in agriculture. The pro- 

 cedure is simplified by grouping the 215 soil 

 types into five rated soil groups and four of the 

 most common uses of land by farmers. Net in- 

 come from the land is capitalized and allocated 

 on the basis of the above rated capabilities. 



AGRICULTURAL SOIL GROUPING 



New Jersey is fortunate in having a complete 

 set of maps and a description of all of its soils. 

 To aid in the assessing process, the agricultural 

 soils have been categorized - into five 3 groups : 

 Group A — Very productive farmland, 

 suitable for permanent culti- 

 vation. With proper manage- 

 ment, yields tend to be high. 

 Usually the most desirable 

 soil in the area. 

 Group B — Good farmland, suitable for 

 permanent cultivation. Yields 

 are generally fairly high. 

 Group C — Fair farmland, suitable for 

 permanent cultivation. Yields 

 tend to be lower than those in 

 Groups A and B. The limiting 

 factors are usually shallow- 

 ness, droughtiness, or exces- 

 sive moisture. 

 Group D — Rather poor farmland, usual- 

 ly wet, stony, droughty, or 

 otherwise unsuitable for per- 

 manent cultivation, 

 Group E — Land unsuitable for tillage, 

 usually because of excessive 

 water, shallowness, stoniness, 

 or droughtiness. 

 In arriving at a realistic classification (plac- 

 ing each soil into one of five groups), the fol- 

 lowing factors were primarily used: general 

 suitability of the soil for farming, mechanical 

 composition, depth of the soil, drainage, stoni- 

 ness, and other related properties. This group- 

 ing, however, does not take into consideration 

 improved roads, highways, power lines, water 

 supply and related conditions, nearness to mar- 

 kets, topography, soil erosion, and the degree 

 of slope. 



LAND USE CLASSES 



Land use on the typical New Jersey farm dif- 

 fers for various reasons but the primary uses 



1 Report of the State Farmland Evaluation Advisory 

 Committee 1966. 12 pp. Local Property Tax Bureau, 

 Trenton, N.J. 



2 Productive Capability of New Jersey Soils ; Dr. J. C. 

 F. Tedrow, Department of Soils and Crops, Rutgers — 

 the State University. A Soils Guide for Use in Connec- 

 tion with the Valuation, Assessment and Taxation of 

 Land Under the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964" 

 Chapter 48, Laws of 1964. (N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.1 et seq.) 



3 There is a sixth group, Group F, which is land of 

 no agricultural value, consisting of rock outcrop, rough 

 stony land, coastal beaches and clay pits. Such land is 

 not deemed eligible for assessment under the Farmland 

 Assessment Act of 1964. 



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