Flemington NJ COM - Rural Life in NJ Page



Farming in Pittstown, NJ - © All photography by Annick Elzière

SPECIALIZATION *is the key to success for farmers*
1938 -Country Board of Agriculture Executive Committee-A group of farmers supplied leadership for the awakening of the country's agriculture after a County Agricultural Agent was employed in 1927. Hunterdon County had the first artificial cattle breeding project in America. The Association's plant is near Clinton. Last covered bridge in New Jersey is at Green Sergeant's, Delaware Township, near Sergeantsville. It was preserved by the Board of Freeholders, responding to public sentiment.


© Photos by Annick Elzière

The famous Deats Plow, patented in 1828 by the father of H.E. Deats was a big factor in expansion of Hunterdon's productivity ans was in wide use a century ago. This plow is in the agricultural museum at Rutgers University.

Pioneer farmers didn't have lime or commercial fertilizer. They wore out their land and moved on. Some didn't even bother using animal manure as plant food. Early in the 1800's some farmers began planting "green manure", crops that were plowed under to enrich the soil. Commercial fertilizer came into use later in the century as scientists learned more about its use and passed the details along to farmers. Corn was one of the first crops grown by the pioneers after their land was partially cleared, and it remains the leading field crop. Hunterdon has been at or near the top among counties in New Jersey producing corn for grain.

Two-horsepower sickle bar mower preceeded today's gasoline motor devices for Hunterdon farmers. Agricultural fairs then as now featured contests to show off the "latest" equipment and the fine specially work of farmer's wives.

Smokehouse allowed curing of meat on the family farm.


© Photos by Annick Elzière

The first hay grown was a native grass, but timothy and clover were introduced by the early settlers, often grown in the same field. Alfalfa was first tried in the county about 1795 but wasn't successful. It made a comeback in the beginning of this century when the county Board of Agriculture and the Experiment Station at Rutgers University promoted it. Soybeans, which are a popular crop now, were first tried in the late 1800's and in the 1930's the Agricultural Adjustment Administration promoted them for soil building.

	Some local PICK-YOUR-OWN farms:

	Schaefer Farms 1051 County Road 523, Flemington (908) 788-5907 PEAS, PUMPKINS, THORNLESS BLACKBERRIES, FLOWERS, STRAWBERRIES
	The Raspberry Field 452 Bloomsbury-Pittstown Road, Milford (908) 479-6658 BLACK AND RED RASPBERRIES, RED AND WHITE CURRANTS
	Glen Summit Nurseries Route 513, Pittstown (908) 730-6139 or (908) 735-4400 STRAWBERRIES, PUMPKINS, RASPBERRIES
	Whistle Stop Nursery and Farm 95 John Ringo Road, Ringoes (908) 788-8552 STRAWBERRIES, TOMATOES, PLUM TOMATOES, SWEET CORN, PUMPKINS, MELONS, SQUASH, CUCUMBERS, EGGPLANT, BLUEBERRIES, ASPARAGUS, CUT FLOWERS, HERBS
	Wessex Hill Farm 143 Rosemont-Ringoes Road, Stockton 609/397-2529. ASPARAGUS, BLACKBERRIES, LETTUCE, HOT PEPPERS, TOMATOES, PEACHES
	Phillips Farms 91 Crabapple Hill Road, Milford (908) 995-0022 RED AND BLACK RASPBERRIES, BLACKBERRIES
	Terhune Orchards 330 Cold Soil Road, Princeton (609) 924-2310 APPLES, PEACHES, SOUR CHERRIES, RASPBERRIES, BLUEBERRIES, PUMPKINS, FLOWERS, HERBS
	Lee Turkey Farm 201 Hickory Corner Road, Hightstown (609) 448-0629 APPLES, CHERRIES, NECTARINES, PEACHES, BEANS, PUMPKINS, SQUASH, TOMATOES, PEAS, SWEET CORN, STRAWBERRIES, RASPBERRIES, BLACKBERRIES, EGGPLANT, PEPPERS, BROCCOLI, MANY OTHER VEGETABLES, FLOWERS, HAYRIDES, WALKING TOURS
	Chia-Sin Farms 211 Quakertown Road, Quakertown (908) 730-7123 CHINESE VEGETABLES

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES: Tomatoes were once scorned as poisonous, but around 1850, they became popular. Market tomatoes were raised in the Quakertown, Cherryville and Pittstown areas for sal in New York City. Apples and peaches have been the fruits grown on the largest scale. In the early days, nearly every farm had an apple orchard. Peach production started on a large scale in the 1850's around Sergeantsville. During one day in 1882, 64 carloads were shipped out of Hunterdon on the various railroads. Peach growing, of course, stimulated other industries, such as nurseries and basket factories. In 1889 there were two million peach trees in Hunterdon County, and nearly one million baskets of peaches were sold. In 1899 there were about one million trees

LIVESTOCK: Hunterdon's livestock consisted mainly of cattle, horses, swine and sheeps. Horses were mainly used for farm work. Cattle were kept for meat and milk. Swine were raised for meat and sheep were kept mostly for wool, although some were slaughtered.

DAIRYING: Hunterdon has been one of the New Jersey's leading dairy counties for many year. In 1974, the statistics show that Hunterdon had 7,300 milk cows on its farms.




© Photos by Annick Elzière

Bigger and bigger tractors are the order of the day because large farming operations are necessary in the competitive world of agriculture-and only modern methods have allowed agriculture to become a $30 million yearly business in Hunterdon.

POULTRY: Hunterdon's poultry industry has changed dramatically in the past 50 years. In 1963, 32 of 300 egg producer members of the Flemington cooperative were bringing in half of the eggs sold. Now a dozen farms produce a mjority of the eggs. The county has just over one million layers in 1965.

ANIMALS: Roaming the hills of New Jersey are black bears, southern bog lemmings, European hares, New England cottontails, Florida packrats and red-backed voles.

The deer are doing very well, with only the licensed hunter as their seasonal predator, that they have become more abundant than in the great forests of Maine and Oregon.

The horse population close to 100,000, makes New Jersey one of the five leading thoroughbred centers, and the standardbred horse capital of the United States, in terms of the number of tracks, races, horses, purses and patrons making up this lucrative industry. The horse industry grosses almost $400 million a year. Of the 8,700 farms in New Jersey, about 2,000 specialize in horses. There are about 1,000 farms for pleasure horses, 500 for standardbred (harness racing) and 460 thoroughbred farms producing winners at the world's greatest racetracks. A wide variety of horse trails in New Jersey is available in the bigger state and county parks, federal recreation areas and by private organizations. Riders can find plenty of trails in the northern hills and valleys of the Round Valley Recreation Area, Stokes State Forest and High Point, Swartswood, Allamuchy Mountain, Ringwood and Wawyanda parks. Campsites where horses are permitted are located in Wharton State Forest at Goshen Pond, Batona Campsite, Bodine Field, Lower Forge and Mullica River Campsite.

WILDLIFE: The official state bird of New Jersey is the golfinch, a hardy little species that adds color and music to woodlands and the tree-lined streets of suburbia. At High Point State Park, some 100 "common birds" are listed by the Department of Environmental Protection.

AMWELL LAKE is a picture-postcard body of water buffered by scenic farm land at the foot of the Sourland Mountains in southern Hunterdon County (Rt.31 going to Pennington). Channel fish up to 16 pounds have been caught in this lake which also teems with large mouth bass. Only small boats are permitted on the lake.

THREE GREAT RESERVOIRS

1965-SPRUCE RUN RESERVOIR-The primary source of water during drought conditions for the Elizabeth Water Company. Covering 1290 acres, the lake holds 11 billion gallons of water when full and reaches depths of over 75 feet.

1972-ROUND VALLEY RESERVOIR-Well known to fishermen. The lake holds 55 billions gallons of water over 2350 acres, extending to dephs of 175 feet.

1988-MERRILL CREEK RESERVOIR-The youngest of the three, Merrill Creek was built on 650 acres of land stop Scotts Mountain in Warren county's Harmony Township. The water is as deep as 200 feet.

FISHERMEN LOVE THESE MAN-MADE LAKES SAME AS CAMPERS AND BOATERS...
	Old Croton Rd. Flemington, NJ © Photo by Annick Elzière

Willie Nelson Lends Support to Family Farmers At National Ag Day Protest Against Factory Farming by Brian DeVore Des Moines, Iowa

Farm Aid president Willie Nelson joined 500 family farmers from across the country today in a National Agriculture Day protest against factory farming at the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) headquarters just outside Des Moines. The protest was organized by family farmers representing the Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment.
Nelson told the crowd, "I'm proud of your efforts to protect your farms and communities. Farm Aid will continue to stand beside you as long as organizations like the NPPC promote factory farms above the needs of farm families."
The demonstration, which attracted family farmers from Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and across the U.S., was spurred by NPPC's alleged misuse of producer checkoff funds to monitor activities of family farm organizations. At the rally, farmers demanded that NPPC stop monitoring family farmers who have voiced opposition to large-scale factory farming. They also asked for a federal investigation into reports that NPPC used nearly $50,000 in checkoff funds -- federally mandated assessments on pork producers for research, promotion and market development -- to hire a consulting firm to monitor farm groups who advocate sustainable agriculture and family farm pork production.
"With 25 percent of farmers going out of business in the past five years, the NPPC should be spending our money on programs that will help family hog farmers," said Larry Ginter, a hog farmer representing Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. "Instead, they continue to use our own money to spy on us."
Farmers announced at the rally that Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-MN) has written a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman to request an investigation by the USDA,s Office of Inspector General.
"We hope that other policymakers will join Sen. Wellstone in calling for an investigation into the NPPC's activities," said Paul Sobocinski, a Minnesota hog farmer representing Land Stewardship Project. "Commodity groups must be held accountable for how they use farmers, money."
To cap off the protest, farmers "renamed" NPPC headquarters by posting a large sign reading "National Factory Farms Council."
Roger Allison of Missouri Rural Crisis Center said, "Today is only the beginning. Family farmers will continue to fight in every township, every county and every state to oppose any attempts to promote factory farms over family farms."

	New Jersey Farm Bureau ® 168 West State Street Trenton, New Jersey 08608 Phone: 609-393-7163 Fax: 609-599-1209 Fax Network: 609-393-7070

Center for International Agricultural Finance (CIAF) 478 Heady Hall Iowa State University Ames, IA 50011-1070 Tel: 515-294-6354 Fax: 515-294-0700	Growing Connections (GC) 2123 East Grant Road Tucson, AZ 85719 Tel: 602-325-7909 Fax: 602-325-7961 Contact:Linda Ruth Herzog, Executive Director, Category: Environment -Founded:1984

Heifer Project International (HFI) 1015 S. Louisiana P. O. Box 808 Little Rock, AR 72203 Tel: 501-376-6836 Fax: 501-376-8906 Heifer Project animals (and training in their care) offer hungry families around the world a way to feed themselves and become self-reliant. Children receive nutritious milk or eggs; families earn income for school, health care and better housing; communities go beyond meeting immediate needs to fulfilling dreams. Farmers learn sustainable, environmentally sound agricultural techniques.	National 4-H Council The National 4-H Center 7100 Connecticut Avenue Chevy Chase, MD 20815 Tel: 301-961-2800 Fax: 301-961-2875 Contact: Richard Sauer, President.Gwen el Sawi, International Programs Director Founded: Clubs similar to 4-H were started in many places in the 1890s and early 1900s
National FFA Organization 5632 Mt. Vernon Memorial Highway P. O. Box 15160 Alexandria, VA 22309-0160 Tel: 703-360-3600 Fax: 703-360-5524 Contact: Diane Crow or Scott Ryckman - Founded: 1928 in Kansas City	National Grange 1616 H Street NW Washington, DC 20006-4999 Tel: 202-628-3507 Fax (202) 347-1091 Founded: 1867
Rodale Institute Tel: (610) 683-1400 Contact: John Haberern, President - Founded: 1947


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