U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins is once again wading into the controversy surrounding Andy’s Farm in Cranbury, New Jersey, penning a letter to the township council which contains some direct warnings.
“Just signed a letter to Cranbury Township, NJ, urging them to halt the seizure of a 175-year-old family farm,” wrote Rollins on X shortly after 6 o’clock on Thursday evening. “@USDA has certified this land as 100% prime farmland. If federal funds are involved, this project and seizure plan is out of compliance with the law. We will protect America’s farmland.”
Rollins expounded upon the state of her department’s investigation in the body of the correspondence:
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency within USDA, has completed a formal evaluation of this property and has determined that the parcel contains prime farmland soils as defined under the Farmland Protection Policy Act (FPPA), 7 U.S.C. § 4201 et seq. That designation triggers specific protections under federal law.
USDA is currently investigating whether any portion of this project-including funding or planning support-has involved or will involve the use of federal funds, including but not limited to grants administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through the State of New Jersey. If federal funding is implicated, then your township and any administering entity are required by statute and regulation to have completed and submitted Form AD-1006 (Farmland Conversion Impact Rating Form) to NRCS prior to any commitment of funds or advancement of the project. To date, no such form has been submitted to USDA by the Township or its partners.
Let me be clear: advancing this project without complying with federal farmland protection requirements could place your township-and any funding partners-in violation of federal law. Depending on the outcome of our ongoing review, that noncompliance may subject the project to federal enforcement actions, including the freezing or clawback of funds, and could jeopardize the township’s eligibility for future federal assistance.
You can click here to read the full letter.
Meanwhile, the Township is moving to submit its Fair Share housing plan (due June 30th) which includes the 175-year old family farm in its proposal. Andy Henry announced at Tuesday night’s planning board meeting to consider the plan that he had filed a lawsuit to block the Township’s efforts to coerce him to sell the historic property.
