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A4879 • 2026

Increases cap on grants for farmland stewardship activities to $100,000 per application.

Increases cap on grants for farmland stewardship activities to $100,000 per application.

Agriculture
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Fantasia, Dawn
Last action
2026-05-04
Official status
Introduced, Referred to Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Increases cap on grants for farmland stewardship activities to $100,000 per application.

Increases cap on grants for farmland stewardship activities to $100,000 per application.

What This Bill Does

  • Increases cap on grants for farmland stewardship activities to $100,000 per application.
  • Topic: Agriculture and Natural Resources Fiscal note: This bill has not been certified by OLS for a fiscal note.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-04 New Jersey Legislature

    Introduced, Referred to Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee

Official Summary Text

Increases cap on grants for farmland stewardship activities to $100,000 per application.
Topic:
Agriculture and Natural Resources
Fiscal note:
This bill has not been certified by OLS for a fiscal note.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
A4879

ASSEMBLY, No. 4879

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MAY 4, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� DAWN FANTASIA

District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)

Assemblyman� ALEX SAUICKIE

District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Scharfenberger

SYNOPSIS

���� Increases cap on grants for farmland stewardship
activities to $100,000 per application.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning farmland stewardship grants and
supplementing

P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-43 et
seq.).

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.� Notwithstanding any other
provision of the �Preserve New Jersey Act,� P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-43 et
seq.), any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, the provisions of
N.J.A.C.2:76-20.4, any requirements established by the State Agriculture Development
Committee concerning grant programs for stewardship activities on land
preserved for farmland preservation purposes, or any other rules or regulations
concerning grants for stewardship activities on preserved farmland adopted by
the committee, to the contrary, grant amounts available to farmers for farmland
stewardship activities on preserved farmland may total up to $100,000 per
application.� Any monetary limit on the amount per acre with regard to such
grants shall be adjusted as necessary to allow for the maximum grant amount of
$100,000 per application.

���� 2.� This act shall take effect
immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill provides that grant
amounts available to farmers for farmland stewardship activities on preserved
farmland may total up to $100,000 per application.� Currently, the regulations,
established by the State Agriculture Development Committee, implementing the
grant program for stewardship activities found at N.J.A.C.2:76-20.4 provide
that a grant amount may not exceed $200 per acre and a total grant amount of
$20,000 per application.

���� This bill seeks to address the
increased cost of farmland stewardship activities.� Farmland stewardship
activities, activities beyond routine operation and maintenance, undertaken on
a farm to repair, restore, or improve lands preserved for farmland preservation
purposes, such as the installation of deer fencing, soil and water conservation
projects, and projects that improve the resiliency of farmland soils, have
become prohibitively costly due to inflation and other cost factors.� A higher
cap on grant amounts to farmers for farmland stewardship activities will allow
larger scale projects to be undertaken.