Friday, August 22, 2003
New Jersey has 9,100 farms and over 800,000 acreas of farmland, most in small farms. Two thirds of New Jersey's farms are under 50 acres. 13% of them participate in a farmland preservation program, the highest percentage in the country. Nevertheless, New Jersey is still losing over 10,000 acres a year to development.
The Smart Growth plan accelerates the purchase of important agricultural land and coordinates farmland preservation at all levels of government.
Although it has not yet been adopted, the plan provides a good lens to explore the issues of farmland preservation. Read more.
posted by Ed Morrison |
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Some Background on EDPro Weblog
The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it.
One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information.
If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site:
Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber:
Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development
As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking.
Background on Ed Morrison
Download some background information on me here.
New Jersey's agricultural smart growth plan
