• Under the New Jersey Farmland Assessment Act of 1964, any property is eligible for a preferential farmland tax assessment if 5 or more acres is devoted to production of crops, forestry, livestock and the like.
• The land must have been in active horticultural or agricultural use for two years prior to being considered for farmland assessment rates.

• Public Law 2013, Chapter 43 amended the Farmland Assessment Act. Under the law, the primary change involved the total of gross sales required to secure and/or maintain farmland assessment. These changes are as follows:

• The $500 Gross Sales criterion for the first 5 acres of land in agricultural/horticultural use (NOT including land under an approved Woodland Management Plan) is increased to $1,000. Additional income on land of this type over the 5-acre minimum remains at $5.00/ac.
• For lands under a Woodland Management Plan the Gross Sales requirement remains at $500 for the first 5 acres, and $0.50/ac beyond the 5-acre minimum.
• The Gross Sales must be reported on the newly promulgated Supplemental Farmland Assessment Gross Sales Form, Form FA-1 G.S. (3/2018). This form must be filed along with the FA-1 application (and WD-1, where applicable) by August 1st.

• Note 1: Where a crop or farm product is not harvested before the August 1st application deadline, applicant may provide an estimate of sales that will occur before December 31. In this case, please write the word “ESTIMATE” in the space below the “Final Income” figure on the form.

  Note 2: You do not need to report ALL your farm-related income for the year. All that is required by law is that you report AT LEAST the amount of income necessary to qualify the property in question for farmland assessment based on the type of acreage involved.

  The fillable PDF version of Form FA-1 G.S. (3/2018) can be found at the following web link:

  http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/pdf/other_forms/lpt/fa1-gs.pdf

SOIL SURVEY MAP

In order to verify the actual area of farmland that is being claimed on your application, you are required to provide a Soil Survey Map of your property, if one is not already on file, or your property boundary has changed within the past year (via subdivision or lot merger).

IF YOU HAVE PREVIOUSLY PROVIDED A SOIL SURVEY MAP THAT ACCURATELY DEPICTS THE CURRENT BOUNDARY OF YOUR PROPERTY, THEN PLEASE DISREGARD THIS SECTION.

The Soil Survey Map provides valuable information regarding the various soil classifications of the land that comprises your farm. The State Farmland Evaluation Advisory Committee each year establishes a range in values for each different soil classification based upon its productive capabilities when devoted to agricultural or horticultural uses. These values are what ultimately determine your land assessment as qualified farmland. Information on obtaining a Soil Survey Map can be found by contacting the Morris County Soil Conservation District at (973) 285-2953.

In the event you do not provide this map with your application and there is no prior soil map in our file for your property, your farmland assessment for the upcoming tax year and all subsequent years will be based upon the highest reasonable soil group value as provided by the State Farmland Evaluation Advisory Committee (Group B – Good Farmland).