We here at Gracie & Harrigan are eager to assist our clients with the preparation and certification of their Farmland Assessment applications. The deadline for filing for Farmland Assessment is August 1, 2026. There is no extension available for this deadline. Please know that most municipalities mail out blank applications on or about June 1 to your address of record. For the majority of municipalities, we have your pre-filled forms available.
Also, please remember that we moved in early 2021! We are now located in Gladstone, at the Conover Corners across the street from the main branch of the Peapack-Gladstone Bank.
Our instructions to our clients can be read by clicking here. Our Activity Summary sheet, for helping you organize your information ahead of meeting with us or mailing in your forms, can be viewed by clicking here. For our calendar showing available office hours, click here. Lastly, directions can be found by clicking here.
We look forward to assisting you! Just don't wait until the last minute.
-Heather, Chrissy, Steve, Alex, Jackie, and Lacey
In January, Governor Murphy signed the “Farmland and Woodland Tax Assessment Integrity and Investment Act” into law. For Farmland Assessed landowners with at least 5 acres of cropland or pasture, this Act increases the minimum income requirement from $1,000 for the first five acres of land to $1,900 for the first five acres. This increase will take effect in three years.
For Farmland Assessed landowners with less than 5 acres of cropland and/or pasture, the minimum income requirement remains at $500 for the first five acres for those qualifying through the traditional woodland rules. Income requirements for additional lands above and beyond the first five acres remains unchanged at $5 for each additional acre of cropland and pasture and $0.50 for each additional acre of woodland/wetland. Forest Stewardship rules and guidance remain unchanged (specifically, that Forest Stewardship Plans remove the minimum income requirement for forested properties without fields or pasture).
We urge all of our clients who are working with farmers to manage fields and pastures to have a conversation with them as soon as possible to make sure that the new requirements will be able to be met at that time.
Beech Leaf Disease is now endemic throughout Northern and Central New Jersey. Beech Leaf Disease is caused by an exotic invasive nematode (Litylenchus crenatae mccannii), and is found in the buds and leaves of the trees, which is its food source. Beech Leaf Disease affects all American beeches, European beeches, and all cultivars thereof. In the first year, infected beech trees might not show any signs. Later on, dark bands appear between the veins of the leaves, making the disease easier to spot. Other signs include fewer leaves, curled leaves, and dead buds. These symptoms usually start in the lower part of the tree and move upward.
Beech trees of all ages can die quickly, although larger trees can linger. In places where Beech Bark Disease is also present, the problem is compounded. At least one treatment option is on the market, although its use will likely be limited to landcaping trees and extremely high-value beech trees still in excellent health. The time for planting underneath existing beech trees is upon us. Please ask about tree planting for spring of 2027 while we are helping you with your farmland assessment forms this summer.
Another issue that seems to becoming more and more prevalent is Bacterial Leaf Scorch, that primarilly impacts red oak and pin oak. This disease can be identified where the leaf edges die, having a yellow border and the damage spreads in a curvy line. The tree respods by growing new shoots as the bacteria's growth worsens and spreads.
The New Jersey DEP Forest Service periodically inspects forested properties in the Farmland Assessment program to ensure compliance. They inspect to make sure landowners are following their 10-year forestry plan, and that Best Management Practices are followed within regulated areas. It should be made aware that these inspections have increased, and are anticipated to continue to increase over time. Please ensure that you are following your forestry plan to the best of your ability. If you are ever unsure if your forestry work is sufficient, please feel free to reach out to us for assistance.
We hope to see many of you at the annual Tree Farm Day sponsored by the New Jersey Tree Farm Committee. This year’s program will be at a property that we advise in Long Valley, New Jersey. The program is packed with many opportunities including active forest management demonstrations of tree thinning, forestry brush mowing, and a sawmill operation.
The terrain is fairly flat with many trails that are easy to navigate. Hay wagons will also be available to help transport folks through the woods. The presentation of the Ron Sheay Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year Award and the George Pierson Forest Stewardship Landowner of the Year Award will take place, as well as our wonderful silent auction, with many interesting and useful items (any donations you can bring are much appreciated!). The program begins at 8:30 am and continues through 3:30pm, and includes both breakfast and lunch.
Registration is $35 per person, and $25 for each additional person in your party. The registration deadline is May 29. Please bring a portable chair, as seating may be limited. You can register directly by clicking here, or for further information please contact Alex Kelchner, NJ Tree Farm Chair at 908-781-6711 alex@gracieharrigan.com. We hope to see you there!
Recently, NJ Division of Taxation announced that it intends to move all annual Farmland Assessment filings to an online system. According to them, the online system will be mandatory starting with the August 1, 2027 deadline. In advance of that change, a pilot program will be introduced for Mercer County and Somerset County this summer. For those counties, landowners have a choice this summer whether to file digitally or using paper applications.
Gracie & Harrigan remains committed to helping our clients through the preparation and certification of Farmland Assessment applications in an orderly and accurate manner. We intend to partner with a select number of clients in Somerset and Mercer counties to complete the online filing process and gain familiarity this summer. We plan to submit feedback based on our experience. We fully intend to work with partners such as NJ Farm Bureau and NJ Forestry Association to make sure that our feedback to NJ Division of Taxation is taken seriously.
Each year many of our clients are solicited by timber buyers and loggers and, unfortunately, occasionally a few will allow logging to proceed on their property without our involvement. More often than not, the results are very disappointing. The landowner has little or no control over which trees are removed, has little or no record of wood volumes removed, and little or no understanding of the actual value of the wood harvested. The landowner has little recourse for damages to residual trees, or remediation of other site damage. Finally, the landowner has only the word of the logger that payment will eventually be received.
In addition to the above, conducting a timber harvest without the assistance of an approved forester could be construed as “excessive and unnecessary cutting”, which is a contradiction to all Forest Management Plans, and to the woodland portion of the NJ Farmland Assessment Act. Also, if timber is harvested in wetlands, wetland transition areas or riparian areas without filing a Harvesting Plan with the NJ Forest Service, landowners could face potential fines and/or violations with NJDEP. Failure to follow an approved Forest Management Plan could also jeopardize the farm assessed tax status of a property.
Logging can be done in an ecologically responsible manner, which would meet landowners’ objectives for fiscal returns and for recreational, and ecological impacts. Our firm handles this by selecting, measuring and marking each tree to be harvested in accordance with the landowner’s objectives. Wood volumes are calculated by individual species to determine a base value. Competitive bids are solicited to reputable and insured loggers. Harvesting Plans are prepared and filed, as needed with the NJ Forest Service. Contracts are prepared, all work is periodically reviewed, and our firm handles the collection of the timber income. If you are interested in discussing options for a timber harvest on your property, let us know when you are here during farm tax season, or call us. We will be happy to schedule an appointment to review the possibilities with you.
Gracie & Harrigan works exclusively for landowners working to obtain or maintain their Farmland Assessed property tax qualifaction, charitable not-for-profit organizations, or government entities. Periodically, a client will ask whether or not we charge sales tax. We do not charge sales tax because we do not sell tangible personal property or one of the thirteen different taxable services, as provided under the NJ Sales and Use Tax Act (NJSA 54:32B-1 et seq). Generally speaking, the vast majority of what we do falls under the broad category of professional services, such as provided by lawyers, doctors, accountants, etc.
One of those taxable service categories is "Maintaining, servicing, or repairing real property", which helps to explain why we do not do maintenance or other services on our clients' properties, but rather guide them in how they can do it themselves or provide a list of recommended contractors who can do that work. If we are concerned that there could be a question about whether or not our work could fall into that taxable category, we will require the client to provide a Form ST-7 (a farmer's exemption certificate), or an ST-5 (for tax-exempt not-for-profit organizations).
Date: Thursday June 6th, 2024 (Rain or Shine)
Time: 8:30a.m. – 3:30p.m. (Registration & breakfast – 8:30-9:15 AM) – PLEASE TRY TO BE PROMPT
Place: Rosedale Park at 424 Federal City Road, Pennington, NJ 08534
Cost: $30 per adult (kids under 18 free) – Healthy continental breakfast and lunch included.
Registration Deadline: Thursday May 30th, 2024. If you have any questions, please contact Dennis Galway at 908-696-9133
Who: Organized by NJ Tree Farm Program
What: (provided by NJ Tree Farm Program)
Yet another outstanding Tree Farm Day is planned for you all at Rosedale Park. Rosedale Park (part of Mercer Meadows -- and within the Mercer County Park system) has lots of habitat types our resource specialists can provide great information about and to help you understand how everything is interconnected. We will be able to see management of riparian forest restoration, non-native plants, prescribed burn areas, management for game and non-game wildlife species, including some threatened and endangered species. We'll also have limited-capacity tours with plenty of choices amongst many topics of interest.
Why: Come share with us in celebrating the forests and learning more about them, renewing relationships and making new ones, and congratulating your peers for their outstanding achievements in forest resource management.
You can register directly by clicking here, or for further information, please contact Dennis Galway, Chair at 908-696-9133 or dgalwaydsl@verizon.net. We hope to see you there!
Recently, there has been a flurry of activity in local governments to establish or update their municipal tree cutting ordinances. This is a result of a November 2022 decision by NJDEP to require municipalities to have such ordinances in order to meet the requirements of their stormwater/storm sewer permits. NJDEP then published a model ordinance for local governments to consider.
The current action is targeted towards development and other land use change. Therefore, forestry -- as practiced under a plan approved by DEP Forest Service -- is exempted under the model ordinance, as are take-downs of hazard trees. However, please be aware that municipalities can alter the model ordinance during their local deliberations. Foresters have long recognized the importance of forests (including urban & community forests) for water yield, water quality, and the reduction of peak stormwater flows. If you want Gracie & Harrigan to review your municipality's tree cutting and replacement ordinance with you, please let us know.
Recently, Gracie & Harrigan had the good fortune to hire Jacquelyn Johnston as our newest Associate Forester. Jackie is a recent graduate of the forestry program at Rutgers University, where her studies included both rural forestry and urban & community forestry. While at Rutgers, she worked on various projects tracking movements of plant species, tree inventories, and silviculture projects, ultimately being awarded the E.B. Moore Forestry Award by her department. Immediately prior to being hired in her present position, Jackie worked for Gracie & Harrigan in a seasonal capacity, co-leading field operations on a major hazard tree inventory.
A resident of Somerset County, Jackie has a certification in wetland delineation and currently serves on the board of the International Society of Arboriculture -- New Jersey Chapter. Her interests are gardening, plant propagation, food systems, hiking, foraging, beekeeping, and road trips to nurseries and farm stands. So please help us welcome Jackie to the Gracie & Harrigan crew this summer as she assists with Farmland Assessment applications, as well as necessary fieldwork!
Forest stand improvement is a very common recommendation under forest management plans that we write, but what is its ecological basis? Forest stand improvement thinnings can take many forms. Most commonly they are either thinning from below or crop tree management.
By thinning from below foresters are seeking to mimic low- to moderate-intensity wildfires. Such wildfires were common hundreds of years ago and helped shape the forest that we know today. By favoring thick-barked species such as oaks and pine, such fires helped develop native wildlife and plant communities and were an important ecological process. Of course your insurance company would likely not be happy if you started flicking matches into the forest. By cutting thin-barked species, especially those with smaller diameters, we can get the same outcome using a slightly different process.
Crop tree management is slightly different in that we specifically identify high-quality and or high wildlife value trees that we wish to retain on the property. Next we identify lower-value trees (either economic value or ecological value) that are competing with the trees designated to remain. Some of those trees that are directly competing with residual trees are designated to be cut.
Both systems are designed to increase the health and vitality of the residual forest as well as the individual trees designated to remain. Since many of the residual trees are oaks and other thick-barked species, these methods correspond well to the outcomes of light- and medium-intensity wildfires. When such thinning is combined with competing understory vegetation control, we also have the added benefit of improving groundcover quality and improving the chances for developing new seedlings and saplings that should become the next generation of trees as the older trees die off.
As once-far-away disease problems become resident in northern and central New Jersey -- such as emerald ash borer and bacterial leaf scorch -- we are further reminded that our forests are dynamic, disturbance-dependent ecosystems. They will change whether we like it or not. By following the ecological processes that developed these forests in the first place we have our best chance for keeping them healthy in the long term.
Planting and protecting trees is important for so many reasons: sequestration of carbon dioxide, filtering pollutants, aesthetics, biodiversity, and improvement of air quality to name a few. With the decline of trees within the forests starting with ash trees due to the emerald ash borer, where some are seeing up to a 90% loss of canopy cover in riparian areas (lands in or near wetlands, streams, and floodplains). Beech leaf disease is not helping the situation. With globalization, there will always be a new pest and disease on the horizon and the only way to combat that is to keep planting and protecting trees, and making sure you have diversity within your forest or homesite instead of a monoculture. This will make your forest more resilient to future pests and disease.
Forested riparian areas help with the reduction of pollution that enters our waterways. The trees, shrubs, and other native herbaceous plants filter out the excess nutrients from runoff, from homes, roads, and farms. Another important reason to keep riparian areas forested is trees also help to reduce erosion and from excess sediment from entering the water ways that potentially smothers the good invertebrates within the stream. Trees and herbaceous plants can also help fight erosion. So, if you are experiencing this on your property, contact us and we can help with the issue.
Earlier in January, 2021, we moved from our former office location in Far Hills to our current location in Gladstone. Long-time clients will remember that we were located in Gladstone for about ten years, prior to the move to Far Hills in 2004. We believe that our new location will be an improvement for our clients, given that our new location has ample parking in the rear of the building.
We are now located in one of the storefront spaces in the Conover Corners building at 210 Main Street, Gladstone, NJ 07934. That is on the corner of Main Street (Gladstone) and Mendham Road, directly across the street from the Gladstone branch of the Peapack-Gladstone Bank, and also across the street from The Stable.
We look forward to seeing many of our clients over the next few months! Thank you for the opportunity to be of service.