The Burlington County Agricultural Center offers something for everyone, from the weekly farmer’s market to classes for adults and children and community gardens.
According to the center’s website, the county’s board of commissioners preserved the 68-acre Winner dairy farm in Moorestown and Mount Laurel townships in 2005, following local opposition to a proposed commercial development there. The board established the agricultural center as an educational facility focused on food production, health and nutrition, and land stewardship.
The center property includes a farmhouse; commercial kitchen and outdoor area; and gardens maintained by the Master Gardener Program, among other features. It will continue as a working farm leased to the Carlisle family for raising sheep and farming.
“I love the warmth of it, that it feels like somebody’s home,” said Kathryn Simon, kitchen manager and program coordinator of the farmhouse. “The (wrap-around) porch is great, especially when it’s nice weather we open all the doors.”
The farmhouse also hosts an antique collection reflecting life on the farm in earlier times, most of which was donated by the New Jersey Museum of Agriculture. Earlier this month, county commissioners voted to approve three new properties in Mansfield, Shamong and Tabernacle for Burlington County’s Farmland Preservation Program, a move that will add to the more than 63,000 acres of preserved farmland in the county.
According to its website, the county is now ranked number one in the state and number seven in the nation for acres of preserved farmland.
“The idea has always been for the agricultural center to be supportive of agriculture in New Jersey, small farmers … Simon explained. “We work with Rutgers and the Master Gardener Program and the (Rutgers Cooperative Extension Service). They’ve got space out here for research …
“The county’s object is to provide resources to the community.”
The agricultural center hosts a large community garden area with more than 100 plots available for residents to rent, including a small section for seniors or the disabled. There are also plots that will demonstrate examples of plant production techniques and practices recommended by the Cooperative Extension and the Master Gardener Program. They will eventually showcase vegetables, herbs and other crops.
Starting Monday, July 17, the center will offer free farm tours on Saturdays at 10 a.m. Residents will learn more about the center’s agricultural partners – such as Little Hooves Romneys – and why the center partners with the Rutgers Master Gardeners and Farmers Against Hunger.
“It’s great to see people here and we love to share it,” Simon enthused. “ … You can come and read, you can come and sit in the sun or the shade, you can enjoy the wind, the birds …
“It’s a very relaxing place to work.”
For more information, visit www.burlcoagcenter.com.
