Local Farms Bought!

County auctions preserved farms

By: MELISSA HAYES Burlington County Times

MANSFIELD - The Burlington County Board of Freeholders sold eight preserved farms at auction Thursday for a combined $3.52 million.

The farms, totaling 715 acres, were sold with deed restrictions that prohibit development unrelated to agriculture.

This was the second farmland auction. In 2006, the freeholders sold six farms totaling 964 acres for $6.5 million. The proceeds are used to preserve additional farmland.

"I was pleased," Freeholder Bill Haines said, adding that everyone who purchased land is a farmer.

The freeholders set minimum sale prices, which are kept secret. Haines said all but one parcel met the minimum bid, but that doesn't mean the buyer will lose the land.

"We'll talk about it, but it wasn't that different, [the price] was very close," he said.

The county hired Max Spann to conduct the hour-long auction at the Rutgers EcoComplex. More than 200 people attended the event.

The farms were sold through a bidder's choice process, where the highest bidder picks which farm he wants. That farm is then taken off the table and there is another round of bids until each farm is sold.

Chris and John Probasco were the highest bidders with $750,000. They chose the largest of the available farms, the 202-acre former Armstrong farm in Mansfield.

The Probascos both have houses on a farm in Chesterfield, but also farm in North Hanover, Springfield, Mansfield, New Hanover and Eastampton. John Probasco said they wanted the plot because of the acreage.

"We're constantly in a state of expansion to stay competitive," he said.

They farm corn, wheat, soybeans, potatoes, spinach and pumpkins.

The Armstrong property also comes with two houses, which the family plans to rent.

In the second round, Timothy Gower of Southampton was the high bidder with $625,000. He chose the 120-acre C. Petit farm in Pemberton Township, which includes a country farmhouse, barns and silos.

The county purchased the farm for $2.55 million in 2006.

Carmen Infante of Millstone, Monmouth County, was the highest bidder in the third round with $645,000. He selected the 127-acre former Bell Farm in North Hanover. The county purchased that farm for $2.5 million in 2007.

Infante purchased two other farms in North Hanover over the last four years. He farms sod, soybeans, spinach, wheat and trees and shrubs.

Phil DePaulis of Rumson, Monmouth County, was the fourth highest bidder, paying $345,000 for the 49-acre former Orchard Enterprise Farm in Chesterfield. DePaulis owns Garden State Nursery adjacent to the farm. He said he plans to grow trees on the site and hopes to one day build a home there.

The county purchased that farm for $1.53 million in 2007.

Chesterfield Mayor Larry Durr bid $320,000 for the 69-acre former Blaetz farm in Pemberton Township. The county purchased the farm, which includes a house, for $1.05 million in 2006.

Ed Allen bid $300,000 on the former Conover farm in Pemberton Township. The 27-year-old was the youngest bidder and said he plans to move into the ranch house on the property. His father Ed Allen and brother Thomas Allen plan to farm it.

"That's the one we were going for," he said. "I got lucky. I didn't think we were going to get it."

The county purchased the 50-acre farm for $1.18 million in 2005.

The 36-acre former Ashmore farm in Florence sold for $270, 000, followed by the 62-acre former William Pettit Sr. farm in North Hanover, which was the last to sell at $265,000. The county purchased the farms for $700,000 and $899,414 in 2007 respectively.

The freeholders must approve the bids for the sales to be final.

"Our objectives were achieved," said Mary Pat Robbie, director of the county's Resource Conservation Department. "The farms were preserved and they went into the hands of farmers, some young farmers. That's important to us."

Email: mhayes@phillyBurbs.com