What Makes a Farm? – Insider NJ
By: Fred Snowflack | Published: 2025-07-22 20:34:00 | Source: www.insidernj.com
During Phil Murphy’s “state of the state” address in January, he paused to single out Jack Curtis in the balcony.
Curtis was once a Republican alderman in Dover, but the governor’s shout out had nothing to do with that.
Murphy praised Curtis for devoting much time and energy to highlighting what seems like quite a scam – “fake farmers” who are getting thousands of dollars in property tax breaks.
In a state where property taxes are the highest in the nation, that’s quite the benefit.
This issue is not new, but because the beneficiaries tend to be well-off (that’s being understated) nothing changes.
It is not really disputed that farmers in New Jersey – the Garden State, mind you – should get some help. The state’s 60-year farmland assessment policy does that by drastically reducing…
