The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is helping to protect a farm from being taken through eminent domain in order to create housing units in Cranbury, New Jersey. The units are being built in order to fulfill a state constitutional requirement to ensure affordable housing for residents who need it.
According to My Central Jersey, “This plan envisions 18 very-low-income units, 48 low-income units and 64 moderate-rate units. In all, the plan proposed 25 one-bedroom or efficiency units, 72 two-bedroom units and 33 three-bedroom units.”
The cattle farm is owned by Andy Henry alongside his brother. It has been owned by the Henry family for 175 years. The Henry’s currently live in New Mexico but have leased the property to a tenant and stay involved in the operations of the farm.
“Our farm in now leased for raising cattle and sheep. The town loves driving by and seeing something besides warehouses. Keeping this legacy intact and passing it to the next generation has been, and is always, our plan,” Henry told AGWeb.
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins is against the town’s decision to take the farmland.
On June 17, Rollins stated on X, “the Biden-style government takeover of our family farms is over. While this particular case is a city eminent domain issue, we @usda are exploring every legal option to help.”
Rollins gave a follow-up on Tuesday regarding the status of the Henry farm amid its possible appropriation through eminent domain. She recommended the town of Cranbury to “look at viable options already identified and currently on the table to utilize vacant land, with a willing owner/developer, to build the housing units.”
