County to Preserve Demarest as Farming Family Retires

Bergen County's Demarest Farm will remain just that.

The county and state will be purchasing the property for $3.7 million in order to preserve it, County Executive Kathy Donovan announced in a release Wednesday.

According to a NorthJersey.com report, the county freeholder board approved the purchase – which will be made up of $2.5 million from the county and $1.15 million from the Garden State Trust – Wednesday.

But the farm, which has been run by Demarests since its foundation in 1886, will now be run by two longtime employees, the report said. Current owner Peter Demarest, who will be retiring in California, told the paper that the two have been working for the family since they were 14 years old, and that he is happy to complete the preservation process his father began nearly a decade ago.

“It’s going to be history. I’m excited,” Demarest told NorthJersey.com.

In her release, Donovan said the farm will remain the pick-your-own atmosphere many county residents have come to enojoy.

“We’re doing more than protecting farmland from development,” Donovan said in the release.

“We are preserving a link to our agricultural past. Today’s generation and generations to come will get the opportunity to see how their produce is grown and enjoy freshly picked fruit and vegetables on their table.”