Last Sayreville farm may soon be preserved
Dieker family wants to see land saved for future generations
BY JENNIFER DOME
Staff Writer

CHRIS KELLY staff Jim Dieker prepares a field for new crops on his farm in Sayreville. Stating that it’s the last remaining farm in the borough, officials are interested in preserving the property.

A century ago, Fred Dieker often noticed a tract of land for sale as he walked through Sayreville to his job aboard a steamboat in South Amboy.

Little did he know when he bought that oasis of lush vegetation, now flanked by the busy Garden State Parkway and Bordentown Avenue, that it would one day become the last operating farm in Sayreville.

The Dieker family has harvested the land for 100 years. If Jim Dieker gets his wish, the land will be a productive farm for many years to come.

Dieker, 46, took over the family’s farm when his father, Harry, died a few years ago. Although another grandson, Fred Dieker, owns a tract of the family’s land next to his, Jim is the only Dieker who still farms.

Jim Dieker recently asked Mayor Kennedy O’Brien to help him begin the process of preserving the farm.

"We’ve been here 100 years, maybe it’ll stay another 100 years," Dieker said.

Under the state Farmland Preservation Program, landowners who participate still own their land but sell their right to develop it and can never use it for anything other than agriculture. The sale price represents the difference of what a developer would pay for the land and what the land is worth for farming, according to the State Agriculture Development Committee.

"I think it’s so wonderful for Mr. Dieker to consider doing this," O’Brien said. "This shows his commitment to the community and his love of farming."

Dieker grows flowers, tomatoes, peppers, corn, peaches and other produce on two, 8-acre parcels of land. He also cultivates bedding plants in greenhouses located on the property.

In 1903, when the farm was first established, Jim’s grandfather, Fred, grew much of the same produce. However, his grandfather also raised chickens, pigs, cows and beef cattle.

"A lot of my customers — their parents bought from my grandfather," he said.

The farm was much larger before the Garden State Parkway took 8 acres through eminent domain in the 1950s.

The family’s roadside produce stand was started by Dieker’s grandfather and has grown considerably since.

According to Dieker, his grandfather used to sell fruit from a truck during World War II. Since then, the family has expanded its produce sales and now occupies a full-size building.

Dieker said the stand is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Satur-days and Sundays.

Even through nasty northeasters and dry, hot summers, the farm has survived. This year the rain is almost a blessing in disguise, Dieker said.

"We’re so busy picking, we can’t get the weeds cleaned up," he said. "There’s an old saying: A dry year will wear you to death; a wet year will kill you."

Luckily his wife Jeanne, 46, helps with the stand and other farm work, along with several employees.

The Diekers do not have children to pass the farm on to. That was one factor in his decision to pursue farmland preservation.

"It’s a prime piece of real estate that should be left as it is," he said.

If the preservation application comes through, Dieker said he will farm the tract of land behind his cousin’s house in addition to his own property.

He said he realizes the importance of owning the last farm in the borough, and said many residents have asked him not to sell. Through the preservation program, even if he sells the farm, deed restrictions prevent future owners from using the land for anything other than agriculture.

"When a farm goes and houses are put up, it’s gone forever," he said.