FOX Enterprise correspondent Jeff Flock reviews on a New Jersey household farm vulnerable to being seized by the native authorities, and the way the Trump administration could intervene to assist cease it.
A longtime household farm in Cranbury, New Jersey, is vulnerable to being seized by the city by way of eminent area.
The state of affairs with the farm owned by brothers Christopher and Andy Henry, which has been of their household for 175 years, just lately drew discover from U.S. Division of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
Rollins mentioned on X final week that she was “wanting into this example instantly,” including, “We should shield household farms in any respect prices.
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“Whether or not the Maudes, the Henrys or others whom we’ll quickly announce, the Biden-style authorities takeover of our household farms is over,” she wrote in a subsequent June 17 publish. “Whereas this explicit case is a metropolis eminent area difficulty, we @usda are exploring each authorized choice to assist.”
Rollins additionally mentioned she had been “on the cellphone” with Andy Henry.
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins within the Oval Workplace as President Donald Trump indicators government orders on the White Home on April 9, 2025. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Pictures / Getty Pictures)
The farm is below risk of seizure by Cranbury Township after a city committee signed off on a measure that may pave the best way for eminent area seizure, NJ.com reported.
Cranbury Township is probably constructing state-mandated inexpensive housing on a big portion of the farm’s land, based on the outlet.
The Henry brothers have reportedly been combating to forestall the seizure of the farm for months.
The household farm, which is now leased out for cattle farming, has belonged to Christopher and Andy Henry for over a dozen years. They’ve poured $200,000 into the property and declined affords of as much as $30 million made by builders in that point, NJ.com reported.
The Henry farm is being leased out for cattle farming. ( / iStock)
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Whereas advocating to maintain their farm, the Henry brothers have mentioned its proximity to warehouses wouldn’t make it a great place to assemble inexpensive housing and that there are higher websites elsewhere. Their legal professional, Timothy Dugan, has additionally argued the transfer contradicts the city’s work to protect agricultural land within the space.
FOX Enterprise reached out to Cranbury Mayor Lisa Knierim and Dugan for remark.
Andy Henry instructed FOX Enterprise correspondent Jeff Flock that the city’s transfer “completely shocked us.”
Officers have indicated a good market value can be supplied to the Henry household within the occasion of eminent area, per NJ.com.
Trump admin joins combat to avoid wasting 175-year-old household farm from native authorities–>
Requested about that, Andy Henry instructed Flock his household “do not even wish to promote it” however mentioned the city “would supply us quite a bit lower than a warehouse developer would.”
Knierim is searching for an eminent area takeover of the farm as a result of it might stave off builders pursuing costly “builder’s treatment lawsuits,” in accordance NJ.com.
She has additionally mentioned nobody “is in favor of eminent area” or “desires to see a farm disappear” prior to now, NJ.com reported.
Andy Henry instructed Flock that Rollins “mentioned she’d make a couple of calls” when she spoke with him.
“She did acknowledge that this isn’t a federal difficulty, however she’s attempting to assist in any manner she might,” he mentioned.
Cranbury Township is positioned in north-central New Jersey. The city itself is house to a number of thousand folks, with Middlesex County, the county it falls inside, having a bigger inhabitants of over 890,000.
