Burlington County Commissioner Deputy Director Allison Eckel presented the 2024 Bill and Dorothy Pettit Farm Stewardship Award to the Savastano family in recognition of their land conservation and stewardship practices on their Mansfield farm, Honey Hound Orchard. Pictured are Eckel with Ariel Savastano, Joseph Savastano and Diane Savastano.
The Burlington County Commissioners helped honor a Mansfield farm for its outstanding land management and conservation efforts.
The Honey Hound Orchards in Mansfield was selected as the recipient of the annual Bill and Dorothy Pettit Farm Stewardship Award. The award is presented each year to a preserved farm whose owners demonstrate a strong commitment to agricultural production and land stewardship.
Burlington County Commissioner Deputy Director Allison Eckel, liaison to the Department of Resource Conservation and Parks, presented the award to orchard owners Joe and Diane Savastano on Jan. 9 during a Burlington County Agricultural Development Board meeting.
“Burlington County has preserved thousands of acres of farmland, but we know the job of maintaining the land and keeping it viable for agriculture falls to our famers,” Eckel said. “Good stewardship takes a lot of time, hard work and resources. We are grateful for farmers like the Savastano family who are making this effort and setting examples for other landowners to follow. We commend them for helping to keep Burlington County green, beautiful and productive.”
Honey Hound Orchard
Located off Route 68 in Mansfield, the 26-acre Honey Hound Orchard (formerly the Aaronson Farm) entered the county farmland preservation program in 2007. The Savastano family purchased the property in 2018 and converted the former grain farm into a 5,500-tree orchard. More than 50 varieties of apples are currently grown on the farm, along with elder berries, blackberries, and black raspberries.
The farm also has more than 300 free range hens and 25 bee hives. Honey, eggs, jams, syrups and other farm products are sold year-round from the farm’s barn.
The farm is proud to be free from pesticides and for creating more than eight acres of pollinator habitat. The Savastano family also employs a variety of other conservation and stewardship activities, including installation of a drip irrigation system funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), composting farm produce waste and mulching orchard rows. The farm also maintains habitat for various wild bird species.
