A bill to provide funding to farming and open space passed through the Senate today. The group of bills were sponsored by Senator Jim Whelan. The bills, S-2894 and S-2897, would appropriate approximately $32.4 million in State funds for farmland preservation projects Statewide. The funds, part of a $400 million bond issue approved by the voters in 2009, would be used to maintain open space, and preserve historic farms throughout the State of New Jersey.