He and his family immigrated to the United States in 1888, quickly settling on a farm in Woodbine, New Jersey, where he learned about agriculture.
Lipman was appointed to the Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station in charge of its Department of Soil Chemistry and Bacteriology.
[3] Nobelist Selman Waksman wrote a biography of the researcher, entitled Jacob G. Lipman: agricultural scientist, humanitarian (1966).
He quotes Lipman stating: "We are indebted to science for a clearer vision of the great laws of nature and of the methods of the Divine Creator.
The men of science, in carrying on their labors in a spirit of reverence and humility, try to interpret the great book of knowledge in order that the paths of man may fell in more pleasant places, and the ways of human society may be better keeping the divine purpose.