New Jersey's $1B agricultural industry threatened

Local farmers and officials have had strong reactions to Gov. Jon Corzine's plan to eliminate the New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NJDA) as a costcutting measure. Corzine also wants to eliminate the state's Commerce and Personnel departments.

The New Jersey Farm Bureau called on Corzine on Feb. 21 to reconsider any plan to abolish the NJDA as a budget-cutting move.

"We all recognize the need to streamline state government," New Jersey Farm Bureau President Richard Nieuwenhuis said, "but this goes too far and will dramatically undercut a $1 billion industry. The New Jersey Department of Agriculture provides vital support services to farmers across the state, and its elimination would be a severe blow to farmers across the state."

The 260-person NJDA is responsible for commodity promotion, animal health inspections, plant disease control, soil conservation and environmental programs, fertilizer testing, emergency food distribution, farmland preservation, agriculture advocacy and securing federal USDA grant funding, among other services.

"The governor wants to grow the economy and this is an agency that is directly involved with the annual growth of cash receipts by our farmers," he said. "The department is custodian of a mission and vision for the preservation of agriculture, and we fear there will be grave consequences if the NJDA is abandoned."

Upper Freehold goat farmer and veterinarian Dr. Joanne Bicknese said, "The dissolution of the NJDA would herald the end of a successful agricultural economy that has existed in New Jersey since Colonial times and result in further erosion of the overall economy of the state."

Bicknese said the NJDA provides critical animal health services that help New Jersey farmers keep livestock safe from life-threatening diseases and protects the public from unhealthy livestock in the food supply.

She also noted that the NJDAhas instituted anti-bioterrorism practices to help protect citizens and is directly involved with the economic development of existing and new agricultural businesses within the state.As an example of the latter, Bicknese said the NJDA worked with Rutgers University to start a meat goat development programthat has grown with the establishment of a model farm and outreach to nontraditional consumer markets.

"The NJDAtook the lead to develop this growing industry so that the New Jersey economy can directly benefit from in-state production of meat goats rather than those sales going to farmers from other states such as Texas," she said.

In addition, Bicknese said the NJDA works in partnership with the U.S. Department ofAgriculture to provide services that protect the integrity of animal and plant food products as well as the environment.

"Without the infrastructure that the NJDA provides, the federal partnership would be severely compromised and New Jersey would become an easy target for terrorists bent on damaging the food supply or infecting people with biological agents via animals, not to mention the impact on the environment," she said.

Upper Freehold's JoanHarper, a trustee of theHorse Park ofNew Jersey and a horse owner, said the abolition of theNJDAwould destroy the state's economy and the Jersey Fresh name that working farmers have made for New Jersey produce.

Harper wants to know what would happen to all of the land currently being used for farming if farmers start to leave the state.

"Do we want to see more houses and highways and then schools to support?" she asked.

The trickle-down effect of closing the NJDAwould be harsh on the local economy, she said, because agriculture helps support the horse industry, which brings tourists to the area.

"People come fromCanada, Florida and California," she said. "When people come froma distance they need lodging, food, gas and everything horse-related like feed and bedding. That supports our economy and without it there would be a ripple effect and no winner."

Millstone's Maggi Romano, the president of the New Jersey Horse Council, said New Jersey citizens need to rally together and contact their representatives in Trenton to convince the governor that New Jersey would no longer be the Garden State without the NJDA.

"It will be detrimental to one of the largest industries in the state," she said of Corzine's proposal to cut the department.

Romano said some of the state's agricultural commodities are known and appreciated nationwide while others have earned worldwide recognition.

"The Jersey Fresh brands are an assurance of excellent quality products," she said.

Romano also said that other states look to New Jersey for rules and regulations about animal health, welfare and research.

"That does not just happen," she said. "It is all put and brought together by the New Jersey Department ofAgriculture, and we have to fight to keep it that way."

Upper Freehold Mayor Stephen Alexander presented his opinion of the governor's proposal with a definition of asinine: foolish, stupid, brainless, senseless, idiotic, and absurd.

"There are departments in the state with far greater fat that can be cut to save the taxpayers'money," he said.

Lisa Post, owner of the Chestnut Ridge Equestrian Center in Millstone, said Corzine is not in touch with his constituents and called his idea for eliminating the NJDA "ludicrous."

"Does he forget that he is governor of the Garden State?" she said. "On the one hand is great interest in preserving the open space and agriculture that we have left in this overly-populous state for future generations, and then he plans to do something as harmful as this to the department that helps our state remain green?"

Pete Blaso, who raises standardbred racehorses on hisUpper Freehold farm, also noted the far-reaching implications of Corzine's plan on the state's motto and the state's animal, the horse.

"What will happen when the agriculture department is eliminated?" he asked. "Will we need new license plates that say, perhaps, 'NJ: The Atlantic City State,' or 'NJ: The Pollution State,' or 'NJ: The Property Tax State'? Will our state animal be changed to a rat, or a cockroach?"

Mark Mullen, who manages his family's FairWinds Farm standardbred breeding operation in Upper Freehold, said that the NJDA has been around for decades and that he would be surprised to discover that it is a significant factor in the current budget problem.

"It seems as though the governor's idea is to replace the Garden State with the toll and tax state," he said.

Nieuwenhuis said earlier administrations had considered the purported savings of closing theNJDAand each time found the department "is a lean, efficient operation."

"I suspect that this proposed action would have only the symbolic value of a cost savings once vital services are salvaged," Nieuwenhuis said. "But that symbol could be a death blow in the attitude of many farmers, who would rightfully wonder whether the state government could demonstrate credible support for their industry."

He called upon the governor and members of the legislature to proceed with steps that achieve fiscal discipline, but not to disproportionately levy cuts to agriculture that could easily cripple and discourage an industry that enjoys widespread popular support with New Jersey's citizenry.

Millstone Mayor Nancy Grbelja said, "The governor unfortunately has no respect for what has made this state what it is."

"Hismost recent lack of action to resolve the issue involving the state's horseman and suggestion that the Department of Agriculture be eliminated is a direct attack on very backbone of our state," she said.

Richard Stern and his son Rick, who operate Stern Farms LLC in Upper Freehold, said Corzine's lack of support for the horseracing industry and proposal to abolish the NJDAseem aimed at trying to completely destroy the state's billion dollar agricultural industry.

"We definitely support the New Jersey FarmBureau's efforts to get the governor to reconsider his plan for the NJDA[as it] is a valuable agency to New Jersey farmers," Stern said.

Instead of cutting theNJDA, Blaso said that he would like to see the state call in an outside agency to evaluate each department and streamline overlapping duties, eliminate "cream puff" jobs, and save millions of dollars.

"Do away with the government vehicles that flood the streets, eliminating insurance and maintenance costs," he said.

Harper suggested Corzine consider eliminating the paper pushers that take care of tax rebates.

"That just takes money from our right pocket and puts in back in the left pocket," she said. "If we could just keep the money in the first place those jobs would not be missed."

Harper also suggested a change in benefits for retired state workers.

"If the rest of us poor working people have to manage on Medicare and pay for a Medigap policy, why can't state workers do the same?" she said. "You have to learn to live within a budget and make the money before you spend it. At least that was the way I was taught."

Harper said Corzine needs to be fiscally responsible for the residents of the state, not just for his friends.