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Bart Jackson

Bart Jackson is the founding Editor of Biz4NJ. When he is not fighting the good fight with his pen, Bart does a little agriculture himself. He and his charming wife Lorraine grow their own grapes and even make their own wine.

NJ's Cash Cow

The NJ Department of Agriculture was almost shut down by Governor Corzine. With Chris Christie's penchant for cuts, it will surprise Biz4NJ if he too tries the same stunt. The artticle Biz4NJ wrote during the Corzine crisis is still pertinent.

So with great pleasure we present it again for your reading pleasure. The Publisher, Biz4NJ

Dept. of Agriculture: Jersey’s Cash Cow

Can we afford to prune the Garden State’s Agriculture Department? Or would such a cut lop off one of New Jersey’s primary sources of income? On February 26, a fiscally desperate Governor Corzine proposed the elimination of the New Jersey departments of Agriculture, Personnel, and the Commerce Commission, sparking an explosion of grassroots outrage.

    Some of this protest has come from those who see the cuts as more cosmetic than actual expense savers. Yet the most and loudest complaints have come from the farmers themselves. Unlike most government agencies, the Agriculture Department is seen by those it serves as less a leveler of fines, fees, and regulations; and more a beloved business partner.

    Certainly today’s financial statistics show the Garden State’s farming industry as far more than a tired, historic symbol of prosperity. One in six of New Jersey’s 4.8 million acres remain under cultivation. Last year these 790,000 acres produced $923,933,000 in direct market sales. Add to this the absolutely booming businesses of agritourism, farm markets, and the state’s seafood industry. Then consider how these acres are a primary contributor to the state’s $10.8 billion food manufacturing sector, and her $41 billion food wholesale markets. Obviously, farming stands as a strong player in the state’s financial picture.

    As secretary of Agriculture, Charlie Kuperus keeps his fingers in everybody’s field and farm. “You have to respect the people who farm today,” says Kuperus. “They face an incredible list of growing challenges.” Filling a tractor this spring can cost $350, not to mention that many of the fertilizers and pesticides are petroleum based. (The current rising cost of oil is enough to make any farmer go organic.) Additionally, land costs, while currently in flux, remain disproportionately high in New Jersey. The prolific expansion of housing and roadways has made clean water an item often beyond the farmer’s control.

    Finally, the New Jersey weather these past three years has dealt out century-level flooding and crop-withering drought - all within each year. Not many individuals would choose an occupation where they might come home to face a 15 percent loss in annual income with the passing of one weekend’s storm. You have to respect these people.

    Yet as an industry, Garden State farming shows a remarkable resilience. “A lot of New Jersey’s agricultural strength comes from from her almost unique wealth of variety,” notes Kuperus. “We are not like some midwestern states that would be financially devastated by, say, a corn crop blight.” Unlike the massive, less flexible agribusiness holdings, New Jersey’s 9,800 farms average only 81 acres each. We have several multi-thousand acre plots, but we also boast a wealth of 20+ acre wineries and Christmas tree farms. “When one crop fails, the many others make up for it,” says Kuperus. “And if it takes a long-term blight, our soil and growing conditions are so good, the farmer can switch crops.”

    As in colonial times, the greatest farm revenue producers come from the combination of fruits and vegetables (making $314.3 million in 2008) and field crops ($58 million.) Not far behind, nursery, greenhouse, and sod farms brought in $390 million. The seafood industry netted $159 million, the equine industry generated $99 million, and dairy farms benefited the state with $23.5 million worth of products.

    The New Jersey farms’ Big Three continue to hold their own. Blueberries, producing a whopping value of $90.2 million, place the Garden State as this fruit’s second largest grower. (Every commercial blueberry you have ever eaten can trace its ancestry to one of a handful of South Jersey farms.) Cranberries, nationally third, gave the state $20.7 million in revenue, while the delicious Jersey tomato nudged in close behind with $19.6 million in product value.

* NJ as Ag Booster. So if the farming industry is going and growing strong, why not leave it alone to thrive? Certainly this is the plea of most industries, to have government stand back and let them bring in their own profits in their own way. And while there is some common sense to this argument for most industries, farming faces one very dire, intricate challenge. By its nature, farm product is bulky, seasonable, and perishable.   This requires an infrastructure and special delivery systems and marketing techniques beyond the needs software, pharmaceuticals or virtually every product sold in the malls.

    To solve this very individual product problem, government aid and protections are required. Just as banks and brokerage houses handling the product of money require certain safeguards, and infrastructure enhancements unique to their industry. Some of these laws and programs are for the producers’ protection, e.g. agricultural land tax breaks and the manifold agricultural Rutgers’ research efforts. Others are to protect the consumer, ranging from the law banning aerial pesticide spray, the mosquito control project, down to the Quality Wine Alliance Program.

    “Shortening that marketing chain has become our primary battle cry at the Department of Agriculture these past many years,” says Kuperus. And this has kept him on a constant marketing whirlwind during his entire six-year tenure. Kuperus personally visits with the supermarket chains, negotiating deals to place Jersey produce on the shelves. ‘Jersey Fresh’ was a branding idea put forth 24 years ago which has absolutely juggernauted the popularity of Garden State farm products. “The chains and individual stores themselves love it because it’s a consumer driven demand, rather than an advertising scheme,” says Kuperus. Today’s consumer is more discerning, and wants produce without the excessive preservatives and waxing that long term shipping and storage require.

    New Jerseyans, and even those throughout the tri-state area crave Jersey Fresh produce not merely out out of home pride, but because it is in very good taste. “If you don’t believe it, compare a Jersey tomato with one of those hot house things shipped in from across the country’” says Kuperus. “Or try our berries and grapes compared with those from some other continent.”

    Stepping out of the field, Kuperus works to boost the full market process. This past May, Kuperus’ department helped solidify a Jersey Fresh joint venture between Violet Packing of Williamstown and several Garden State growers. As New Jersey’s last remaining tomato packager, Violet felt that the incredible freshness benefit, as sales manager Chip Sclfati put it,” is something that really needs to be promoted.” Violet will be canning asparagus, blueberries, milk, and of course tomatoes. The combined growers and processors method gets the produce from the field into the can within an amazing 24 hours.

    Interestingly, the people who most crave the Jersey Fresh items are the small specialty Mom and Pop grocery stores, ethnic food shops, and upscale eateries. “The freshness and being local provides them a competitive edge over sheer price factor of the big stores,” explains Kuperus.

* Hidden ‘Neath Jersey’s Waters. Last year, New Jersey hauled in $159 million in fin and shell fish. Since the National Marine Fisheries Service estimates that every dollar of landed fish brings in six dollars to the state’s economy, that’s a close to a $1 billion shot in the Garden State’s financial arm. Who knew? The problem is, not enough people.

    Getting the word (and spending) out on Jersey Fresh seafood had been a tough challenge for both the Agriculture Department and the professional fishery groups. Cape May alone brought on board 75 million pounds of fish in 2005, making it the fifth ranked fishing port in the nation. And the state’s five other major ports are close behind.

    Despite this enormous catch, New Jersey has been unjustly tarred with the same brush as New York’s shell fish, which were made inedible by the red tide blight. And while the sea is currently cited as today’s greatest health food provider, the consumption of 16.6 pounds annually per person has leveled and even dipped slightly since 2004.

    But the real problem comes from abroad. 80 percent of our seafood is imported. Japan, New Zealand, and Scandinavia launch huge, much-less-restricted fleets, while Jersey fishermen chafe under very strict quotas. Currently, Japanese restaurants are serving patrons the fins of endangered, freshly slaughtered sharks, and Scandinavians may still dine on recently harpooned whale, yet Garden State fisheries remain environmentally respectful.   Overfishing has been fought by developing new farms throughout the state.

“That Jersey Seafood Logo, with the fish, or lobster leaping out of the water is slowly beginning to take hold,” says Kuperus. “Obviously, consumers today are very selective when it comes to the freshness of fish and all seafood being absolutely the best possible.”

* Triumph of the Grape. What is the fastest growing new farm crop in the Garden State? If you answered wine grapes, you deserve to top off your glass. Rising from a mere dozen commercial wineries in the early l990’s, New Jersey now boasts 38 bonded vineyards, with another six candidates looking to be accredited this spring. “Rarely a week goes by without at least two people coming into my office seeking advice on starting their own winery,” says Gary Pavlis of the Rutgers Cooperative Extension, and Garden State Wine author.

    Part of the reason is New Jersey’s all-condusive climate. Grapes love dry feet, and yet require readily accessible water for their tap roots. As the slopping hills of France provide these conditions for their vineyards, so do the sandy soils of South Jersey. Secondly, wine grapes offer some of the greatest dollars per acre value. As the housing expansion continues to squeeze our state’s open space, the small winery, run by a relatively few people, becomes the one way for the family farmer to make a rather comfortable living.

* Vital or Cosmetic Cuts? Regardless of the Agriculture Department’s many far flung contributions, it is evident that New Jersey must find savings somewhere. And doubtless, some of these cuts must entail major service sacrifices.   Certainly the Agriculture Department’s $354 million budget with 254 employees looks like a prime candidate for at least a little trim. Or does it?

First, Kuperus points out that 328.4 million of this funding comes from the federal budget, and is for federally mandated programs.
(Do you really think we can find willing volunteers to lay down the spray and run the nationally required mosquito control program?)
The remaining $25.6 million goes mostly for direct state services ($9.2 million,) grants in aid (5.2 million,) and $250,000 in capital construction. Governor Corzine’s proposed cut of the department, would still of necessity keep most of the workers performing these federally mandated, and state contracted tasks. The actual budget cut entails dropping the state’s $25.6 million share to $22.8 million. As to whether this minimal $2.8 million reduction demands the abolition of an entire department is a question to be pondered.

    “Truly, the fate of the Agriculture Department remains in the hands of the legislature and the New Jersey citizens to decide,” says Kuperus. But before voting, he asks them to consider one not so small fact. According to a Rutgers University Food Policy Institute study, every dollar spent on the Jersey Fresh promotional program through the year 2000 resulted in $54.49 of increased economic output in the state. Thus the 1.16 million annually spent on the program netted the state $36 million and 2.2 million in additional tax revenues.

    Desperately, New Jersey does need to cut back spending. But maybe biting off the hand that is feeding us and our pocketbooks may not be the answer. And besides - New Jersey is, after all, the Garden State. B4

    Charlie Kuperus calls himself a farmer, born and bred. He grew up helping on his father’s family dairy farm in Sussex County. Three years after graduating from High School, he founded his own nursery and garden center.
    From 1987 to 1992, he served on the Sussex Borough Council where he was instrumental in planning and implementing upgrades to the potable water and wastewater systems. From 1995 to 2001, he served as a Commissioner on the New Jersey State Planning Commission; as chair of the Plan Development Committee, he led the plan development process to final plan adoption in March 2001.
    Prior to accepting his appointment as Agriculture Department secretary in 2002, Kuperus served as Director of the Sussex County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

To protest the proposed closure of the Dept. of Agriculture, please email Jon Corzine, NJ's Governor by clicking here: http://www.biz4NJ.com/SaveNJFresh

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