The New Jersey agricultural community is faced with a multitude of challenges that threaten its viability and sustainability. These include increased land-use regulation, rising production costs, right-to-farm issues, water quality concerns, wildlife damage, and rising taxes. Unexploited market opportunities and limited access to innovations that would enhance prosperity, stewardship potential and compatibility with other land uses also severely impact sustainability and viability. Allied industries, such as food processing, also face major constraints including regulatory and permitting challenges, a poorly skilled workforce, and limited access to technology and business/marketing expertise. Given the impacts and public benefits of the agricultural and food complex, not only in rural areas but also in the state’s urban and suburban communities, these constraints impinge upon assuring food security, nutrition and health, water quality and supply, environmental sustainability, economic development and quality of life in the Garden State.

The land grant mission of meeting the needs of the underserved through research, extension and teaching developed over 140 years ago is more relevant today than ever in helping individuals and communities in meeting these challenges. The New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) through Rutgers Cooperative Research and Extension and Rutgers Cook College carry forward that land grant mission in collaboration with the USDA, New Jersey Department of Agriculture, other federal and state agencies, New Jersey Farm Bureau, commodity groups, counties, municipalities, schools and community-based organizations. New Jersey’s land grant system is active at every level of proposing, refining and implementing innovative solutions to issues facing agriculture, the food industry and the greater state-wide community. Research and extension faculty develop new technologies, services and activities that contribute directly to the quality of life in New Jersey by enhancing the long-term performance of agriculture and the food system, the viability of communities and the sustainability of the environment, while providing vital short-term assistance. The following are a small number of examples of how the NJAES makes a difference in New Jersey:

- Confronting threats to agriculture and the citizens of New Jersey, such as the Asian Long-horned Beetle, Bacterial Leaf Scorch Infection, Mad Cow Disease, Late Blight Infection and Avian Flu, with research-based information, educational programs and, where relevant, assistance in obtaining access to new products (including pesticides), to respond to such emergencies.
- Protecting community health by developing and delivering Integrated Pest Management programs to producers of fruit, vegetable, field, turf and nursery crops and to schools.
- Enhancing viability of agriculture and quality of life statewide by developing new value- added varieties of apples, asparagus, blueberries, cranberries, ornamental plants, peaches, strawberries and turf.
- Working aggressively towards food security by reaching out annually to more than 30,000 limited-resource residents through the Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program and the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, and providing them with food, dietary, purchasing and preparation information.
- Providing vital services to over 200 clients including farmers, cooperatives, start-ups and small- to mid-sized food companies through the educational, consulting and training programs of the Food Innovation Center in Bridgeton.
- Broadening community involvement and awareness of state-of-the-art procedures, materials and practices by training 3,795 Master Gardeners, who in turn provided $12.9 million dollars worth of volunteer time and service to the residents of New Jersey since the inception of the Master Gardener Program in 1984.
- Stepping to the forefront of community crisis by delivering research and educational health programs in areas such as obesity and osteoporosis and the health–promoting qualities of food to help reduce risks of diseases such as cancer and heart disease.
- Active at every level of government and community to provide practical expertise to help communities face issues of storm water management, watershed restoration and mosquito control.
- Positively impacting 60,000 New Jersey youth each year with 4-H programs such as CHARACTER COUNTS.

In spite of the above substantive values delivered to the citizens of the state of New Jersey, the NJAES, along with its land grant mission, is facing unprecedented challenges. It struggles annually to respond to increasing budgetary demands but is severely constrained by consistently suffering budgetary shortfalls. NJAES does not benefit from student tuition even though it is funded in the Higher Education budget. This unique funding structure dictates that the NJAES cannot offset budget reductions with tuition increases.

At the same time the NJAES is facing budgetary challenges, it is consistently repositioning itself to remain relevant to the needs of New Jersey’s agricultural and allied industries and its rural, urban and suburban communities. For example, the NJAES is working to serve as a catalyst for the development of a new, unique university-community-industry partnership referred to as the Economic and Community Development Program (ECDP). In collaboration with faculty from academic departments and centers throughout Rutgers, NJAES faculty will identify emerging issues, develop solutions to these issues to the point of demonstration and build the community’s capacity to transform demonstration into implementation. ECDP will work in partnership with local communities, businesses, not-for-profit organizations, local, state and federal government, and other academic institutions. Among others, proposed issues to be addressed in the first year of operation of ECDP include: empowering municipalities for agricultural retention; analyzing the impact of down-zoning as an agricultural retention tool; planning for preservation and equitable compensation in the Highlands; determining the economic impact of New Jersey’s equine industry; workforce development and training; community nutrition; and value-added agricultural product development.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the delegates to the 90th State Agricultural Convention, assembled in Atlantic City, New Jersey on January 24-26, 2005, reaffirm our support of the NJAES as it applies the principles of the land grant mission to maintaining and enhancing the viability and sustainability of agriculture, allied industries and communities throughout New Jersey.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, we urge the State Legislature to provide in fiscal year 2005-2006 level funding to the NJAES base budget in support of its mission to address pressing agricultural needs in the State of New Jersey.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, we encourage the faculty and administration of NJAES to continue to reach out to academic departments and centers throughout Rutgers in order to bring their expertise to bear on issues of importance to New Jersey and to initiate the development of the Economic and Community Development Program.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, we urge the State Legislature to provide $1 million in additional operating funds to NJAES in fiscal year 2005-2006 for the establishment of ECDP.