Brodhecker's 700+ acre farm includes
over 320 acres of corn, 300 acres of hay and 80 acres of oats and
wheat. Custom feeds are ground and mixed on the farm and 90% of all
the feeds grown are marketed directly to the consumer. The farm is
also home to numerous livestock -- beef cows and calves, sheep, lambs
and pigs. All meats from the Brodhecker operation are sold directly
to the consumer. A graduate of Indiana University with a bachelor
of science degree in business marketing and journalism, Brodhecker
has also participated in numerous leadership training and educational
programs through Rutgers Cooperative Extension. Brodhecker is extremely
active in New Jersey agricultural activities serving as a director
of the Sussex County Board of Agriculture. He is a member of the
New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station Board of Managers, the
New Jersey Farm Bureau, the New Jersey Sheep and Wool Association,
the New Jersey Agricultural Society, the Livestock Cooperative Auction
Market Association of North Jersey, the Grain and Forage Producers'
Association of New Jersey, the New Jersey Beef Industry Council and
the Sussex County Sheep Breeders Association. He is a past member
of the Sussex County Agriculture Development Board and past president
of the Sussex County Board of Agriculture. He has been a 4-H leader
for 18 years, having served on State and Regional 4-H Leaders Forum
Planning Committees and received the New Jersey 4-H Alumni Award.
Brodhecker has been a member of the Newton Rotary where he was named
a Paul Harris Fellow in 1991 and in 1995 he received the Sussex County
Chamber of Commerce Volunteerism Award. Brodhecker has devoted much
time and effort to the Sussex County Farm and Horse Show, serving
that organization in numerous capacities including director and member
of the executive board for 23 years; first vice president; chairman
of the buildings and grounds committee; member of the livestock building
funding committee; and manager of the agricultural division. Douglas
Zee, a fruit grower from Glassboro, Gloucester County, was also sworn
in as a member of the State Board of Agriculture representing the
fruit industry. The State Board of Agriculture elected William N.
Brooks, Jr. of Elmer, Salem County, to serve as president and Peter
V. Demarest of Hillsdale, Bergen County, as vice president. Other
members of the Board are Bix DiMeo of Colts Neck, Roger Ruske of
Millville, Abbott Lee of Chatsworth and Steven Jany of Hightstown.
The eight-member State Board of Agriculture
is the highest official policy-making body in the state. Only those
who are involved in producing farm crops or livestock products are
eligible and membership must represent each of the four leading agricultural
commodities.