The
State Board of Agriculture this week chose Peter
V. Demarest of Hillside, Bergen County, as vice president
and William N. Brooks, Jr. of Elmer, Salem County,
as president.
Demarest is president of Demarest Farm,
Inc., a family business established in 1886. His wife, Marsha, and
his son, P.J., are active participants in the business. The farm,
situated in Hillside and Saddle River, is a 32-acre diversified agricultural
operation specializing in vegetables and fruits. In addition, Demarest
operates a greenhouse and grows Christmas trees. The farm includes
a 10,000-square-foot retail complex and is the only farm in Bergen
County that offers pick-your-own apples, peaches and pumpkins. Demarest
is a member of the Bergen County Board of Agriculture, having served
several years as president, and represents Bergen County as a director
of the New Jersey Farm Bureau. He was a member of the Board of Managers
at Rutgers University, Cook College; served as director of Farmers
Brokerage, Inc.; is a member of the New Jersey Vegetable Growers
Association, the New Jersey Peach Council, the National Peach Council,
the New Jersey Horticultural Society, the New Jersey Agricultural
Society, the International Dwarf Fruit Tree Association and the New
Jersey Agri-Business Association. William N. Brooks, Jr., the new
president of the State Board, is the owner of Dusty Lane Farms in
Elmer where he and his wife, Diane, grow 520 acres of potatoes, sweet
corn, peas, spinach and grain. He began farming full-time in 1966
on a 156-acre farm owned by his grandfather. In addition to the 400
acres Brooks now owns, he leases an additional 120 acres. Brooks
is a member of the New Jersey Farm Bureau, New Jersey Agricultural
Society and Salem County Board of Agriculture and has served as New
Jersey's representative on the American Farm Bureau Horticulture
Advisory Board. Brooks currently serves as vice chairman of the New
Jersey Potato Association. He has served as director of the New Jersey
Farm Bureau, the New Jersey Council of Farmer Cooperatives and the
Vegetable Growers Association of New Jersey and is a past director
of Garden State Farm Credit. A former member of the Salem County
Agricultural Development Board, Brooks has also served as chairman
of the Salem Soil Conservation District and president of the Salem
County Board of Agriculture. Brooks has served as a member of the
Upper Pittsgrove Township Committee for nine years and for two years
served as mayor of the township. In addition, he has served on the
Township Planning Board. Brooks is active in the Pole Tavern Ruritan
Club. He and his wife have three children, Emily, Sarah and Michael.
Other members of the Board are Bix DiMeo of Colts Neck, Roger Ruske
of Millville, Abbott Lee of Chatsworth, Steven Jany of Hightstown,
Douglas Zee of Glassboro and Thomas Brodhecker of Newton.
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.
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