The
State Board of Agriculture this week chose William
N. Brooks, Jr. of Elmer, Salem County, as president
and Peter V. Demarest of Hillside, Bergen County,
as vice president.
Brooks and his wife, Diane, owners
of Dusty Lane Farms, 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. Peter V. Demarest, the new vice
president of the State Board, 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, located
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 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. 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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