skip to main content skip to main navigation
Agriculture is at a crossroads as it faces numerous challenges that threaten its viability and sustainability. These include increased regulation, rising production costs, right-to-farm issues, wildlife damage, rising land values and taxes. Unexploited market opportunities and limited access to innovations that can enhance prosperity also severely impact sustainability and viability. Given the statewide impact and public benefit of the agricultural and food complex, these constraints impinge upon assuring food security, environmental sustainability, economic development and quality of life in the Garden State.

We cannot realize the vision of a new agriculture that is prosperous, provides long-term conservation of resources and helps New Jersey maintain its quality of life, without reinvestment to enhance farm viability in the future. The farm community needs to band together, with a powerful focus and creative thinking so that agriculture can continue providing significant bounty to the citizens of New Jersey and ultimately, advance agriculture to the next level.

Cook/NJAES is a critical part of the delivery of this new agriculture. Through an outstanding network of Cooperative Extension offices located in every county and outlying research stations located throughout the state, the NJAES is creating a system of "one-stop shopping" innovation centers. This system coordinates its delivery of services to the agricultural community, including new value-added opportunities, new uses, new technologies, new management skills, new markets and new products. Examples are the Food Innovation Research and Extension Center in South Jersey, the EcoComplex in the central part of the state and the Snyder Research Farm in North Jersey. The research and extension faculty develop new technologies, services and activities that contribute directly to the prosperity of agriculture, the viability of communities and the sustainability of the environment. This comprehensive approach ensures that these important sectors remain strong.

The Millennium Viability Initiative was developed as a capacity-building mechanism to bring about permanent change to the long-term prospects for agriculture. Its key research and outreach components include Innovation Centers, Economic Viability for Farmers, Wildlife Management, Water Resource Management, New Use Crops and Agricultural Policy. The Millennium Viability Initiative will yield great benefits for New Jersey communities and agricultural businesses by improving water quality, expanding alternative agricultural and integrated pest management practices, providing management/financial education to farmers, providing research-based information to policymakers, and enhancing economic development opportunities throughout the state. The Millennium Viability Initiative enjoys the total support of the NJAES Board of Managers.

Recent budget cuts have devastated the NJAES' and RCE's ability to deliver needed services to agriculture and other constituents. Unlike other higher education entities NJAES cannot rely on tuition increases to make up for cuts in state funding.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we the delegates to the 88th State Agricultural Convention, assembled in Atlantic City, New Jersey on January 29, 2003 urge the State Legislature to provide funding for the Millennium Viability Initiative.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we support the Millennium Initiative and other NJAES programs, as they are critically needed to meet the pressing agricultural, environmental, water and community needs in the State of New Jersey.