WHEREAS, New Jersey agriculture’s viability and sustainability are also impacted by unexploited market opportunities and limited access to innovations that would enhance prosperity, stewardship potential and compatibility with other land uses; and

WHEREAS, given the economic 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, the constraints on the industry impinge upon the assurance of food security, nutrition and health, water quality and supply, environmental sustainability, economic development, and the quality of life for all residents of the Garden State; and

WHEREAS, New Jersey’s status as the nation’s most densely populated state means its environmental pressures exceed those of other states, and thus have raised the environment to become a key quality-of-life issue; and

WHEREAS, this requires new policies and technologies that are effective in maintaining the delicate balance between environmental quality and economic growth, and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) provides the expertise and information needed to develop the policies and technologies that strike that balance; and

WHEREAS, the recent budget constraints faced by NJAES, including recent large budget cuts or flat budgets, and the need to continue meeting operational costs, have meant that less funding is available for salaries, programs and research, and funding dedicated to production agriculture projects has been strained, leading to a constant danger of outlying extension stations losing capacity to be productive; and

WHEREAS, the NJAES’ ability to support production agriculture has decreased as agricultural agents and specialists have retired and not been replaced; and

WHEREAS, exacerbating the funding cuts has been a threat that the federal formula funding for state agricultural experiment stations could be replaced with competitive grant funding only; and

WHEREAS, as specialists, agents and other program staff are not replaced, staff have less time to make farm visits and keep abreast of what is happening in the fields; and

WHEREAS, applied research areas formerly covered by specialists have been left uncovered, replacements for highly effective extension specialists who have retired have not been found; and

WHEREAS, the circumstances detailed above have all occurred during a time when NJAES continues to provide services to other areas, further diluting scarce funds for production agriculture research and extension; and

WHEREAS, further implementation of similar measures will further negatively impact the delivery of crucial agricultural programs across the state; and

WHEREAS, the people of New Jersey fund Rutgers University, and intellectual and financial return is expected to create more employment and a higher standard of living for the population of New Jersey and the United States.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the delegates to the 98^th State Agricultural Convention, assembled in Atlantic City, New Jersey on February 6-7, 2013, do hereby declare that support for production agriculture must be improved and maintained if production efficiencies are to be achieved to feed our state and nation at the levels required to make food affordable.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we call upon the Rutgers University New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES), in cooperation with its Board of Managers, County Boards of Agriculture and the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture to work with the Rutgers Cooperative Extension staff to develop a strategic plan based on the yearly assessment by the Board of Managers for filling positions (agents, specialists and expert program staff), in a manner that will enable the continued delivery of quality programming to production agriculture, and to develop new programs as identified by stakeholders in agriculture and natural resources.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we strongly urge that this strategic plan incorporate a balance of maintaining tenure-track agricultural agents that deliver educational programs, as well as conduct applied research benefiting the agricultural community, and sufficient specialists to meet the applied research needs of that community, and that such hires include participation with the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture, the NJAES Board of Managers and the New Jersey Farm Bureau before these hiring decisions are made.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we strongly urge the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture, the NJAES Board of Managers and the New Jersey Farm Bureau to work with the Governor and Legislature to restore adequate funding for agricultural research to compliment the extramural grants, contracts and bequests secured by NJAES staff in the past fiscal years.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we also urge the USDA to provide a stable source of funding for the Land Grant University and Extension programs.