Zee has been farming in New Jersey since 1957 and is the owner/operator of Zee Orchards in Glassboro, a 500+ acre farm producing peaches, nectarines and apples. Zee and his son, Douglas Jr., sell 95% of orchard's product for fresh consumption. As a grower who markets all of his own fruit, Zee originated the famous "jerZee" labels with its colorful boxes and advertising logos. He has developed and operates one of New Jersey's most efficient and modern peach-packing plants which utilizes farming practices like concentrate spraying; integrated pest management; peach variety evaluation and development; and mechanical pruning and thinning. Zee graduated from Glassboro High School in 1959 and participated in the Clemson University Peach Seminar in 1981. Current president and director of the Gloucester County Board of Agriculture, Zee is also a director of the New Jersey Farm Bureau; life member of the FFA Alumni Association; member of the New Jersey Horticultural Society, the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station Board of Managers, and the Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center Advisory Committee. He is also a past president and chairman of the National Peach Council. He is a charter trustee of the New Jersey Peach Festival Association and past chairman and current secretary of the New Jersey Peach Promotion Council. Zee received the 1989 Distinguished Service Award from the National Peach Council, the 1992 Outstanding Fruit Grower Award from the New Jersey Horticultural Society, and the Governor's Cup for Best of Show at the 1995 New Jersey Peach Festival. Zee and his wife, Barbara, live in Glassboro. Thomas A. Brodhecker, a grain and hay grower from Newton, Sussex County, was also sworn in as a member of the State Board of Agriculture representing the grain and forage 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.