New
Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Art Brown, Jr.,
of Egg Harbor was honored as "Horseperson of the
Year" by the Garden State's equine industry at
the 44th annual Breeders Awards Dinner in West
Windsor on January 27. Brown has earned a national
reputation for his efforts to promote New Jersey's
agriculture industry in general and has been a
devoted and tireless advocate of and spokesperson
for the Garden State's equine industry in particular.
Appointed as Secretary of Agriculture in 1982,
Brown charted the course that has taken Garden
State agriculture into the 21st century. Among
his major accomplishments are the creation of the
award-winning Jersey Fresh program which Brown
has expanded to include all farm commodities, including
the state's Standardbred horses. New Jersey's Standardbred
pacers and trotters earn national awards nearly
every year and bring top dollar at yearling sales
around the country. An avid horseman, Brown has
been involved in all aspects of the $3.2 billion
equine industry and seized every opportunity to
focus attention on its contributions to the economy
and scenic beauty of the state. Not the least of
his accomplishments is the continuing development
of the Horse Park of New Jersey at Stone Tavern,
Monmouth County, into a first-class equine exhibition,
competition and educational venue. During the past
several years, Brown has been an enthusiastic participant
in equine events that highlight the industry and
has been successful in generating the participation
of celebrity riders from all walks of life, including
Governor Christie Whitman, agriculture secretaries
from other states, state legislators and radio
and television personalities. He has done calf-cutting
exhibitions at the National Horse Show and barrel
racing contests at the Cowtown Rodeo; driven sulkies
at Freehold Raceway and the Horse Park Of New Jersey;
assisted with team penning events for handicapped
riders in Ocean County; and ridden with 4-H members
at the state 4-H Horse Show. Most recently, he
helped to introduce reining at the United States
Equestrian Team headquarters during the Festival
Of Champions. Brown's numerous awards from the
agriculture industry include his selection as 1995
Horseman of the Year by the New Jersey Horse Council
and the 1996 President's Award from the US Harness
Writers Association. Last year, Brown received
the New Jersey Agricultural Society's Gold Medallion
Award for service to the industry and the New Jersey
Farm Bureau's Distinguished Service to New Jersey
Agriculture Award. He is active in many national
agriculture organizations and is a past president
of both the National Association of State Departments
of Agriculture and the Northeastern Association
of State Departments of Agriculture. Brown currently
chairs the United States Department of Agriculture's
Census Advisory Committee and was recently named
to the Farm Credit Regional Council as a representative
of the Northeastern states. In 1999 he served as
president of Food Export USA/Northeast and he still
serves on USDA's Advisory Committee on Agriculture
Statistics. Born in Fulton, New York and raised
on a Massachusetts dairy farm, Brown earned a bachelor
of science degree in animal science from the University
of Massachusetts and a master's degree in horticulture
from Cook College, Rutgers University. He worked
as a county agriculture agent for 11 years and
attained professorship at Cook College before being
named Secretary of Agriculture.
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