(TRENTON) – The New Jersey Department of Agriculture will highlight August as National Peach Month on Friday afternoon, July 30, with a special visit to Wildwood where NJDA marketing staff will be on hand to give out Jersey Fresh peaches to beachgoers.

“Jersey Fresh peaches are hitting their peak season now and we are thrilled to share this delicious fruit to Jersey Shore visitors as National Peach Month is almost upon us,” NJDA Secretary Douglas Fisher said. “Our growers produce the finest, tastiest, juiciest peaches and you can enjoy them all season long in-hand and in your favorite recipes.”

Peaches will be available between 1 and 4 p.m., or until supplies last, at the end of East Schellenger Avenue at the boardwalk near Morey’s Pier in Wildwood.

New Jersey annually ranks among the top five in the U.S. for peach production. Last year, New Jersey farmers produced 36 million pounds of peaches on 3,900 acres for a production value of $26 million, according to the USDA.

The National Peach Month promotion is taking place in conjunction with the New Jersey Peach Promotion Council.

The peach season for New Jersey lasts through the early October. New Jersey farmers grow approximately 100 different varieties of peaches and all of those are sold to the fresh market via supermarkets, farm markets, specialty produce stores, U-pick operations, and community farmers markets. Jersey peaches are shipped all over the eastern U.S. and eastern Canada.

Go to findjerseyfresh.com to see where Jersey Fresh peaches are available locally and to find recipes that include great tasting Jersey Fresh peaches.

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To learn more about the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NJDeptofAgriculture and www.facebook.com/JerseyFreshOfficial or Twitter @NJDA and @JerseyFreshNJDA.