TRENTON, N.J. — A bill that would create a mentoring program for beginning farmers in New Jersey has advanced through the Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.
The bill, sponsored by Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia and Assemblyman Michael Inganamort, was unanimously advanced Monday. It would use the experience of established farmers to help new producers gain knowledge and skills needed to succeed in the industry.
“The average age of New Jersey farmers has been steadily increasing for more than a decade and is now nearly 60 years old. As farmers retire from the industry, they are not easily replaced,” Fantasia (R-Sussex, Morris, Warren) said. “This bill is one piece of a much larger puzzle. A mentorship program helps ensure that the knowledge, skills, and real-world experience of one generation are passed on to the next. New Jersey cannot afford to lose a single farmer, and if we fail to prepare the next generation, we’ll take the ‘Garden’ right out of the Garden State.”
Under the legislation, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture would work with the State Agriculture Development Committee, the New Jersey Farm Bureau, county boards of agriculture, Rutgers, the New Jersey Agricultural Society and other organizations to develop the mentoring program.
The program would pair experienced farmers with beginning farmers.
“Beginning farmers face several challenges in New Jersey but finding knowledgeable and experienced farmers who will help them gain the skills they need to succeed isn’t one of them. New Jersey just needs the right framework to help make those connections, and that is what this program will establish,” Inganamort (R-Sussex, Morris, Warren) said.
According to the 2022 Census of Agriculture, New Jersey has 18,591 producers, including 5,570 new and beginning farmers, operating nearly 10,000 farms.
The bill now moves forward for further consideration in the Legislature.
