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New Jersey Farm Bureau News

Keeping the faith: Kuperus farming tradition continues

28 Aug 2014, Posted by admin in Local Farms and Food

SUSSEX BOROUGH — As the 21-year-old son of a dairy farmer, Charles Kuperus took not one but two leaps of faith in 1979.

That was the year he married his high school sweetheart, Marge, and started his horticultural business.

“I started it from scratch, literally,” he said. “There was nothing there, and there was a little bit of ‘I don’t know if this is going to work.'”

Walking through row upon row of red dahlias at his farm — Kuperus Farmside Gardens and Florist — recently, Kuperus couldn’t help but take stock of how his faith has paid off over the last 35 years.

Click here to read the rest of the story from the New Jersey Herald.

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Overregulated Highlands rules need to be reined in: Opinion

26 Aug 2014, Posted by admin in Science and Environmental Issues, State News

By Ryck Suydam
The Star-Ledger’s editorial (“The Highlands Act at risk,” Aug. 10) and op-ed from the Highlands Coalition (“A decade later, Highlands Act still a good deal,” Aug. 10) ring hollow to us as farmers and local economic stakeholders in the region. Rather than paint those concerned about the Highlands program as good guys vs. bad guys, we see criticism of the regulatory program in the region in a different light.

Click here to read the entire Guest Editorial.

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Farmland Assessment Meeting – Hunterdon County

20 Aug 2014, Posted by admin in Meetings and Events

New Jersey Farm Bureau will host an informational meeting regarding Farmland Assessment, and the upcoming changes to this law. (Changes will take effect in 2015.)

The meeting will be held Monday, September 29, 7:00 – 8:30PM at the Hunterdon County Route 12 Complex, Building #1, Assembly Space, 314 Route 12, Flemington, NJ 08822. Click here for a map.

Anyone who currently receives farmland assessment should consider attending. SMALL FARM OWNERS PLEASE NOTE: Parcels of 7 acres or less will have additional requirements to meet the new farmland assessment criteria.

The meeting is FREE to all paid NJFB members. There will be a $20 fee for non-members.

Please register by September 24 – Space is limited! Call the Farm Bureau office at 609-393-7163.

NOTE: This is the first in a series of informational meetings NJFB will host on this subject. Other dates and locations will be announced soon.

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Jay Leno to Address 96th AFBF Annual Convention

11 Jul 2014, Posted by admin in Meetings and Events, National News

jay lenoAcclaimed late night TV host Jay Leno will give the closing session keynote address at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 96th Annual Convention and IDEAg Trade Show in San Diego on Jan. 12, 2015.

Leno, an admired stand-up comedian, is also a best-selling children’s book author, TV and movie voice-over artist, pioneering car builder and mechanic, and philanthropist. He has been widely characterized as “the hardest-working man in show business.”

“We are excited to have Jay Leno as one of our keynote speakers,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman. “We will be considering some very important policy issues during our time in San Diego, so it will be nice to take a break from the business at hand and share a lighter moment with Jay Leno.”

Leno’s late night television ratings domination has included hosting more than two decades of “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” during which the show was a quarterly ratings winner for 19 consecutive years. While he was host, the show was honored by the Television Academy with an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy, Variety or Music Series. “The Tonight Show” has also been honored as Favorite Late Night Show in the annual TV Guide Awards as determined by voting viewers.

Any one planning to attend, or having any questions about the convention should contact Liz Thompson in our office.

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EDITORIAL: Trenton fails on open space

02 Jul 2014, Posted by admin in State News

Open space is precious in New Jersey, and most residents understand the importance of preserving it. Voters are so sensitive to the need that they have repeatedly approved tax-hike proposals on local, county and state levels to assure money remains available to secure available land.

So it’s quite likely that New Jerseyans would support a new plan designed to establish a stable, long-term funding source for open space. The proposal has bipartisan backing, spearheaded by Democratic Sen. Bob Smith and Republican Sen. Christopher “Kip” Bateman, and it involves no new money. Instead, a small percentage of corporate business tax revenue that already goes to environmental programs would be redirected toward preservation. An estimated $71 million a year would become available in the first five years — still far below past expenditures. The Senate has overwhelmingly approved a ballot question for a constitutional amendment to enable the plan.

Click here to read the rest from mycentraljersey.com

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After a harsh winter New Jersey Crops are just peachy

13 Jun 2014, Posted by admin in Local Farms and Food, Weather

The strawberries are excellent — late, but excellent.

Local farmers are predicting that other crops will fare as well after the long, cold winter.

At worst, there was a delay in planting due to icy and wet soil. At best, the snow and cold moistened the ground and got rid of harmful fungi that pester the crops grown by more than 10,000 farmers in the Garden State.

Click here to read more.

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NJ Young Farmers meeting/tour tonight!

12 Jun 2014, Posted by admin in Meetings and Events

Do you have an interest in vegetable production? Please join us tonight as Jim Giamarese hosts our group for a visit/tour of his vegetable farm East Brunswick at 6:30 pm.

Address is: 155 Fresh Pond Road, East Brunswick NJ. Hope to see you there!

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Chris Christie should blame the neo-Luddites for the mess NJ’s in: Mulshine

10 Jun 2014, Posted by admin in State News

The front page of yesterday’s Star-Ledger featured a piece about a Fairleigh Dickinson/PublicMind Poll showing that most New Jerseyans plan to flee the state once they retire. The main reason given was our state’s high costs and taxes.

That was no surprise to me. Over the weekend, I’d attended an alumni event at my old high school. I got talking to a guy who sold his house last year and escaped to Key West. The property taxes on his place there are half what he used to pay here. The income tax? Florida doesn’t have one.

Click here to read more from Star Ledger columnist Paul Mulshine.

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