Hot News

3.04.2008

By KEVIN GEORGE
Editor

TRENTON, N.J. — The rumors were proven true on Feb. 26.
Consistent with the buzz when word began to leak out a week earlier, Gov. Jon S. Corzine recommended eliminating the Department of Agriculture along with two other state departments during his annual state budget address that included a long laundry list of budget cuts, which includes 3,000 of 68,430 state jobs through layoffs and early retirements.
“We’re very disappointed, but at the same time, we are very motivated to point out why this is a bad idea,” said Peter Furey, executive director of the New Jersey Farm Bureau. “It’s unbelievable to think that the administration can so casually call for the elimination of — what we think — is a very efficient, important and recognizable agency of long-standing that is tied to farming, which is so popular with the general public.”
With New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Charles Kuperus grimly listening while seated shoulder-to-shoulder with the other state cabinet members, Corzine outlined his plan in a 23-minute address for getting the state out of a $3 billion deficit.
“Frankly, New Jersey has a government its people cannot afford,” Corzine said. “This budget goes well beyond the commitment I made to freeze spending as the first element of my financial restructuring and debt reduction plan. This is ‘cold turkey’ therapy for our troubled spending addiction.”
Functions of the eliminated agencies — which also include the Department of Commerce and the Department of Personnel — would be consolidated and absorbed by surviving departments.
A government spokesperson said on Feb. 26 that the specifics of what functions would be taken on by which remaining agencies hadn’t been determined yet.
“The personnel and operational savings from these actions are not intended as one-time sound bites,” Corzine said. “They are permanent. ... They will cut costs.”
Not surprisingly, outrage from within the state’s agricultural industry was swift.
“Immediately, there was a lot of support from the South Jersey legislators where agriculture was so important,” Furey said. “It’s a bipartisan support that was prompted immediately. The rest of the legislators ... they’re going to need work because a lot of other people were hurt by these proposed cuts. It’s not going to be a slam dunk, by any means.
“It’s going to take a lot of energy and a lot of skill to win this fight.”
John Banscher, president of the Vegetable Growers Association of New Jersey, said his group’s members “strongly” rely on the state board of agriculture for help with regulations and research.
“We work hand-in-hand,” he said. “We have a good relationship with the department and we always have. We have things in place to help agriculture and if this comes about, we’re done.”
Banscher said the economic impact on New Jersey from its agriculture industry is $83 billion. If the department is dissolved, Banscher said the entire state will suffer and it could be the final blow for farmers in the state who already face pressure from development and regulations.
“We contribute a lot to the state,” he said. “Something like this is going to be very detrimental to agriculture. Maybe not this year, but over the next few years, this might be the straw that broke the camel’s back and instead of the ‘Garden State’ it’ll be something like the ‘Housing State.’”
Richard Nieuwenhuis, president of New Jersey Farm Bureau, indicated there’s not much logic in cutting the NJDA, considering the numerous benefits it provides the public.
“Closing the NJDA saves the state budget very little money, since most of its vital services will need to be transferred to other state agencies,” he said in a release. “After all the essential functions are reassigned, this could mean a savings of as little as $300,000 or $400,000. We feel very strongly that this is unjustified and an error in judgment, let alone being hugely demoralizing to everyone in agriculture.”
At the same time, Nieuenhuis heaped praise upon the NJDA and the role it plays for the state’s farmers.
“NJDA has always been an exceptional agency, which operates efficiently and delivers vital support services to the farming community, as well as to the public,” he said. “This is an agency that contributes tangibly to the quality of life in New Jersey, something few other state agencies can have said about them.
“The agricultural community highly values having both a cabinet member and experienced staff representing agriculture’s interests,” he continued. “This staff is also accessible to assist and educate the general public on issues related to this specialized industry.”
Former long-time New Jersey ag secretary Art Brown, vacationing in Florida, broke away from the beach to listen to the governor’s budget message.
“I understand the gravity of the financial situation which the state is in,” Brown said by phone, “but I don’t understand the thinking behind the whole thing.”
Brown spent 20 years at the head of the ag department, launching, among other accomplishments, the state’s farmland preservation program and its famed “Jersey Fresh” promotion.
The ag department pays huge dividends to the state.
“Look at farmland preservation,” Brown said. “It’s been approved by the public (through bond issues) by huge margins every time it’s come to a vote. The people aren’t necessarily saying ‘save agriculture,’ but they are saying that farmland protects their quality of life.
“One of the most important things that industry looks for when they are planning to locate is quality of life for their employees. That is a huge dividend from agriculture.”
Brown acknowledged that it’s a “harsh decision ... and no one’s happy about it.”
But Brown added, “I can understand cutting certain things, but I question cutting it all out all at once.”
“The proposal that he’s done is very bad for New Jersey,” said Banscher. “For (Corzine) to cut an entire department out is wrongful thinking. It’s like cutting your nose off to spite your face.”
“This thing has so many facets that are wrong about it, we’re not shying from the task of pushing back and having them reconsider it,” Furey said.
He added that there are groundswellings of organized protests that may indicate tractorcades within the state capital.
“The logistics of that are already being planned,” he said. “The setting of the dates and some of the finer points are still being worked on, but there are makings of a pretty strong showing like that — but we need to be strategic and realize that this just isn’t just a venting of frustration, but rather a message that we want to carry back to legislators who are co-equal partners in the operation of state government and seek their endorsement to make it a part of their revisions to the proposed budget.
“We’re going to be very careful that our energies are very concentrated in using the process to make the corrections.”
Banscher added that he has written e-mails and letters to several legislators urging them not to accept Gov. Corzine’s budget plan and is working with others in VGANJ and other farmer organizations to make more lawmakers aware of what the plan could do to New Jersey farmers.
(Editor’s Note: Senior Editor Bruce Hotchkiss and Associate Editor Sean Clougherty contributed to this article.)