NJ Taking Garden Out of Garden State?

Gov. Jon Corzine is proposing to make New Jersey the third state without a Department of Agriculture as he looks to slash spending amid chronic state budget problems.

Some argue the move will chase away farmers who persevered for generations while New Jersey grew into the nation's most densely populated state.

"Ultimately, the quality of life of all of New Jersey's citizens will suffer," said William Griffin, president of the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture.

New Jersey would join Alaska and Rhode Island as the only states without an agriculture department, said Charles W. Ingram, spokesman for the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture.

In those states, he said, agricultural services are handled by environmental agencies, and that's part of what Corzine is proposing.

His administration contends the move would save $4 million by having the environmental protection and health departments take over the agriculture department's functions.

Those savings would hardly put a dent in the state's $33 billion budget and "would send the worst kind of signal," said Mary Jo Herbert of the Hopewell Heritage Farm.

"I am a third-generation farmer and I, perhaps naively, believed that our state government was committed to preserving our farming heritage," she said.

Jim Giamarese, whose family has farmed in New Jersey since the 1920s, adds that the elimination of the position of state agriculture secretary would cost farmers a key advocate on the governor's Cabinet.

Corzine's plan "would be the last straw for many farmers to sell out to developers and flee the state," he said.

About 10,000 farms work 790,000 acres in New Jersey. They generate about $924 million per year and provide nearly 12 percent of the state's jobs.

The Agriculture Department oversees soil and water conservation, storm water and erosion, school nutrition programs, animal health, food safety, export markets, farmland preservation and commodity promotion.

Farmers plan to demonstrate their opposition to the Corzine plan at a Statehouse rally Tuesday.

The issue is far from decided. Legislators must agree to the governor's plan, which is included in his budget proposal. The state Constitution requires a budget be adopted by July 1, and lawmakers from the state's rural areas aren't pleased.

"It is my own prediction that it is unlikely the department will no longer exist," said state Sen. Leonard Lance. "We don't want to be placed at a disadvantage with other states."

Acting Treasurer David Rousseau said the state isn't backing away from its commitment to agriculture. New Jersey doesn't have a housing department, yet pushes for affordable housing, he said. The state lacks an independent state police department, yet has state troopers, he added.

"There are many other things that we don't have a department for, but there is advocacy," Rousseau said.

Farmers argue that streamlining hasn't worked well elsewhere.

Connecticut legislators voted in 2003 to merge the state's agriculture department with a consumer protection agency. But lawmakers soon questioned the savings and the affect on the industry, and restored the department in 2004 after the avian flu threatened to decimate Connecticut's egg industry.

"From our national experience, we do not believe this is in (New Jersey's), or its citizen's, best interest," said Roger Johnson, the NASDA president and commissioner of the North Dakota Department of Agriculture.

Johnson sent a letter to Corzine decrying the plan, saying it could risk the loss of federal funding.

Farmer John Hauser said the proposal has ramifications that far outweigh any budgetary benefits.

"Of far greater value is the predictable loss of jobs, revenue, reinvestment by individual farmers in their operations, scenic vistas and, in general, quality of life for New Jersey's citizens," he said.

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Associated Press business writer Linda A. Johnson contributed to this report.