TRENTON, NJ — The Produce News had a unique opportunity at the end of April to spend the entire day with Douglas H. Fisher, New Jersey’s secretary of agriculture. It was a chance to listen and observe how the secretary conducts meetings and interacts with both staff and members of the agriculture industry in the Garden State, including some prominent members of the state’s fresh produce industry. While there is probably no such thing as a ‘typical day’ in anyone’s schedule, the day I spent with Secretary Fisher — April 23 — was fairly representative of the issues he deals with and the people he trusts to provide the information and advice on dealing with those issues.

Frank Donio Inc. President David Arena with New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas Fisher and New Jersey Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Al Murray at Donio’s headquarters in Hammonton, NJ. 7 a.m.

Secretary Fisher left his home in Gloucester County for the drive to Frank Donio Inc. in Hammonton, NJ, which is where at 8 a.m. I met him and two of his colleagues: Al Murray, the state’s assistant secretary of agriculture, and Lynn Coffin, executive assistant at the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.

Donio President David Arena led us on a tour of the company, a major grower, shipper and distributor of a full line of fresh fruits and vegetables, and known nationally for its popular “Top Crop” label.

The company has undergone a number of major upgrades and expansions since it was founded in 1933, and Arena was obviously proud to talk about them — and some that are ongoing — with the secretary.

There were a variety of items at the company during our visit, such as Butternut squash from Honduras, but the racks and coolers would be filled with New Jersey spring vegetables in just a few weeks, as the state’s 2015 spring vegetable season would be ramping up with the warmer temperatures ahead.

9:15 a.m.

We drove a short distance to Hammonton, the community known in produce circles as the Blueberry Capital of the World, and arrived at the offices of Diamond Blueberry Inc., to meet with company Sales Manager Tim Wetherbee.

While it was too soon for any definite predictions about blueberries, one of New Jersey’s signature crops, Wetherbee said that “it looks like we might be a few days later than last year. But a few warm days could change that. You’ve got to figure mid-month [June] as the start to a normal season.” After all, he said, “You can’t program Mother Nature.”

Secretary Fisher asked Wetherbee, a long-time veteran of the blueberry industry who began working at the age of 12, about the labor situation for the coming blueberry season. “Labor is very uncertain,” declared Wetherbee, who is chairman of the New Jersey Blueberry Industry Advisory Council. “We’ve learned to live with it, you deal with it, you try to anticipate. We’ve had to make adjustments.”

While there may not be any magical solution to the lack of labor available anytime soon, Wetherbee offered, “I think the [blueberry] industry as a whole is moving toward mechanization.”

11 a.m.

We arrived at Trenton — the state capital, and the headquarters of the New Jersey Department of Agriculture — and went immediately to a staff meeting with the Division of Food & Nutrition. A key topic was implementation of two chapters of a bill already passed by the New Jersey Legislature regarding the New Jersey Farm to School Program.

11:45 a.m.

Fisher and I chatted for a few minutes in his office, which is filled with photos of the secretary with his family as well as the secretary with a number of local, state and federal government officials. The American and New Jersey flags stand near a conference table. The view of the Delaware River and the city of Philadelphia in the distance was inspiring.

Noon

A small group of us walked about 10 minutes to a local restaurant for lunch. Fisher meets twice a month with all of the directors of the different divisions within the New Jersey Department of Agriculture; one meeting is a formal meeting, the other is an informal meeting during lunch. Today’s lunch — northern Italian cuisine — was one of those informal lunch meetings.

At the end of lunch, the directors surprised Fisher with a slice of birthday cake, as the secretary’s birthday was the following week.

2 p.m.

We walked back to the NJDA offices, where Fisher and I had a few minutes to talk casually about agriculture in general and produce in particular before his next meeting. I asked Fisher what he enjoyed most about serving as New Jersey’s secretary of agriculture, a post he has held since February 2009.

“It’s extraordinarily interesting,” he replied. “Working with the farmers — they’re the bedrock of society. And it’s great interacting with the farming community.” He called farming “a very noble profession,” adding of agriculture in general, “Regardless of what channel you’re in, you’re satisfying the marketplace.”

Asked if there was anything he disliked about being secretary of agriculture, Fisher offered, “Trying to maintain a level of service that we’re accustomed to providing while having enough resources to accomplish our mission. So it’s challenging, but frustrating.”

2:15 p.m.

Fisher met with Al Murray, Joe Atchison, Logan Brown and Christine Fries, who all provided the secretary with the first update of the upcoming Jersey Fresh season.

They noted that this will be the third year that the department will be working with ad agency Princeton Partners, so “the focus will not change,” said Murray. The emphasis on locally grown items, “which is still white hot,” said Murray, will continue and will be supported by point-of-sale materials, as in the past few years.

The state has about 159 community farmers markets, which are popular with many consumers. Two decades ago there were only about 35 such markets, noted Fisher, and people are asking for even more markets.

“There is a strong demand for these markets, and we are always looking for farmers to participate,” he stated.

Perhaps one reason why some lower-income consumers find these farmers markets so attractive is that many farmers are now equipped to accept payment via Electronic Benefits Transfers, which works like a debit card but doesn’t carry the stigma that the old food stamps had.

Murray noted that four baseball parks in the state are serving more fresh fruits and vegetables, “and they use Jersey Fresh items whenever possible,” he said.

Atchison, the department’s agricultural marketing coordinator, talked about funding for the various elements of the Jersey Fresh program. Regarding advertising, he discussed possibly changing the start date of the print and radio ad programs to begin one week later in May and end one week later in August than last year, to better coincide with this year’s current and expected weather patterns.

Brown, an economic development specialist with the department, talked a bit about the budget for the popular Jersey Fresh Promotional Program, which was $375,000 in 2014 and in 2013, and will be the same in 2015. “It’s pretty steady each year,” he noted.

Fries, who joined the department last July as an agricultural marketing specialist, discussed how Jersey Fresh can better utilize social media to reach consumers.

She also said that the department would be initiating a Jersey Fresh Love Campaign around the middle of May.

3:30 p.m.

In the final meeting of the day, Fisher met with Monique Purcell, director of the Division of Agricultural & Natural Resources, and Amanda Wenczel, an aquacultural development specialist. During this meeting, the three held a conference phone call with Bob Martin, commissioner of environmental production, to discuss shell fisheries and aquacultural development zones, known as ADZs.

This meeting concluded around 4:30 p.m., marking the end of the day.