Industry out in force for Atlantic Coast Agricultural Convention & Trade Show
Industry out in force for Atlantic Coast Agricultural Convention & Trade Show
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ -- Nearly 1,000 attendees came to network, learn and see the newest products and services available to vegetable growers from over 100 speakers and vendors at the Atlantic Coast Agricultural Convention & Trade Show, held here Jan. 15-17 at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort and sponsored by the Vegetable Growers Association of New Jersey.
Originally known as the New Jersey Annual Vegetable Meeting & Trade Show, the annual event used the aptly phrased slogan for this year's convention, "Making changes. Growing stronger."
John Banscher, the association's president, said in the convention's guide that "we hope that by expanding our convention to encompass a wider range of agricultural information, that the industry as a whole, and the individual farmers that participate, will be stronger for it."
Mr. Banscher told The Produce News that the organization had also changed the name of the convention because it "was trying to bring in other states to join us. He added that the association is still strong, but other states surrounding us are weaker and we are trying to keep agriculture alive on the East Coast. The bigger the numbers, the stronger the voice, and strength gives us more power to voice our opinions."
While Mr. Banscher, who operates John Banscher Farms in Gibbstown, NJ, noted that while New Jersey's vegetable industry is strong, more small farms are being rented or leased by larger operations due to economic pressures and the younger generation not being willing to continue in their families' footsteps.
"We are under a lot of pressure with increasing costs for packaging, labor, fuel and regulations that are getting tougher and tougher," he said, stressing that while third- party audits were a good thing, the costs involved to implement them are hurting its members and putting a larger burden on agriculture as a whole.
"The third-party audits will cost farmers anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000," he said. "We take pride in our commodities and put our lives on the line when we put our family's name on our boxes. We work to the best of our ability to put out a quality product. We will abide by the regulations, but once [product] is out of our hands and if something goes wrong, it falls back on us, not the broker or the chains."
Charles Kuperus, New Jersey's secretary of agriculture, addressed attendees at the trade show's opening Jan. 15 and told those assembled, "I really applaud the vegetable growers" for changing the format of this year's show to have its education sessions only in the morning on the first day to allow time for discussion in the afternoon.
Mr. Kuperus said that he had learned a lot from discussions about what his department needed to do "to help deal with a very, very tough marketplace."
"When we are talking about buying local, why is it that we have some farmers having a tough time making ends meet? There's a whole dialogue about nutrition and how fruits and vegetables are an important component of our diet and why is it that our farmers are not benefiting from that added value that the whole nutrition market can bring them? That's something that we are going to be focused on with our Jersey Fresh program," he said.
"We have some of the best farmers in the country right here in our own state," he added. "What we want to do is make sure that we keep an agricultural industry that grows and thrives in our state."
Mr. Kuperus said that the 2008 Jersey Fresh program will have a new twist to help educate the state's consumers that when the see signs in food retailers noting local produce, they should be purchasing products with the "Jersey Fresh" brand, because that is truly local produce.
"We need to make sure that the 'Jersey Fresh' brand adds value to the individual farmers in some way, because often what we see local produce at consumer markets, but it's not Jersey, it's not New York, it's not Pennsylvania, it's not Delaware - it's further away," he said. "So you may hear me on the radio this coming year talking about how buying local means more than just seeing the local sign, but asking the people to look for the 'Jersey Fresh' brand. We did it once before with the spinach crisis, and it was very effective."
This year the department's focus is on vegetables, and to help add value to the state's individual growers, Mr. Kuperus told The Produce News that his department has applied to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for $117,000 in specialty crop funds, $50,000 of which would go to the Jersey Fresh matched funds program to help promote "Jersey Fresh" and an additional $37,000 toward individual product branding using the "Jersey Fresh" logo on such items as labels, bands and plastic wrap, so that the logo can be seen on each vegetable, not just the box it is shipped in.
"This will add value to the farmers, families and enterprises' message across New Jersey's landscape," he told The Produce News.
"We are going to work with you to make sure that we can get individual products labeled in the marketplace so that when someone picks up a head of lettuce or they pick up greens, it is wrapped or bundled on something that says it is produced by a New Jersey farmer or a New Jersey farm family," he said. "Frankly, we are an expensive state to do business in, and that $37,000 is going to go directly to helping our industry really position ourselves differently in the marketplace. It is important in our lifetime that we really make a change and position agriculture to have a very, very bright future, and unless we deal with the issues, we are going to have another industry that we look back at and say 'you know, we used to have a very, very large vegetable-growing industry. What happened?'"
He continued, "People are always going to eat, and we want to make sure they have access to fresh fruit and vegetables, because while it is a good part of a healthy diet, at the same time it keeps our land open and productive and keeps our family farms on the ground, and that's what we are looking forward to working with you on this year."
Originally known as the New Jersey Annual Vegetable Meeting & Trade Show, the annual event used the aptly phrased slogan for this year's convention, "Making changes. Growing stronger."
John Banscher, the association's president, said in the convention's guide that "we hope that by expanding our convention to encompass a wider range of agricultural information, that the industry as a whole, and the individual farmers that participate, will be stronger for it."
Mr. Banscher told The Produce News that the organization had also changed the name of the convention because it "was trying to bring in other states to join us. He added that the association is still strong, but other states surrounding us are weaker and we are trying to keep agriculture alive on the East Coast. The bigger the numbers, the stronger the voice, and strength gives us more power to voice our opinions."
While Mr. Banscher, who operates John Banscher Farms in Gibbstown, NJ, noted that while New Jersey's vegetable industry is strong, more small farms are being rented or leased by larger operations due to economic pressures and the younger generation not being willing to continue in their families' footsteps.
"We are under a lot of pressure with increasing costs for packaging, labor, fuel and regulations that are getting tougher and tougher," he said, stressing that while third- party audits were a good thing, the costs involved to implement them are hurting its members and putting a larger burden on agriculture as a whole.
"The third-party audits will cost farmers anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000," he said. "We take pride in our commodities and put our lives on the line when we put our family's name on our boxes. We work to the best of our ability to put out a quality product. We will abide by the regulations, but once [product] is out of our hands and if something goes wrong, it falls back on us, not the broker or the chains."
Charles Kuperus, New Jersey's secretary of agriculture, addressed attendees at the trade show's opening Jan. 15 and told those assembled, "I really applaud the vegetable growers" for changing the format of this year's show to have its education sessions only in the morning on the first day to allow time for discussion in the afternoon.
Mr. Kuperus said that he had learned a lot from discussions about what his department needed to do "to help deal with a very, very tough marketplace."
"When we are talking about buying local, why is it that we have some farmers having a tough time making ends meet? There's a whole dialogue about nutrition and how fruits and vegetables are an important component of our diet and why is it that our farmers are not benefiting from that added value that the whole nutrition market can bring them? That's something that we are going to be focused on with our Jersey Fresh program," he said.
"We have some of the best farmers in the country right here in our own state," he added. "What we want to do is make sure that we keep an agricultural industry that grows and thrives in our state."
Mr. Kuperus said that the 2008 Jersey Fresh program will have a new twist to help educate the state's consumers that when the see signs in food retailers noting local produce, they should be purchasing products with the "Jersey Fresh" brand, because that is truly local produce.
"We need to make sure that the 'Jersey Fresh' brand adds value to the individual farmers in some way, because often what we see local produce at consumer markets, but it's not Jersey, it's not New York, it's not Pennsylvania, it's not Delaware - it's further away," he said. "So you may hear me on the radio this coming year talking about how buying local means more than just seeing the local sign, but asking the people to look for the 'Jersey Fresh' brand. We did it once before with the spinach crisis, and it was very effective."
This year the department's focus is on vegetables, and to help add value to the state's individual growers, Mr. Kuperus told The Produce News that his department has applied to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for $117,000 in specialty crop funds, $50,000 of which would go to the Jersey Fresh matched funds program to help promote "Jersey Fresh" and an additional $37,000 toward individual product branding using the "Jersey Fresh" logo on such items as labels, bands and plastic wrap, so that the logo can be seen on each vegetable, not just the box it is shipped in.
"This will add value to the farmers, families and enterprises' message across New Jersey's landscape," he told The Produce News.
"We are going to work with you to make sure that we can get individual products labeled in the marketplace so that when someone picks up a head of lettuce or they pick up greens, it is wrapped or bundled on something that says it is produced by a New Jersey farmer or a New Jersey farm family," he said. "Frankly, we are an expensive state to do business in, and that $37,000 is going to go directly to helping our industry really position ourselves differently in the marketplace. It is important in our lifetime that we really make a change and position agriculture to have a very, very bright future, and unless we deal with the issues, we are going to have another industry that we look back at and say 'you know, we used to have a very, very large vegetable-growing industry. What happened?'"
He continued, "People are always going to eat, and we want to make sure they have access to fresh fruit and vegetables, because while it is a good part of a healthy diet, at the same time it keeps our land open and productive and keeps our family farms on the ground, and that's what we are looking forward to working with you on this year."
