“Our goals are to communicate the quality and freshness of Jersey’s agricultural products to potential buyers and visit with current buyers,” said Joe Atchison III, NJDA’s assistant secretary and marketing and development director. “Consumers continue to seek the freshest, highest quality produce available and with many Jersey Fresh products picked, packed and shipped within a day, you can expect the best from New Jersey.”

Joining Atchison at the show will be Christine Fries, NJDA’s coordinator of agricultural development, and both will be meeting with attendees and distributing information and promotional materials.

The NJDA/Jersey Fresh will be at booth No. 2906 on the right side of the exhibit hall as attendees enter.

“Our booth has a colorful backdrop featuring some of the over 100 fruits and vegetables grown in the Garden State,” Atchison said. “Additionally, we have point-of-purchase samples, seasonality charts and fun promotional materials.”

One of the main goals of the NJDA at CPMA is to learn about the trends impacting the industry and look for opportunities to help New Jersey growers increase business and succeed.

“We always expect to learn what products Canadian buyers are seeking and learning about their needs,” Atchison said. “There’s always one buyer seeking ‘baseball bat sized zucchini’ for his low-carb ‘noodles.’ We expect some discussion of tariffs and how they affect the parties on both ends of the supply chain but mostly we look to forge relationships.”

Networking will also be top of mind for Atchison and Fries, as they look to continue to facilitate connections.

“Our business is establishing relationships,” Atchison said. “Making people aware of what New Jersey has to offer is our first step in building those relationships. We are dedicated to that pursuit and while they may not pay off immediately it is important that we remind people of the quality represented by the Jersey Fresh brand.”

Going to Canada has always been a priority for the NJDA and it looks forward to meeting with its neighbors to the north for this show every year.

“Canada is home to some of the friendliest people we’ve ever met,” Atchison said. “We look forward to engaging with them on the show floor and around town while supporting local businesses.”

Now that spring is here, New Jersey growers are hard at work on the myriad of products that are ready this time of year. As of late March, most growers were very optimistic about what they were seeing for the 2025 spring season.

“We are on track for a fabulous growing season with early offerings of herbs, greens and lettuces in dozens of varieties,” Atchison said. “Some of our primary crops, such as radishes and broccoli rabe are becoming available now. Asparagus will be ready from mid-April and through May.”