The State Board of Agriculture is accepting nominations for the Distinguished Service Citations which will be presented at the State Agricultural Convention in 2009.

If you are a member of one of the organizations which comprise the State Agricultural Convention, your organization can nominate farmers, agricultural leaders and allies of the industry who have made outstanding contributions to agriculture and to enhancing the quality of rural life. If your organization has such a person in mind, he or she must be nominated through the County Board of Agriculture in which the candidate resides. Send your candidate's name [pdf 91k]and biography to the County Board of Agriculture as soon as possible so that ample preparation time can be given to the nomination statement.

You may renominate persons who have been nominated in the past, but have not yet been selected as recipients. Nominations from prior years are not held over; a candidate must be renominated.

All nominations for 2009 must be received by the State Board of Agriculture by Friday, October 10, 2008. Additional nominating guidelines follow. If you have any questions, contact Linda Walker [Linda.Walker@ag.state.nj.us].

INTRODUCTION

Since 1932, the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture has awarded the prestigious Citation for Distinguished Service to Agriculture to men and women who have given unselfishly of their time and talents to the advancement and betterment of the agricultural industry and rural life in New Jersey. This award is given to recognize and honor, in a fitting and proper manner, those individuals who have made outstanding contributions of public service to New Jersey agriculture.

1. Eligibility for awards is limited to farmers, agricultural leaders and allies of the agricultural industry who have made outstanding contributions of public service to agriculture and to the enhancement of the quality of rural life.
2. All organizations entitled, under the provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:1-6, to representation at the State Agricultural Convention shall be asked for their recommendations.
3. All nominations shall be received by the State Board of Agriculture through the County Boards of Agriculture, and must be received before the date set by the State Board. Names of candidates who have not previously received the award may be resubmitted for consideration in subsequent years.
4. Breed, commodity and general farm organizations (specified in Section 2 above) may nominate candidates for the award by submitting the name of such candidates to the appropriate County Board of Agriculture. The appropriate County Board of Agriculture shall be the board for the county in which the candidate lives and/or works.
5. Each County Board of Agriculture may recommend to the State Board of Agriculture a nominee of its own, in addition to the nominees referred by breed, commodity and general farm organizations.
6. Members of the State Board of Agriculture shall review all candidates which have been properly submitted prior to the established deadline and the State Board shall make its selection based upon the criteria listed in Section 1 above.
7. As a standard practice, no more than six awards will be given each year. A maximum of four awards can be given to farmers, and a maximum of two awards can be given to non-farmers (agriculturally related).
8. The State Board of Agriculture retains the right to initiate one or more distinguished service awards. In doing so, it shall inform the appropriate County Board of Agriculture of its action, which shall have no affect on a county board's own nomination ability.
9. Citations will be presented to award winners at the State Agricultural Convention each year.