Members of the State Board of Agriculture are elected by delegates from the agriculture community to the legislatively established, annual State Agricultural Convention in February then recommended to the Governor for appointment to the Board with the approval of the State Senate. Farmer-members of the State Fish and Game Council are also selected at the convention.

Two special kinds of awards are also presented each year at the convention:

Distinguished Service and Outstanding Young Farmer.

In addition, several Distinguished Service Awards are presented at the Convention each year to honor lifetime service to the agriculture industry and professional accomplishments that contributed to the advancement of the industry. More information about the criteria for the award and a nomination form.

New Jersey's Outstanding Young Farmer (OYF) is selected from nominees submitted by agricultural organizations such as county boards of agriculture; commodity, breed and general farm organizations; machinery, seed or farm supply dealers; lending institutions; local chapters of the Junior Chamber of Commerce; and others including former NJ OYF winners who are members of the Outstanding Farmers of America. A panel of judges selects the year's honoree. Click for additional information or a nomination form. The OYF award is also part of the program at the Outstanding Young Citizens banquet held each year by the New Jersey Junior Chamber of Commerce. At the national level, the OYF program is the oldest farmer recognition program in the United States, dating back to 1955.

The National OYF program is sponsored by Deere & Company, supported by the National Association of County Agriculture Agents (NACAA) and the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce and is administered by the Outstanding Farmers of America (OFA) Fraternity.

Click here for a list of past recipients.