A statewide study released in 2002, suggested several improvements in the marketing and distribution of New Jersey produce. Suggestions included mergers, modernization, centralized packing, quality control, off-season facility utilization and centralized purchasing.

New Jersey's produce industry must also rediscover its competitive advantage - access to nearby markets and consumer loyalty.

To increase demand for New Jersey's produce the New Jersey Department of Agriculture created the Jersey Fresh program. The program remains successful by increasing consumer awareness and retail utilization of the Jersey Fresh brand and ensuring quality through the Jersey Fresh quality grading system. The Department also continues to work closely with the retail industry through personal contact and in-season distribution of a weekly Jersey Fresh e-mail crop update.

In keeping with the goals outlined in its strategic plan, the Department continues to identify strategies to ensure the economic viability of the state's produce industry as well as the agricultural industry as a whole.

STRATEGIES

• Increase Produce Branding
  • Support efforts to label and make New Jersey produce easily identifiable for consumers who prefer to buy locally produced fruits and vegetables because they are fresher and taste better than products grown elsewhere.
    
  • Encourage the industry use of Jersey Fresh twist ties, rubber bands, UPCs and other branding material.
    
    
• Promote Vertical Integration
  • Encourage New Jersey producers to become more involved in distribution channels to keep up with consolidated buyers seeking full service, year round, suppliers.
    
  • Promote centralized packing and marketing and increased participation in marketing cooperatives. This will provide better economies of scale to meet the packing, storing and regulatory requirements of big buyers, quality standardization and better customer service.
    
  • Work in conjunction with Rutgers University and Farm Bureau to facilitate the search for strategic alliances and new methods to better integrate New Jersey's produce industry into the year-round supply model.
    
    
• Continue to Seek New Markets
  • Continue demographic research into the ethnically diverse marketplace from Washington, D.C. to Boston, Mass. This research will assist in identifying concentrations of ethnic populations, consumer produce preferences and local channels for produce distribution.
    
  • Continue working with the Department of Corrections to facilitate state Treasury purchases of over-produced and under-valued New Jersey farm products.
    
  • Continue seeking increased purchases of New Jersey farm products for school lunch and school breakfast programs.
    
  • Continue supporting New Jersey agriculture in Canada. Though a joint New York and New Jersey study of the Canadian marketplace, the Department will move forward to better understand the opportunities for New Jersey agriculture in Canada.
    
    
• Open New Community Markets
  • Identify and promote the existence of community farm markets.
    
  • Maintain a list of existing and new community farm markets that are seeking increased farmer participation.
    
    
  • Broaden the Jersey Fresh promotional program to be more inclusive of all New Jersey produced fruits and vegetables, especially herbs and hydroponically and greenhouse produced fruits and vegetables.
    
    
    
  • Update Jersey Fresh Quality Grading standards to include non-traditional produce items if necessary.
    
    
• Continue Third-Party Audits
  • Continue providing affordable third-party food safety audits required by the produce industry. As consolidation continues in the retail produce industry, so will the trend toward third-party food safety audits. In addition to high quality controls, consolidated retailers will be requiring the improved trace-back ability third-party audits offer.
    
    
• Improve Retailer Coordination
  
  • Develop a strategic approach to communicate the content and timing of New Jersey's promotional and advertising efforts in advance of the production season, enabling the industry to better position itself within the 52-week marketing plan of most major produce retailers.
    § Facilitate weekly dialogue involving Department representatives, growers, producers, wholesalers and retailers of New Jersey agricultural products.
    
    
• Explore Contract Growing
  • Identify the economics of contract growing, which enables growers to establish a market price prior to production, reducing their exposure to market and price volatility.
    
  • Educate growers about the contract growing opportunities.
    
  • Assist growers in identifying local and regional fresh market processors and determining the needs of those processors.
    
    
• Identify Alternate Crops
  • Expand the search for alternate crops that can be produced in New Jersey and identify channels of distribution for those crops.
    
    
• Support Research
  • Encourage the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station to continue its research in identifying new varieties of crops that are resistant to pests and diseases and in identifying and developing new methods of pest control.
    
    
• Assist in Addressing Labor Issues
  • Continue the commitment to programs that support worker training, keep workers healthy and safe, and address issues such as farm labor housing.
    
  • Support reform of policies and procedures addressing temporary agricultural worker visas at the federal and state level.
  • Encourage farmers to take a pro-active approach to learning about their responsibilities at both the federal and state levels to ensure worker safety.