JOHN DREYER

Distinguished Service Award Winner John Dreyer has used his decades of experience to make Dreyer Farms a true destination location in Union County. John began working at his family’s farm stand as a youth in 1954. The stand was first opened by John’s mother, Henrietta, in 1946. John’s father Henry, and brother, Henry Jr., also played significant roles in the farm market’s development.

John has been at the forefront of market trends by encouraging Community Supported Agriculture, Farm to Table and Agritourism. The Dreyers hold many events on the farm that customers can participate in and they are always well attended.

During the growing season, 40 varieties of tomatoes will be on market shelves, while 150 different types of seedlings go from Dreyer Farms’ 12 greenhouses to customers who prefer to grow their own. Many of the varieties are heirlooms, all of which are hand-picked from 15 seed catalogs that Jessica and her father, John, review each year before selecting varieties for the following season. The Dreyers also grow and sell kale, zucchini, radishes, carrots, beets, Swiss chard, scallions, garlic, eggplant, carrots and blackberries as well as other produce and items at their market.

The Dreyers have been farming in Union County for well over a century. In the late 1800s, John Dreyer’s grandfather, Gustav, immigrated to the United States with his brother, Henry, landing in New York City. Gustav worked in a grocery store for a year before he decided to return to what he knew . . . farming.  The brothers eventually purchased land in Cranford, some of which is still today’s farm.

The current market building was redesigned and remodeled in 2014 as John’s daughter Jessica planned the new building, using her grandmother’s stand as a model.

John has served on the Union County Board of Agriculture since 1975, where he is a two-time president. He has also been the Union County Delegate to the state agricultural convention several times as well as holding several positions with New Jersey Farm Bureau.

DOUGLAS RICKER

Distinguished Service Award winner Douglas Ricker was a lifelong resident of Sussex County and had a major influence on New Jersey Agriculture. He was a self-employed dairy farmer for his entire career and served on the State Board of Agriculture from 1990 to 1994.

Doug and his brother Walt were each born on the family farm, which was purchased by their parents, Herman and Dorothy Ricker in 1929. In 1955, Herman Ricker and Sons was created and then in 1970 another barn with a milking parlor was built and the Ricker Brothers was formed. The Rickers also hosted a dairy open house at their farm for several years.

Doug, and his wife Joy, to whom he was married for 58 years, were active in Sussex County 4-H for decades. The Ricker family competed in the Open Holstein Show for more than 50 years.

Doug was also an avid sports fan and played on the famed Sussex Cardinals baseball team from the 1950s up into the 1970s.

He was elected to the Wantage Township Committee serving nine years, and was appointed mayor three times. He also served on the Wantage Township Planning Board & Open Space Committees.

Doug was active in several other agriculture-related groups during his career, such as the New Jersey Farm Bureau, the Sussex County Board of Agriculture, Sussex County Farm Land Preservation, Sussex County and New Jersey State FFA, the Eastern Milk Producers, the Sussex County Farm and Horse Show, and the Sussex County Holstein Association. Even after he retired in 2009, Doug remained a mentor and friend to farmers and the agriculture community up until his passing in September of this past year. He will be greatly missed.

RAY SAMULIS

Distinguished Service Award winner Ray Samulis was a long-time Rutgers Agricultural Extension Agent in Burlington County who retired at the end of 2017. Ray became known for his expertise with sweet corn and established one of the most comprehensive sweet corn programs over 42 seasons that involved field research, comprehensive training seminars, and marketing research.

Ray also established field trials for Padron peppers in New Jersey and was heavily involved in helping cranberry, pumpkin and other vegetable growers with various field trials, playing a key role in making New Jersey a leading producer in the United States in several crops.

Ray was raised in Barrington, Camden County, near Cherry Hill and Voorhees, but did not grow up on a farm or in an agricultural setting. That didn’t stop him from having an early interest in agriculture and by ninth grade he knew he wanted a career in agriculture.

That led to him working at three different farms and as a landscaper. He went on to earn his Bachelor’s degree in Horticulture from Delaware Valley University and then achieved his Master’s degree at Cornell University.

Ray was an advocate for farm safety for much of his career as well. He led several seminars on farm safety during the last 15 years and the Cranberry Growers Association gave him an award for being a safety mentor for its industry.

In 2010, Samulis was granted funding of $40,000 for instituting the “AgrAbility” program, which assists farmers in dealing with disabilities that prevent them from completing their farming activities. He served as co-director of the Mid-Atlantic AgrAbility Project.

Ray received many awards during his long career, including distinguished service awards from New Jersey Farm Bureau, the New Jersey Nursery Landscape Association, the Burlington County Board of Agriculture, the Pesticide Association of New Jersey, and the National Association of County Agricultural Agents.

NANCY TRIVETTE

Distinguished Service Award winner Nancy Trivette has been a champion for Agriculture Education for New Jersey and the United States for more than 30 years.  She recently retired as the State FFA Advisor and Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Education leader from the New Jersey Department of Agriculture. Nancy inspired thousands of FFA members to regularly engage in personal, career and leadership development activities while encouraging them to excel as they developed agricultural skills and competencies for the future. She has also been a leader in assisting schools to develop CASE, the Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education.

Nancy was the State FFA Advisor since 1983, first with Rutgers University, then at the New Jersey Department of Education and with the NJDA since 1995.

Nancy is a mentor to numerous current and future agriculture teachers in New Jersey and promotes the agricultural education profession as a wonderful career choice at every opportunity. She continues to serve as a member of the National Teach Ag Advisory Board and as the New Jersey State Teach Ag Results (STAR) state contact.

She is currently president-elect of the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) and has been the President of the National Council for Agricultural Education, the President of the National Association of Supervisors Agricultural Education, the ACTE Region I Vice President and is currently the National FFA Treasurer.

This year Nancy was one of four National Teach Ag Award winners in the U.S. named by the National Association for Agricultural Educators. At the National FFA convention this past October, Nancy was honored with the Golden Owl Award for Service to the National FFA Organization by the National Association of Supervisors Agricultural Education for serving as the National FFA Treasurer.

Under Nancy’s leadership, New Jersey currently has more than 2,200 FFA members.