DEP Cannot Serve New Jersey's Farmers

Commissioner Admits Agency Cannot Be Advocate For Agriculture

Senator Phil Haines (R-Burlington), a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, questioned the Commissioner of Environmental Protection on whether the DEP could act as an effective voice for New Jersey's farmers, who contribute over $7 billion to the State economy.

"I am grateful that the Commissioner agreed that DEP would find it difficult to act as an advocate for the 500, 000 people who work in the agricultural economy in this State," Haines said. "The DEP are regulators first, and their regulations often put them at odds with our farmers, who face significant competitive pressures that do not exist in other states. Today's testimony proves that breaking up the Department of Agriculture and scattering the pieces throughout State Government is a poor policy choice."

The Governor has proposed that the Department of Agriculture be eliminated as a principal department of State Government, and that an unspecified number of its present responsibilities be transferred to the DEP.

"The potential elimination of the Department of Agriculture also raises serious concerns about the future success of the farmland preservation program," Haines said. "Moving the State Agriculture Development Committee to the DEP could have an adverse impact on the future of farmland preservation. It would be a blow to the 'Garden State' if farmland preservation efforts took a backseat to the administration's emphasis on park construction."

"Helping farmers navigate the State bureaucracy and ensuring the future preservation of farms are precisely the reasons why we need the expertise and advocacy of the Department of Agriculture," Haines said. "The culture within the DEP will prevent them from performing these tasks as well as a department devoted to ensuring the future of farming in this State."