Establishes grant program for reimbursement of tuition and fees for certain qualifying courses taken by farmers; appropriates $100,000.

A4030

ASSEMBLY, No. 4030

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 12, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� ALEX SAUICKIE

District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes grant program for reimbursement of
tuition and fees for certain qualifying courses taken by farmers; appropriates
$100,000.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning tuition reimbursement for farmers,
supplementing Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, and making an
appropriation.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.� a.� As used in this
section:

���� �Department� means the
Department of Agriculture.

���� �Eligible institution� means
an institution of higher education in the State that is licensed by the
Commission on Higher Education and is accredited or preaccredited by a
nationally recognized accrediting association and determined by the Department
of Agriculture to offer qualifying courses pursuant to subsection c. of this
section.

���� �Eligible student� means a
farmer who owns or operates a farming operation that realizes gross sales of at
least $2,500 for agricultural or horticultural products annually and registers
in a qualifying course.

���� �Farmer� means any person
engaged in the commercial raising, growing, and producing of farm products on a
farm that is not less than five acres in area.

���� �Qualifying course� means a
course approved by the Department of Agriculture pursuant to this section that
would improve a person�s farming operations or understanding of business,
agriculture, horticulture, or the economics or financing of agriculture or
horticulture in the State, or technology to improve farming operations.

���� �New and beginning farmer�
means any individual who has not managed a farm or agricultural operation, but
seeks to manage a farm or agricultural operation or has managed a farm or
agricultural operation for less than 10 consecutive years.

���� b.� The department shall establish
and administer a grant program to reimburse eligible students for a percentage,
established pursuant to subsection d. of this section, of the cost of registration
in a qualifying course at an eligible institution.� The department shall
establish procedures for an eligible student to apply for, in a form and manner
prescribed by the department, and receive the appropriate reimbursement.�

���� c. �The department shall
determine, in cooperation with institutions of higher education in the State,
the institutions and courses that qualify under the program.� The department
shall post a list of eligible institutions and qualifying courses on its Internet
website, and shall update the list, as necessary, prior to each course
registration period at the eligible institution.� A person may request a copy
of the lists from the department, and the department shall provide a copy by
mail upon receipt of the request.

���� d.� (1) The department shall
provide to an eligible student with 10 or more years of experience in the
farming industry, who registers for a qualifying course, a reimbursement
payment.� The reimbursement payment shall constitute a percentage of the
tuition and registration fees in the qualifying course as follows:

���� (a) 10 percent of the tuition
and fees for one qualifying course;

���� (b) 20 percent of the tuition
and fees for a second qualifying course; and

���� (c) 30 percent of the tuition
and fees for a third or any additional qualifying course.

���� (2) The department shall also
provide an eligible student who is a new and beginning farmer who registers for
a qualifying course a reimbursement payment.� The reimbursement payment shall
constitute a percentage amount of the tuition and registration fees in the
qualifying course as follows:

���� (a) 15 percent of the tuition
and fees for one qualifying course;

���� (b) 25 percent of the tuition
and fees for a second qualifying course; and

���� (c) 35 percent of the tuition
and fees for a third or any additional qualifying course. �

���� (3) The qualifying courses
need not be taken simultaneously for any eligible student to receive the
reimbursement.� The department may require the student to submit proof of the
student�s eligibility and the dates on which the eligible student registered
and satisfactorily completed a qualifying course in order for the eligible
student to receive the applicable reimbursement.

���� e.� The department shall
request, as part of its annual budget request to the Legislature, an amount
sufficient to fund the grant program established pursuant to this section.

���� f. �The Department of
Agriculture shall, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure
Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations as
necessary to implement the provisions of this act.

���� 2.��� There is appropriated
from the General Fund to the Department of Agriculture a sum in the amount of
$100,000 to provide reimbursement of percentage amounts for qualifying courses
pursuant to section 1 of this act.

���� 3. This act shall take effect
immediately.

STATEMENT

�� This bill directs the Department
of Agriculture to administer a grant program to reimburse a farmer who is an
eligible student for a percentage reimbursement for registration in a
qualifying course at an eligible institution, and to establish procedures to
implement the program.

���� The bill provides that an
eligible student with 10 or more years of experience in the farming industry
registering for a qualifying course would be entitled to a 10 percent reimbursement
of the tuition and fees for one qualifying course, a 20 percent reimbursement for
a second qualifying course, a 30 percent reimbursement for a third or any
additional qualifying course.� Farmers with less than 10 years of experience in
the industry are to receive a five percent larger reimbursement of tuition and
registration fees, with an eligible student farmer receiving a 15 percent reimbursement,
25 percent reimbursement, and 35 percent reimbursement for each successive
credit.� The bill specifies that the qualifying courses need not be taken
simultaneously for an eligible student farmer to qualify for the reimbursement.�
The department may require proof of the student farmer�s eligibility and the
dates on which the eligible student farmer registered for and satisfactorily
completed a qualifying course in order for the eligible student to receive the
applicable reimbursement.

���� The bill makes an
appropriation from the General Fund in the amount of $100,000 for the grant
program and requires the Department of Agriculture to request, as part of its
annual budget request to the Legislature amounts sufficient to continue to fund
the grant program.

���� This tuition reimbursement program
would help farmers strengthen their business skills and embodies the spirit of
the Next Generation Farmers Report. The 2025 Next Generation Farmers Report,
prepared by the State Agricultural Development Committee in the New Jersey
Department of Agriculture, is intended to help beginning and next generation
farmers from all backgrounds establish and initiate agricultural operations. The
report addresses the challenges faced by new and beginning farmers in New
Jersey, with the goal of filling gaps in programming and enhancing support for
the agricultural industry.