Establishes "New Farmers Improvement Grant Program" to provide matching grants for farm improvements to beginning farmers.

A5278

ASSEMBLY, No. 5278

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED JUNE 15, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� DAWN FANTASIA

District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)

Assemblyman� MICHAEL INGANAMORT

District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes "New Farmers Improvement Grant
Program" to provide matching grants for farm improvements to beginning
farmers.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning grants to beginning farmers for farm
improvements and supplementing Title 4 of the Revised Statutes.

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

����� 1.�� As
used in this act:

����� �Beginning
farmer� means a person who desires to engage in farming and has never farmed
before, who has engaged in farming in the State for 10 years or less as of the
effective date of this act, or who qualifies as a first-time farmer pursuant to
26 U.S.C. s.147(c)(2).

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

����� �Farming�
means the cultivation of land for the production of agricultural crops, the
raising of poultry, the production of eggs, the production of milk, the
production of fruit or other horticultural crops, grazing, the production of
livestock, aquaculture, hydroponics, the production of forest products, or
other activities designated by the department pursuant to rules and
regulations.

����� 2.�� a.�
There is established in the Department of Agriculture the �New Farmers
Improvement Grant Program,� to provide matching grants for farm improvements to
beginning farmers investing in diversification of their farming operations and
innovations for the sustainability of those operations.� The department shall
award grants of between $15,000 and $50,000, for up to 50 percent of total
project costs.� The department shall award matching grants to eligible farmers
only for projects that:

����� (1)�� expand
or diversify agricultural or horticultural production on the farm or extend its
growing or production season;

����� (2)�� implement
innovative agricultural or horticultural techniques that increase the use of
sustainable practices such as organic farming, food safety, reduction of farm
waste, or water conservation; or

����� (3)�� create
or expand partnerships with other farms, regional food hubs, or
agriculture-dependent institutions and entities to improve the processing,
selling, and distributing of agricultural or horticultural products.

����� b.�
Eligible costs to be funded by a matching grant under the program shall include
the purchase of new or used machinery, equipment, or supplies, or the
construction of buildings and physical structures to be used exclusively for
agricultural or horticultural purposes, and any other costs established as
eligible costs pursuant to rules and regulations adopted pursuant to subsection
e. of this section.

����� c.�
A farmer shall be eligible for a matching grant, and may apply in the form and
manner prescribed by the department, if:

����� (1)�� the
farmer is 18 years of age or older and is a beginning farmer;

����� (2)�� the
beginning farmer materially and substantially participates in day-to-day
production of agricultural or horticultural products raised on the farm, as
determined by the department;

����� (3)�� the
farm is 150 acres or less and located wholly within the State; and

����� (4)�� the
farming operation has a minimum of $10,000 in gross sales in the preceding
calendar year from agricultural or horticultural products grown or derived from
the applicant�s farm operation as reflected in either personal or business
federal tax return forms.

����� d.�
The Department of Agriculture shall request annually as part of its annual
budget proposal a minimum of $100,000 to fund the grants authorized pursuant to
this section.� The department shall also pursue and develop, with the
Department of Environmental Protection, the United States Department of
Agriculture, and any other applicable State or federal agency, any available
federal, State, local, and private funding for the grants authorized pursuant
to this section.

����� e.�
The Department of Agriculture shall adopt, pursuant to the �Administrative
Procedure Act,�

P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et
seq.), rules and regulations necessary to implement this act, including, but
not limited to, establishing other costs as eligible costs in addition to those
established in section b. of this section and the manner in which a beginning
farmer shall provide the required 50 percent match for a grant.

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill establishes in the
Department of Agriculture the �New Farmers Improvement Grant Program,� to
provide matching grants for farm improvements to beginning farmers investing in
diversification of their farming operations and innovations for the
sustainability of those operations. �The bill defines �beginning farmer� as a
person who desires to engage in farming and has never farmed before, who has
engaged in farming in the State for 10 years or less as of the effective date
of the bill, or who qualifies as a first time farmer pursuant to federal law at
26 U.S.C. s.147(c)(2).

���� To date, the State of New
Jersey has spent $1.148 billion to preserve farmland in the Garden State.� New
Jersey cannot rely only on the success of land preservation to preserve farming.�
The State must take further action to preserve its farmers as well.� Currently,
the average age of a farmer in the United States is 58.1 years.� The national
average age has increased by 1.4 percent annually since 1997, on average,
according to the 2022 Census of Agriculture conducted by the United States
Department of Agriculture. �The average age of a New Jersey farmer is 58.7
years, according to the same report. �The State-wide average age has increased 1.5
percent annually since 2002, on average.