Expresses support for establishment of "Farmers Bill of Rights."

ACR114

ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 114

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� CAROL A. MURPHY

District 7 (Burlington)

Assemblywoman� ANNETTE QUIJANO

District 20 (Union)

SYNOPSIS

���� Expresses support for establishment of �Farmers Bill
of Rights.�

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

A
Concurrent Resolution
expressing support
for a �Farmers Bill of Rights.�

Whereas,

According to the Department of Agriculture, food and agriculture are New
Jersey's third largest industry, behind pharmaceuticals and tourism, bringing
in billions of dollars in revenue to the State; and

Whereas,

Farmers in the Garden State produce more than 100 different kinds of fruits and
vegetables for consumers to enjoy here in New Jersey, elsewhere in the
Northeast, in Canada, or in many countries around the world; and�

Whereas,

N
ationally, New Jersey is one of
the top 10 producers of blueberries, cranberries, peaches, tomatoes, bell
peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, apples, spinach, squash, and asparagus; and

Whereas,

New Jersey�s farmers also produce hundreds of thousands of dollars� worth of
specialty crops that added many unique flavors to the Garden State�s bounty;
and

Whereas,

T
he Center for American Progress has
reported that, across the country, mergers and acquisitions have increased
corporate concentration across agricultural markets, including� an oligopoly of
85 percent� of the corn seed market in the four largest firms in the seed
sector; and

Whereas,

According to the Open Markets Institute, excessive concentration in the poultry
industry has resulted in half of the country�s chicken farmers working in
regions dominated by only one or two processing companies, leaving those
farmers with little, if any, bargaining power for better contracts or growing
terms; and

Whereas,

The Organization for Competitive Markets has reported cattle prices paid to
farmers from 2013 to 2016 dropped by 13 percent, while during the same period
prices paid for beef by consumers at the grocery store increased by four
percent, suggesting that the prices paid to farmers and by consumers are not
the result of a fair and just market; and

Whereas,

Corporate concentration and abusive practices in America�s food and farm sector
are� harming consumers, rural communities,� family farmers, and ranchers,
including historically underserved farmers and ranchers, by diminishing the
availability of seed choice, limiting the accessibility of domestic farming
lands, increasing food prices, manipulating markets, and hindering access to
traditional foodways and agricultural practices; and

Whereas,

Increasing farm debt, decreasing incomes, and deteriorating overall conditions
for family farmers and ranchers are causing farm foreclosures and Chapter 12
bankruptcies to steadily increase across the country; and

Whereas,

A
ccording to the Midwest Center for
Investigative Reporting, foreign acquisition of, and increasing investments in,
American farmlands and agribusiness presents a risk to food system security and
contributes to increasing prices of the country�s farmland beyond the financial
ability of local residents to purchase it; and

Whereas,

Monopolization, large agricultural corporations, and foreign interests in
America�s farming sector, combined with a changing climate, creates an
unprecedented negative impact on the regional economic strength and security of
agricultural communities; and

Whereas,

The Legislature recognizes the many contributions that family farmers and
ranchers have made to the State and the country�s agricultural industry, local
food production, food sovereignty, rich variety of the country�s abundant food
supply, and traditional and cultural agricultural practices; now, therefore,

����
Be It
Resolved
by the General Assembly of the State
of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):

���� 1.� a.� This Legislature
expresses its support for the agricultural community and supports the
establishment of a Farmers Bill of Rights, recognizing that farmers should have
the right to:� access a competitive open marketplace to buy seeds, fertilizer,
and other goods, and to sell produce, livestock, and meat; feed their
community; access fair capital; protect natural resources and preserve
land-based agricultural resources; food security and access to domestic
farmland; repair their own tractors and equipment; accurately inform consumers
of a product's origin using transparent labeling; access basic services in
rural communities; and preserve a diverse community of farmers and farming
practices.

���� b.� This Legislature urges the
United States Congress to pass legislation similar to Senate Concurrent
Resolution No. 36 of 2020 supporting a Farmers Bill of Rights.

���� c.� This Legislature further
urges all relevant federal and State agencies to take any available action to
support the agricultural community.

���� 2.� Copies of this resolution,
as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the
General Assembly or the Secretary of the Senate to the President and
Vice-President of the United States, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United
States Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of
Representatives, the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture,
the Governor of the State of New Jersey, the Secretary of the New Jersey
Department of Agriculture, and every member of Congress elected from the State
of New Jersey.

STATEMENT

���� This concurrent resolution
expresses the support of the Legislature for the agricultural community and
supports the establishment of a Farmers Bill of Rights, recognizing that
farmers should have the right to:� access a competitive open marketplace to buy
seeds, fertilizer, and other goods, and to sell produce, livestock, and meat;
feed their community; access fair capital; protect natural resources and preserve
land-based agricultural resources; food security and access to domestic
farmland; repair their own tractors and equipment; accurately inform consumers
of a product's origin using transparent labeling; access basic services in
rural communities; and preserve a diverse community of farmers and farming
practices.

���� The resolution urges the
United States Congress to pass legislation similar to Senate Concurrent
Resolution No. 36 of 2020 supporting a Farmers Bill of Rights, and further
urges all relevant federal and State agencies to take any available action to
support the agricultural community.