Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Agriculture secretary highlights farm programs, agrivoltaics pilot and school‑meal expansions; urges continued federal support
Summary
Secretary Wengren briefed lawmakers on Department of Agriculture priorities for FY26: support for farmers, SADC changes, agrivoltaics pilot work with Rutgers and BPU, wildlife and animal‑disease monitoring, and nutrition programs including summer EBT and local‑foods-for‑schools efforts.
Secretary Wengren, secretary of the Department of Agriculture, told the Assembly Budget Committee the department’s FY26 priorities center on supporting farm viability, expanding local markets and protecting animal and plant health.
Wengren described five divisions within the department and said staff are emphasizing “connecting people and food” while improving services to producers and consumers. “At the start of my tenure as secretary, the Department of Agriculture shifted its mission priorities to focus on the core values of connecting people and food,” Wengren said in prepared remarks provided to the committee.
Farm preservation and SADC changes
Wengren said the State Agricultural Development Committee (SADC) completed a new preservation funding formula that went into effect April 7, aimed at valuing natural resources and other farmland attributes so preserved‑farm offers can better compete with non‑agricultural development bids. The secretary noted the SADC also adopted soil protection…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
