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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 standards for preserved farms and appointed Charles (Chuck) Rohrer as executive director after the previous director retired.
Next Generation Farming and workforce
Wengren said the department released a Next Generation Farming report to identify challenges and opportunities for new and beginning farmers, and she described FFA student membership as being “at an all time high with 3,463 FFA student members statewide,” which she cited as evidence of interest among younger people in agriculture.
Animal and plant health; 1 Health initiative
The secretary told the committee the department is coordinating with DEP and the Department of Health through a 1 Health approach to monitor animal diseases and emerging threats. Wengren described ongoing monitoring for highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) in wild birds and testing to protect the dairy herd.
Marketing, aquaculture and lab investments
Wengren said the division of marketing and development promotes Jersey Fresh, Jersey Raised and other state brands and is working to include aquaculture products under quality and packaging standards. The department operates a beneficial‑insect laboratory that rears biological controls; she said funding in the current budget would allow repairs and expansion of that facility and its research agreements.
Nutrition programs and Summer EBT
The department administers 12 of 16 federal food programs for schools, childcare and community feeding agencies. Wengren said the state’s recent Summer EBT rollout brought federal funds to New Jersey to provide benefits for children during the summer and that the department is working with the office of the food‑security advocate to expand reach. She cited the use of USDA specialty‑crop block grants to support marketing programs for local producers and the department’s efforts to route federal local‑foods funding to food banks and schools.
Why it matters: Wengren emphasized that agriculture is both an environmental steward and an economic sector, and that investments in marketing, lab infrastructure and farm viability programs aim to keep farming robust and to expand local food procurement for schools and emergency feeding networks.
Follow‑up and funding risks
Wengren noted that some federal specialty‑crop and school‑food programs have ended or are in flux at USDA and that the department is working with regional agriculture counterparts to press for continued federal support. She also said the department is prepared to respond if federal eligibility rules for nutrition programs change and that state efforts such as direct certification (linking Medicaid and school meal eligibility) can limit loss of benefits.
Ending note: The secretary said the department’s work ranges from farmland preservation and agrivoltaics pilots with Rutgers and the Board of Public Utilities to protecting the food supply from pests and disease, and invited questions from the committee.
Quoted speakers appear in the speakers field below; the article uses only attributions that appear in the meeting transcript.
