The 9,800 farms in New Jersey
are primarily small, family run farms. They grow over forty different vegetables, twenty different fruits, as well as peanuts,
grains, flowers, Christmas trees, and nursery stock. Hay farmers supply the states 1000s of horse ranches with feed. Five-hundred
amateur beekeepers raise 1000s of gallons of Wildflower honey, and keep the states crops pollinated. New Jersey has over 130
dairy farms. Rolling pastures, fields of green and pick-your-own farms dot New Jersey's landscape and keep our land open and
productive. Seventeen percent of New Jersey is farmland.
Jersey sweet corn and Jersey tomatoes along
with red and green bell peppers are favorites to the states residents. Developed at Rutgers University, the aptly named Rutgers
Tomato gained fame, along with other Jersey-grown tomatoes and our sweet corn. New Jersey farmers rank 9th in the nation for
tomato production, 8th for sweet corn, and 4th for peaches. Blueberries are the state fruit, and New Jersey blueberry
production is second in the country, with 22% of the nation's blueberry crop. Elizabeth White domesticated the high bush
wild blueberry into the blueberries cultivated today.
Our cranberry bogs are also well-known, ranking third in the nation in productivity.
Ocean Spray has a plant in South Jersey. South and Central New Jersey were home to masses of wild cranberries which were an
important food source for early American settlers and the Lene-Lenape Indians. In the 1700s picking wild cranberries before
they were fully ripened was punishable by fine.
New Jersey growers sell at many urban area green markets, as well
as directly to the residents of New Jersey at the many roadside stands, on-farm markets and farmers' markets throughout the
state. Most grocery stores feature "Jersey Fresh" foods. Do you know where your food comes from? If you're lucky,
it comes from a New Jersey farmer. Look for "Jersey Fresh" produce or "Jersey Grown" plants at a farm
or market near you. Thank a New Jersey farmer today!
