by Gina Rullo, Gazette Staff Writer

HAMMONTON—Local farmers joined a large protest against eliminating the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, which included driving tractors through the streets of Trenton on April 1. Also on April 1, David Rizzotte of Glossy Fruit Farms addressed the New Jersey State Assembly Budget Committee, which is considering cutting the department in reaction to the state’s ongoing fiscal crisis.
The full text of Rizzotte’s remarks to the Assembly is as follows:
“Good afternoon. My name is David Rizzotte. I, along with my brothers Tony and Hank, am an owner/operator of a 500-acre family-owned fruit and vegetable farm in Hammonton, southern New Jersey.
“We are fourth generation farmers who have an operation celebrating its 120th anniversary in agriculture. During all my time in this business, I never remember operating without a Secretary of Agriculture or a Department of Agriculture.
“We have taken part in the Jersey Fresh Program since its inception and taken advantage of the State’s Farmland Preservation Program. These are only two of the important programs overseen by the Secretary of Agriculture.
“I also have been involved at the state level in agriculture. I served as president of the State Board of Agriculture in the 1980s under former Secretary Art Brown.
“At this time I am not only requesting that the secretary’s position remain for this most important state division, I am also asking that the Department of Agriculture be used as the ‘model’ for all state government. The department has operated and continues to operate on a bare-bones budget, with a meager work force of 240 people in a state bureaucracy of over 85,000 employees.
“If I remember correctly, in the early 1980s, the direct state aid to agriculture stood at $10 million. The governor’s recommendation for 2009 is a mere $7 million which is totally ridiculous when viewed in comparison to DEP’s $250 million or Human Services $500 million.
“I also must ask if under previous administrations, did anyone miss the Public Advocate’s Office, which is funded at double the Department of Agriculture’s at a ridiculous sum of $20 million?
“Assemblypersons, now is the time to exhibit some ‘common sense’ in state government and not only keep the Secretary of Agriculture and a strong Department of Agriculture, but to use its operation as a wise example of a well-run organized government agency.
“In communications with Farm Bureau personnel, I was told State Treasurer David Rousseau said that, ‘when all departments were looked at, agriculture was one they thought should go.’
“Treasurer Rousseau, may I suggest that such ill-advised thinking by your Treasury Department is why the State of New Jersey is in such a dire financial situation.
“‘Wake up Treasury,’ ‘wake up legislators,’ and ‘wake up Governor Corzine’ and realize the Department of Agriculture should be your ‘gold standard’ for state fiscal responsibility instead of a division that should be eliminated or reassigned.
“People can speak of New Jersey in high regard as the “Garden State” – and example that other states follow with leading programs such as Jersey Fresh and Farmland Preservation. If there were no Secretary of Agriculture or Department, we would not only lose millions of federal dollars so vital for our state, but probably much more – such as the respect from around the country that our agricultural department receives.
“In closing, I think back to a saying I read on billboards years ago; ‘If it’s asphalt, it’s not our fault!’ This is the position taken by many, if not all, of my fellow farmers. Farmers feel strongly about this position as demonstrated here today, April 1, 2008. Maybe, Governor Corzine, your stance regarding the Department of Agriculture has been one big April Fool’s joke. I would hate to see you be a fool and follow through with your plans.
“As per legislative requirements, I submitted 25 copies of my statement. I am also submitting a petition signed by mostly Hammontonians who support our position that a Department of Agriculture remain in the Garden State. The next petition to sign is the ‘Recall Petition!’”