Farmers urged to attend Board of Agriculture meeting

Farming in West Milford has drawn a decent amount of discussion recently, said Rocky Hazelman, a local farmer who is president of the Passaic County Board of Agriculture.

He said the Farmland Preservation Program aims to strengthen the agricultural industry and preserve farmland, enhancing the state’s economy and quality of life.

The Board of Agriculture is tasked with establishing local agricultural retention and development programs by setting minimum standards for inclusion of land in farmland preservation programs and requesting financial assistance from the state Agricultural Commission.

The next board meeting is at 7:30 p.m. April 19 at Rutgers Cooperative, 1310 Route 23, Wayne. Its theme will be the tole of the Farm Bureau. The meeting is open to the public.

Hazelman encouraged farmers to attend the meeting, saying the Farm Bureau is a statewide private membership organization that has served farmers and industry supporters since 1919. It primarily is an advocacy group, such as the Chamber of Commerce.

The Farm Bureau works with state Department of Agriculture and Rutgers Agricultural Experiment Station.

It is organized locally through county boards of agriculture and is affiliated with the 5 million-member American Farm Bureau Federation.

The Farm Bureau has been directly involved with nearly every principal policy legislation on farming over the years, Hazelman said.

It works closely with all U.S. Department of Agriculture agencies and maintains a team of lobbyists and research professionals.

Hazelman also is a voting member of the Passaic County Agriculture Development Board, a body appointed by the county commissioners. It includes representatives of the county’s farmers and the general public, the county Planning Board, the Soil Conservation District and the county agricultural agent.