State Agricultural Convention Honors Two; Ocean County's Dr. Mary Powers Nikola Recognized

The 2026 State Agricultural Convention at Harrah’s Resort & Waterfront Conference Center in Atlantic City recognized leaders from across New Jersey’s farm economy, honoring long-time service and up-and-coming producers whose work touches local markets and school cafeterias. Ocean County’s Dr. Mary Powers Nikola received one of two Distinguished Service to Agriculture Awards, and Atlantic County grower Brandon Raso was named New Jersey’s Outstanding Young Farmer and selected as a national winner for the Outstanding Young Farmer program.

Brandon Raso’s operation anchors the convention’s message about scale and supply. Raso farms roughly 800 acres of blueberries and produces between 3.5 and 5 million pounds of fruit each year, output that reinforces New Jersey’s role in the regional blueberry market and feeds processors, wholesalers, and retailers who stock Jersey Fresh produce. Secretary Ed Wengryn praised that next generation of growers: "Brandon is an excellent example of how young farmers are making an impact on New Jersey agriculture," and added, "The blueberry industry was created here in New Jersey and large-scale operations like Variety Farms ensure consumers get the best of Jersey Fresh." Raso was selected as a national winner in the National Outstanding Young Farmer Awards program, with the national convention taking place the first week of February in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

State recognition at the convention also highlighted education and supply-chain links through the Jersey Fresh Farm to School Program. The program’s materials note that Farm to School Week happens in the final week of September each year and that Farm to School awards have recognized schools and farms across the state, including Dogwood Hill Elementary in Bergen County, Ethel Jacobsen School in Ocean County, and Fernbrook Farms in Burlington County (the latter named the 2024 Farmer Recognition Award winner). The Farm to School effort has grown to a reported 500 schools purchasing local, with more than 350 districts using Harvest of the Month promotions and over 250 districts tying cafeteria meals to classroom curriculum or farm field trips, strengthening demand for local produce that benefits suppliers across counties.

Agriculture remains an economic plank for the state. In 2022 New Jersey generated around $1.5 billion in agricultural cash receipts, a sector equal to about 1.2 percent of state GDP; selected commodity values include soybeans at $26,897,883 and processed vegetables at $20,961,739. Those figures underline why awards and programs that connect farms to schools and markets matter to local budgets, food access, and small- and large-scale farm viability.

The convention also points to the broader recognition ecosystem that supports New Jersey agriculture, such as awards administered by the New Jersey Agricultural Society and state animal health programs that maintain disease control, diagnostics, and emergency preparedness for livestock. State officials have not yet released the name or full citation for the second Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award recipient, and the available citation for Dr. Mary Powers Nikola is incomplete; the Department of Agriculture can be contacted for full program materials and honoree biographies through Bella Walz at (609) 913-6613 or isabella.walz@ag.nj.gov.

For Cumberland County residents, the takeaways are concrete: expanding local procurement in schools, high-output blueberry operations in nearby counties, and state-level animal health and marketing programs shape food availability, local prices, and farm job opportunities. The recognition of both lifetime service and rising producers signals continued policy focus on maintaining supply chains, supporting farm labor and conservation practices, and keeping Jersey Fresh on local plates in the years ahead.