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Welcome to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NJDA), an agency which oversees programs that serve virtually all New Jersey citizens. The Department was established in 1916. One of the Department’s major priorities is to promote, protect and serve the Garden State’s diverse agriculture and agribusiness industries.

In addition to the programs we offer to support production agriculture, NJDA also manages programs that:

  • feed schoolchildren,

  • distribute surplus federal foods to soup kitchens and pantries that serve our needy citizens,

  • conserve precious soil and water resources,

  • protect farmland from development and preserve it for future agricultural use,

  • expand export markets for fresh and processed agricultural products, and promote our commercial fishing industry, and,
  • administer the complete program of agriculture, food and natural resource education,which includes the State FFA Association.