He began his agricultural career with the New Jersey Department of Agriculture in 1979 as the Project Director for the Grassroots Farmland Preservation Project.

Furey joined the New Jersey Farm Bureau in 1981 and has served as its Executive Director since 1982. Among his responsibilities are the management and direction of daily operations of the Association on behalf of its 18,000 members. This includes developing and, once approved, representing its public policies concerning farmers and production agriculture in the state.

Furey works closely with state legislators, agencies of state government, congressional offices, university and research professionals, agribusiness corporations, news media, local governments, allied trade associations, and member farmers throughout the state. He has played an important role in the passage of numerous pieces of legislation at the state level, including the Agriculture Retention Act which created the Farmland Preservation Program, the Right to Farm Act, and appropriations acts which funded the Agricultural Economic Recovery and Development Initiative's grant programs.

While at the Farm Bureau, Furey has overseen the growth of its membership from 4,000 to 18,000 members. He designed and supervised the implementation of an innovative computerized membership database and electronic communications with farmer-members as well serving authoring its newsletter, "This Week in Farm Bureau," the most widely read farming publication in the state with a weekly circulation of 6,000. Furey also supervised the $1 million renovation of historically-significant West State Street headquarters of the Bureau.

In 1995, Furey was the recipient of the McCloy Fellowship from the American Council on Germany for Agriculture.

Furey is a Trustee of the Moorestown Youth Baseball Federation, a member of the Moorestown Environmental Committee and an informal advisor to the Mayor and Council on recreational field development.

Furey and his wife Kristine reside in Moorestown with their children, Colleen (18), Dennis (15), and Michael (11).

In recognition of his tireless service to the agricultural community, the State Board of Agriculture is pleased to present Peter J. Furey with its citation for Distinguished Service to New Jersey Agriculture.