(TRENTON) – Lianna Bonacorsi, of Flemington in Hunterdon County, has been chosen as the 2019 New Jersey Agricultural Fair Ambassador.  The 17-year-old North Hunterdon High School senior was selected from among six contestants by the Agricultural Fair Association of New Jersey during the group’s fall dinner on November 11 in Eastampton.

As ambassador, Bonacorsi is charged with visiting the state’s agricultural fairs in 2019, and promoting agriculture to the public, and bringing people together to support the state’s farmers. 

“Lianna’s knowledge, experience and enthusiasm for agriculture will make her an ideal spokesperson as she attends our state’s agricultural fairs next summer,” New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher said. “Lianna’s passion and dedication will allow her to encourage other young people to pursue their goals and become involved in agricultural youth organizations and explore agriculture-related careers in the future.”

Bonacorsi is currently a member of the Hunterdon County 4-H Club, lives and works on her family’s two fruit farms, and currently raises goats, rabbits, ducks and chickens and has also raised sheep and pigs in the past. She is Vice President of the National Art Honor Society, President of the German Honor Society and is a second-degree brown belt.

“I was not anticipating this at all,” Bonacorsi said on winning the honor. “I’ve never done anything like this, so I was a little intimidated. It will be great to meet the state’s farmers and I am really interested to see the work they do.”

Bonacorsi is planning to go to The College of New Jersey and is looking at majoring in art education or art therapy and remain involved in agriculture as well.

“I definitely want to come back to agriculture in the future,” she said. “Growing up I didn’t see myself involved in science and math since I am more artistically inclined, but I have definitely learned a whole lot about how agriculture works. It does have a lot do with science and I’m glad agriculture has exposed me to that.”

Bonacorsi has also enjoyed getting to know people in her community while working on the family farms.

“My biggest thing is interacting with the customers from our community,” she said. “During the strawberry season I’m out there every day and during the apple season, we grow over 70 different types of apples, so I like seeing the reactions when people say, ‘what kind of apple is this? I’ve never heard of it.’ “

This is the 16th year the Agricultural Fair Association of New Jersey has named an ambassador. In choosing an ambassador, the Association seeks a good representation of young people active in agriculture in the Garden State and their county fair. 

There were 20 agricultural fairs in the state this past summer, including the New Jersey State Fair at the Sussex County Fairgrounds. The earliest fair is held in June, with the final fair of the season in early October.

For more information on New Jersey’s agricultural fairs, visit www.njagfairs.com.

###

To learn more about the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NJDeptofAgriculture and www.facebook.com/JerseyFreshOfficial or Twitter @NJDA and @JerseyFreshNJDA.

.