Rutgers University launched a farmer training program in 2021 to encourage the younger generation to invest in the state’s agriculture by combing online and in-person hands-on training. FOX Weather’s Katie Byrne met with recent graduates who showed us what they’ve been working on.
A program out of Rutgers University is training residents who want to swap their desk jobs for careers in farming. In the Garden State, the average age of farmers is nearing 60 — that’s nearly a decade older than in the 1960s. The new three-year training initiative is meant to prepare the next generation of growers.
New Jersey is known as the “Garden State” and agriculture is the state’s third largest industry (after pharmaceuticals and tourism); but will the state have enough farmers in the future?