Bill > A1846

Introduced Session

This bill would require the Department of Agriculture, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, to establish the New Jersey Healthy Soils Program. The purpose of the New Jersey Healthy Soils Program is to: improve the health, yield, and profitability of the State's soils; increase biological activity and carbon sequestration in the soils of the State by promoting practices based on emerging soil science, including planting mixed cover crops, adopting no-till or low-till farming practices, and rotation grazing; and promote widespread use of healthy soils practices among farmers and other persons throughout the State. To carry out the purposes of the program, the Department of Agriculture, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, would be required to: provide incentives, including research, education, technical assistance, and, subject to available funding, financial assistance to farmers to implement farm management practices that contribute to healthy soils within the State; provide incentives, technical assistance, and education to persons in the State to maintain and promote healthy soils; and determine whether the program may be implemented in a manner to enhance other State and federal programs that provide financial assistance to farmers. Under the bill, the Department of Agriculture, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection, would be required to establish soil management guidelines for how to maintain and promote healthy soils within the State. The guidelines would be required to include, at a minimum, best practices to improve soil health in agriculture, including urban agriculture, and in residential landscaping for homeowners. The guidelines, along with information concerning the New Jersey Healthy Soils Program, would be required to be published on the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Environmental Protection's Internet websites and updated annually. The bill defines "healthy soils" as soil with the continuing capacity to function as a biological system, increase soil organic matter, improve soil structure and water nutrient holding capacity, and sequester carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Healthy soil is necessary to provide clean air and water, bountiful crops and forests, productive grazing lands, diverse wildlife, and beautiful landscapes, and proper soil management is essential for soil to perform optimally. The New Jersey Healthy Soils Program would educate farmers and residents throughout the State on best soil management practices while providing farmers and other persons with research, resources, and education to implement best management practices to improve soil health. The bill defines "urban agriculture" as city and suburban agriculture including, but not limited to, backyard, roof-top and balcony gardening, community gardening in vacant lots and parks, and roadside urban fringe agriculture. This bill would also require a grant program to be established within Department of Agriculture with consultation from the Department of Environmental Protection. The grant program would pay for the costs of soil testing for eligible farmers who grow food products on urban agriculture sites. The soil testing provided, pursuant to the grant program, would be required to include, at a minimum: pH, percentage of organic matter, nutrients, micronutrients, petroleum products and petroleum hydrocarbons, and metals including lead, arsenic, cadmium, and nickel. In establishing the grant program, the Department of Agriculture, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection, would be required to do the following: (1) establish eligibility criteria for farmers working on urban agriculture sites; (2) establish guidelines and procedures for the submission of grant applications, and criteria for the evaluation of such applications; (3) establish soil testing protocols and the amount of a grant to be awarded to each applicant; and (4) publicize on its Internet website the application procedures and awarding of grants. The Department of Agriculture, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection, would be required to submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature, during each year in which a grant is awarded, on the effectiveness of the grant program in providing soil testing on urban agriculture sites and improving the soil health of those urban agriculture sites. Due to possible past uses of urban agriculture sites, soil testing is important to learn as much as possible about any contaminants, such as unsafe levels of lead or other heavy metals that may be present in the soil of urban agriculture sites. Elevated levels of lead in particular are fairly common in urban soils, and pose health risks, especially to young children who can ingest soil while playing or helping in gardens. Other contaminants are possible, especially if the urban agriculture site has any industrial or manufacturing history. In order to reduce soil contamination and improve soil health within urban agriculture sites, soil testing is necessary. This bill would improve access to soil testing for eligible farmers who grow food on urban agriculture sites and provide grants to pay for the costs of the soil testing required. The bill also would establish the "Urban Agriculture Site Soil Testing Fund." Moneys in the fund would be dedicated to providing grants to eligible farmers for the purposes of paying the costs of soil testing on urban agriculture sites and paying the costs of the Department of Agriculture, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection, to develop, implement, and administer the grant program. The Urban Agriculture Site Soil Testing Fund would be credited with funding in the Global Warming Solutions Fund (GWSF). In addition, the bill would decrease the percentage of moneys provided in the GWSF to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority to provide grants and other forms of financial assistance to commercial, institutional, and industrial entities to support end-use energy efficiency projects and new, efficient electric generation facilities from 60 percent to 58 percent and provide two percent of the moneys in the GWSF to the Department of Agriculture to support programs that improve soil health within the State and provide opportunities to increase carbon sequestration in soils. Finally, New Jersey, as the most densely populated state in the nation, is highly urbanized and suburbanized with limited opportunities to use its smaller pockets of open space for agriculture and horticulture. Improving soil testing within urban agriculture sites will allow for those areas to operate effectively and help support the Vision 2025 plan developed by the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station at Rutgers, the State University. The New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station's Vision 2025 plan is a system of responsive, innovative, and inclusive programs, farms, stations, and centers that is prioritizing investments in infrastructure, information technology, and equipment designed to enable the expansion and development of cutting-edge programs to support the future of agriculture by engaging with urban and suburban communities, supporting farmers, and assisting with climate resilience and adaptation strategies in agriculture. The New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station programs, farms, stations, and centers are designed to be national models for research, education, and outreach programs that can address grand challenges of the State and broader society, as well as being known for the sustainable management of the land and natural resources these efforts encompass.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Annette Quijano (D)*,  Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D),  Shanique Speight (D), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document