summary
Introduced
06/09/2025
06/09/2025
In Committee
06/09/2025
06/09/2025
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead
Introduced Session
2024-2025 Regular Session
Bill Summary
This bill designates the hazelnut as the State nut. Hazelnuts are part of a growing multi-billion-dollar industry and hazelnut products include nut butters, baked goods, and candy. The United States accounts for five percent of hazelnut production worldwide. Hazelnuts grown in the U.S. come almost exclusively from the Willamette Valley in Oregon. The eastern filbert blight is a fungal disease that can be lethal to commercially grown hazelnuts. The disease has prevented New Jersey and other states outside of the Pacific Northwest from growing hazelnuts commercially. In 1996, Rutgers University started a program to develop hazelnuts resistant to the disease. In 2020, Rutgers University released to growers its first hazelnut varieties that are resistant to the eastern filbert blight. The new varieties are named "Raritan," in honor of the river whose banks upon which Rutgers University's New Brunswick campus lies, as well as "Somerset," "Monmouth," and "Hunterdon," in honor of some of the first New Jersey counties where the trees are being grown. New Jersey is the first state on the East Coast to grow this cash crop.
AI Summary
This bill designates the hazelnut as the official state nut of New Jersey, recognizing the crop's emerging economic and scientific significance in the state. The legislation highlights the broader context of hazelnut production, noting that while hazelnuts are part of a multi-billion-dollar global industry, the United States currently produces only five percent of worldwide hazelnuts, primarily in Oregon's Willamette Valley. Historically, the eastern filbert blight, a destructive fungal disease, prevented hazelnut cultivation in New Jersey and other eastern states. However, Rutgers University initiated a research program in 1996 to develop blight-resistant hazelnut varieties, successfully releasing four new varieties in 2020 named "Raritan," "Somerset," "Monmouth," and "Hunterdon" after local geographic references. These developments have enabled New Jersey to become the first East Coast state to grow hazelnuts commercially, with over 30 growers already planting more than 100 acres of trees. By designating the hazelnut as the state nut, the bill celebrates the crop's potential economic impact and the scientific achievement of developing disease-resistant varieties specific to the region.
Committee Categories
Government Affairs
Sponsors (1)
Last Action
Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee (on 06/09/2025)
Official Document
bill text
bill summary
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bill summary
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bill summary
| Document Type | Source Location |
|---|---|
| State Bill Page | https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2024/S4593 |
| BillText | https://pub.njleg.gov/Bills/2024/S5000/4593_I1.HTM |
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