Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ALEX SAUICKIE
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes grant program for reimbursement of tuition and fees for certain qualifying courses taken by farmers; appropriates $100,000.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning tuition reimbursement for farmers, supplementing Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section:
“Department” means the Department of Agriculture.
“Eligible institution” means an institution of higher education in the State that is licensed by the Commission on Higher Education and is accredited or preaccredited by a nationally recognized accrediting association and determined by the Department of Agriculture to offer qualifying courses pursuant to subsection c. of this section.
“Eligible student” means a farmer who owns or operates a farming operation that realizes gross sales of at least $2,500 for agricultural or horticultural products annually and registers in a qualifying course.
“Farmer” means any person engaged in the commercial raising, growing, and producing of farm products on a farm that is not less than five acres in area.
“Qualifying course” means a course approved by the Department of Agriculture pursuant to this section that would improve a person’s farming operations or understanding of business, agriculture, horticulture, or the economics or financing of agriculture or horticulture in the State, or technology to improve farming operations.
“New and beginning farmer” means any individual who has not managed a farm or agricultural operation, but seeks to manage a farm or agricultural operation or has managed a farm or agricultural operation for less than 10 consecutive years.
b. The department shall establish and administer a grant program to reimburse eligible students for a percentage, established pursuant to subsection d. of this section, of the cost of registration in a qualifying course at an eligible institution. The department shall establish procedures for an eligible student to apply for, in a form and manner prescribed by the department, and receive the appropriate reimbursement.
c. The department shall determine, in cooperation with institutions of higher education in the State, the institutions and courses that qualify under the program. The department shall post a list of eligible institutions and qualifying courses on its Internet website, and shall update the list, as necessary, prior to each course registration period at the eligible institution. A person may request a copy of the lists from the department, and the department shall provide a copy by mail upon receipt of the request.
d. (1) The department shall provide to an eligible student with 10 or more years of experience in the farming industry, who registers for a qualifying course, a reimbursement payment. The reimbursement payment shall constitute a percentage of the tuition and registration fees in the qualifying course as follows:
(a) 10 percent of the tuition and fees for one qualifying course;
(b) 20 percent of the tuition and fees for a second qualifying course; and
(c) 30 percent of the tuition and fees for a third or any additional qualifying course.
(2) The department shall also provide an eligible student who is a new and beginning farmer who registers for a qualifying course a reimbursement payment. The reimbursement payment shall constitute a percentage amount of the tuition and registration fees in the qualifying course as follows:
(a) 15 percent of the tuition and fees for one qualifying course;
(b) 25 percent of the tuition and fees for a second qualifying course; and
(c) 35 percent of the tuition and fees for a third or any additional qualifying course.
(3) The qualifying courses need not be taken simultaneously for any eligible student to receive the reimbursement. The department may require the student to submit proof of the student’s eligibility and the dates on which the eligible student registered and satisfactorily completed a qualifying course in order for the eligible student to receive the applicable reimbursement.
e. The department shall request, as part of its annual budget request to the Legislature, an amount sufficient to fund the grant program established pursuant to this section.
f. The Department of Agriculture shall, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations as necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
2. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Agriculture a sum in the amount of $100,000 to provide reimbursement of percentage amounts for qualifying courses pursuant to section 1 of this act.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill directs the Department of Agriculture to administer a grant program to reimburse a farmer who is an eligible student for a percentage reimbursement for registration in a qualifying course at an eligible institution, and to establish procedures to implement the program.
The bill provides that an eligible student with 10 or more years of experience in the farming industry registering for a qualifying course would be entitled to a 10 percent reimbursement of the tuition and fees for one qualifying course, a 20 percent reimbursement for a second qualifying course, a 30 percent reimbursement for a third or any additional qualifying course. Farmers with less than 10 years of experience in the industry are to receive a five percent larger reimbursement of tuition and registration fees, with an eligible student farmer receiving a 15 percent reimbursement, 25 percent reimbursement, and 35 percent reimbursement for each successive credit. The bill specifies that the qualifying courses need not be taken simultaneously for an eligible student farmer to qualify for the reimbursement. The department may require proof of the student farmer’s eligibility and the dates on which the eligible student farmer registered for and satisfactorily completed a qualifying course in order for the eligible student to receive the applicable reimbursement.
The bill makes an appropriation from the General Fund in the amount of $100,000 for the grant program and requires the Department of Agriculture to request, as part of its annual budget request to the Legislature amounts sufficient to continue to fund the grant program.
This tuition reimbursement program would help farmers strengthen their business skills and embodies the spirit of the Next Generation Farmers Report. The 2025 Next Generation Farmers Report, prepared by the State Agricultural Development Committee in the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, is intended to help beginning and next generation farmers from all backgrounds establish and initiate agricultural operations. The report addresses the challenges faced by new and beginning farmers in New Jersey, with the goal of filling gaps in programming and enhancing support for the agricultural industry.