New Jersey is the Garden State for good reason.
Farmers in New Jersey produce more than 100 different kinds of fruits and vegetables for consumers to enjoy, according to data from Rutgers University.
Nationally, New Jersey is one of the top 10 producers of blueberries, cranberries, peaches, tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, apples, spinach, squash and asparagus.
In 2022, the state’s almost 10,000 farms generated cash receipts of nearly $1.5 billion, according to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture. The nursery/greenhouse/sod industry is the leading commodity group, followed by fruits and vegetables, field crops, equine, poultry and eggs, and dairy.
Productive farmland covers more than 710,000 acres, with more than 250,000 of those acres being permanently preserved for agricultural use, according to the NJDA.
The state has a rich heritage of fruit and vegetable production. New Jersey’s colonial-era settlers cultivated fruits and vegetables for their own families and for trade, according to The New Jersey Historical Commission. In the same way as today, the state’s proximity to major markets like New York City and Philadelphia made it an ideal location to grow produce.
New Jersey’s pine barrens and sandy soils also provided ideal conditions for cranberry and blueberry cultivation in the 19th century, according to the “History of the Cranberry Industry in New Jersey” by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture. By the late 1800s, New Jersey was responsible for over half of the nation’s cranberry production, according to the publication.
Through the 1900s and until today, New Jersey has remained a leader in tomato and vegetable production. The state’s prime farming regions, such as the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the Skylands, were recognized for their fertile soils and favorable climate for growing crops like tomatoes, peppers, corn, and potatoes, according to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.
The USDA tracked truck shipment numbers for only a limited number of New Jersey commodities in 2023.
Fresh blueberry shipments from New Jersey totaled 15.3 million pounds in 2023, or about 383 (40,000 pounds) truckloads. Blueberry shipments peaked in June and continued into July, according to USDA shipment numbers.
New Jersey peach shipments in 2023 peaked in July and continued into September. The USDA reported total peach shipments in 2023 from New Jersey at 10.6 million pounds, or about 265 truckloads.
Here are other selected New Jersey crop values and production numbers for 2023:
- Cranberry production (barrels) — 550,000.
- Peaches (tons) — 16,000.
- Bell peppers (value) — $36.05 million.
- Squash (value) — $15.7 million.
