New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 2 - AGRICULTURE › Chapter 76 - STATE AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE › Subchapter 2A - AGRICULTURAL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES: GENERALLY ACCEPTED OPERATIONS AND PRACTICES › Section 2:76-2A.13 - Agricultural management practice for on-farm direct marketing facilities, activities, and events s

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) This section, which is an agricultural management practice, sets forth the standards for on-farm direct marketing facilities, activities, and events that commercial farms must comply with to receive the protections of the Right to Farm Act (Act), 4:1C-1 et seq. This section is designed to support and protect on-farm direct marketing operations by identifying safe, effective, and economically viable agricultural management practices for commercial farms seeking the protections of the Act.
(b) As used in this section, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings:
"Agricultural output of a commercial farm" means the items specified in 4:1C-9.a that a commercial farm produces and the value-added or processed products produced from those items, provided that the primary and predominant ingredients used to produce such products are grown or raised by the commercial farm. Examples of unprocessed agricultural output include, but are not limited to: fruits, vegetables, nursery stock, bedding plants, cut flowers, Christmas trees, and forest and livestock products. Examples of value-added or processed agricultural output include, but are not limited to: meat products, dairy products, cider, canned goods, baked goods, prepared foods, cut firewood, and wreaths.
"Agriculture-related educational activities" means on-farm educational offerings that have an agricultural focus and are related to marketing the agricultural or horticultural output of the commercial farm. Such activities are accessory to, and serve to increase, the direct-market sales of the agricultural output of a commercial farm by enhancing the experience of purchasing agricultural products for the purpose of attracting customers to the commercial farm. Examples of agriculture-related educational activities may include, but are not limited to: school trips, hands-on farming activities, educational displays, farm tours, farm task experiences, wine tastings, agriculture-related lectures for clubs, farm open house days, and agriculture-related classes on topics, such as, but not limited to: canning, freezing, cooking with fresh produce, pie making, pruning, beekeeping, animal care, and gardening.
"Ancillary entertainment-based activities" means non-agricultural offerings, commonly used as incidental components of on-farm direct marketing activities, that are accessory to, and serve to increase, the direct-market sales of the agricultural output of a commercial farm. Such activities are designed to attract customers to a commercial farm by enhancing the experience of purchasing agricultural products. Examples of ancillary entertainment-based activities include, but are not limited to: background live or recorded music, face painting, story-telling, sandbox area, small swing set or playground equipment, pedal carts for children, and picnic tables. Such activities may have a fee associated with them, but such fees shall be de minimis compared to the income generated from the sale of the agricultural output of the commercial farm.
"Board" means a county agriculture development board established pursuant to 4:1C-14 or a subregional agricultural retention board established pursuant to 4:1C-17.
"Buffer" means a setback distance and/or screening utilized by a commercial farm in conjunction with its on-farm direct marketing facilities, activities, or events.
"Commercial farm" means:
1. A farm management unit of no less than five acres producing agricultural or horticultural products worth $ 2,500 or more annually, and satisfying the eligibility criteria for differential property taxation pursuant to the Farmland Assessment Act of 1964, P.L. 1964, c. 48 (54:4-23.1 et seq.); or
2. A farm management unit less than five acres, producing agricultural or horticultural products worth $ 50,000 or more annually and otherwise satisfying the eligibility criteria for differential property taxation pursuant to the Farmland Assessment Act of 1964, P.L. 1964, c. 48 (54:4-23.1 et seq.).
"Committee" means the State Agriculture Development Committee established pursuant to 4:1C-4.
"Community supported agriculture (CSA) operation" means an on-farm direct marketing method in which the retail sale of the agricultural output of a commercial farm is provided through a paid subscription.
"Complementary products" means items commonly used to facilitate the use or consumption of the agricultural output of the commercial farm and promotional items that help market the commercial farm. Examples of promotional items include, but are not limited to, souvenir items such as commercial farm-branded shirts, hats, and bags.
"CSA market and distribution area" means an on-farm direct marketing facility used by a CSA operation to organize and dispense CSA operation members' farm product shares and to market products that contribute to farm income.
"Farm-based recreational activities" means recreational offerings that are uniquely suited to occurring on a farm and also may include common outdoor recreation activities that are compatible with the agricultural use of the farm, where such offerings and activities are related to marketing the agricultural or horticultural output of the commercial farm. Such activities are accessory to, and serve to increase, the direct-market sales of the agricultural output of the commercial farm by enhancing the experience of purchasing agriculture products for the purpose of attracting customers to the commercial farm. Examples of farm-based recreational activities uniquely suited to occurring on a farm may include, but are not limited to: corn, sunflower, and other crop mazes; hayrides and wagon rides; agricultural animal display or petting areas; farm tours; horseback riding; pony rides; and tractor pulls. Examples of farm-based recreational activities considered common outdoor recreation activities that are compatible with the agricultural use of the farm include, but are not limited to: hiking; bird watching; sleigh rides; hunting and fishing; and bonfires. Activities and related infrastructure not considered farm-based recreational activities include, but are not limited to: athletic fields; paintball; go-karting and other similar racetracks; carnival-type amusement rides; and the flying of hobby, private, or commercial aircraft.
"Farm management unit" means a parcel or parcels of land, whether contiguous or noncontiguous, together with agricultural or horticultural buildings, structures and facilities, producing agricultural or horticultural products, and operated as a single enterprise.
"Farm market" means a facility used for the wholesale or retail marketing of the agricultural output of a commercial farm and products that contribute to farm income, except that if a farm market is used for retail marketing at least 51 percent of the annual gross sales of the retail farm market shall be generated from sales of agricultural output of the commercial farm, or at least 51 percent of the sales area shall be devoted to the sale of agricultural output of the commercial farm, and except that if a retail farm market is located on land less than five acres in area, the land on which the farm market is located shall produce annually agricultural or horticultural products worth at least $ 2,500.
"Hours of operation" means the time during which an on-farm direct marketing facility, activity, or event is open or offered to the public.
"On-farm direct marketing" means the on-farm facilities, activities, and events that are used to facilitate and provide for direct, farmer-to-consumer sales of the agricultural output of the commercial farm and products that contribute to farm income.
"On-farm direct marketing activity" or "activity" means an agriculture-related happening made available by a commercial farm that is accessory to, and serves to increase, the direct-market sales of the agricultural output of the commercial farm. Such activities are designed to attract customers to a commercial farm by enhancing the experience of purchasing agricultural products and include, but are not limited to: agriculture-related educational activities; farm-based recreational activities; and ancillary entertainment-based activities.
"On-farm direct marketing event" or "event" means an agriculture-related function offered by a commercial farm that is accessory to, and serves to increase, the direct-market sales of the agricultural output of the commercial farm. Such events are designed to attract customers to a commercial farm by enhancing the experience of purchasing agricultural products; may include on-farm direct marketing activities as components; are either product-based or farm-based; and occur seasonally or periodically. Product-based events, provided they demonstrate the required relationship to marketing the output of the commercial farm, may include, but are not limited to: an apple, peach, strawberry, pumpkin, wine, or other agricultural or horticultural product festival held at a commercial farm that produces that particular product. Farm-based events provided they demonstrate the required relationship to marketing the output of the commercial farm, may include, but are not limited to: seasonal harvest festivals held at a commercial farm that produces such seasonal farm products, farm open house events, CSA membership meetings, and farm-to-table events that showcase the agricultural output of the commercial farm.
"On-farm direct marketing facility" or "facility" means a type of farm market including the permanent, temporary, and/or moveable structures, improvements, equipment, vehicles, and apparatuses necessary to facilitate and provide for direct, farmer-to-consumer sales of the agricultural output of the commercial farm and products that contribute to farm income. Such facilities include various types and sizes of direct marketing operations, including, but not limited to: farm stands; farm stores; CSA market and distribution areas; and pick-your-own (PYO) market areas. A facility may include one or more structures or a portion of a structure, and a facility may utilize new or existing structures. A facility's structures may also be used for the commercial farm's other farm purposes, for instance: equipment storage, equipment maintenance, and the production, processing, packaging, storage, or wholesale marketing of the agricultural output of the commercial farm.
"Pick-your-own (PYO) operation" means an on-farm direct marketing method wherein retail or wholesale customers are invited onto a commercial farm in order to harvest and pay for agricultural or horticultural products . Examples of PYO operation crops include, but are not limited to, fruits, vegetables, flowers, and Christmas trees.
"Products that contribute to farm income" means complementary or supplementary products that are sold to help attract customers to the farm market though a broadening of the range of products available and an enhancement of the experience of purchasing the agricultural output of the commercial farm.
"PYO market area" means an on-farm direct marketing facility used by a PYO operation to set up PYO activities and collect money for PYO crops harvested by customers. PYO market areas may be stand-alone facilities or part of other on-farm direct-marketing facilities. In some cases, such as when a commercial farm has a CSA operation or component, PYO operations may not necessarily involve the collection of money following harvesting, as PYO crops may be one of the benefits of a CSA membership.
"Sales area" means the indoor, outdoor, covered, and uncovered areas of an on-farm direct marketing facility whose primary and predominant use is the display, marketing, and selling of the agricultural output of a commercial farm and products that contribute to farm income. Sales areas do not include: PYO and other production fields; pastures and other areas occupied by livestock on a regular basis; non-public areas, such as areas used for the storage of equipment and other items; and areas dedicated to farm-based Recreational activities. Covered sales areas include sales areas inside structures and sales areas underneath tents, awnings, and other canopies.
"Sanitary facilities" means restrooms or portable toilets.
"Supplementary products" means the agricultural output of other farms, and additional customary food and drink items.