Bill Text: NJ S4728 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: "Emergency Crop Loss Relief Act of 2026"; appropriates $60 million.
Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced) 2026-10-05 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Economic Growth Committee [S4728 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-S4728-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JOHN J. BURZICHELLI
District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem)
Senator PARKER SPACE
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Steinhardt and Beach
SYNOPSIS
"Emergency Crop Loss Relief Act of 2026"; appropriates $60 million.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning agricultural crop loss relief and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the "Emergency Crop Loss Relief Act of 2026."
2. a. The Legislature finds and declares that:
(1) Catastrophic and unprecedented damage to New Jersey's agricultural sector was caused by the extreme cold temperatures and harvest crop freeze from April 19, 2026 through April 22, 2026.
(2) The timing and severity of the freeze not only reduced expected horticultural and agricultural crop yields; in many instances, it destroyed entire fields, orchards, vineyards, and cropland within a matter of hours.
(3) This damage was widespread and affected multiple agricultural commodities grown throughout the State. In several regions, the damage is expected to be season-ending for key crops, threatening the continued operation of farms that depend upon a single growing season for annual revenue.
(4) On May 20, 2026, the Governor declared a resultant State of Emergency across all 21 counties in response to the extraordinary agriculture losses caused by the freeze, estimating that growers and farmers throughout New Jersey could suffer $300 million in total crop losses. Many farmers recorded losses exceeding 30 percent, with some anticipating 100 percent crop loss.
(5) The United States Secretary of Agriculture recognized this disaster declaration, designating all 21 counties in New Jersey natural disaster areas, and extending emergency loan credit to meet various recovery needs.
(6) The April freeze imposed an immediate and severe financial burden on New Jersey's farming families and agricultural businesses. Farmers incurred substantial costs for labor, fertilizer, equipment, irrigation, pest management, pruning, harvesting, packing, and other inputs for crops that were subsequently damaged or destroyed. Those able to replant have had to adjust and delay crop harvesting schedules.
(7) Many farmers continue paying operating expenses, debt obligations, property taxes, insurance premiums, and employee wages, despite having little or no marketable crop from which to generate revenue.
(8) Farmers have also been forced to alter or abandon harvesting schedules, absorb the cost of removing damaged crops, replant where possible, and prepare for the next growing season, all without a season of incoming income.
(9) Farm operations require continued financial assistance to preserve a State economic engine, which generates over $1.5 billion in wholesale value across sectors, producers, and sellers, and employs about 25,000 State residents.
(10) According to a Rutgers University economic impact study, New Jersey's agricultural sector contributed $2.1 billion to the State's economy in 2017, supporting 31,231 jobs and generating $96.1 million in tax revenue for the State and local governments.
(11) The loss of an entire growing season for significant portions of the State's agricultural industry threatens farm employees, suppliers, equipment dealers, processors, distributors, farm markets, wineries, restaurants, and other businesses that depend upon a reliable in-State agricultural industry.
(12) Without prompt and meaningful assistance, otherwise viable farms may be forced to curtail operations, delay planting, reduce their workforce, sell productive farmland, or cease operations altogether.
(13) Agricultural businesses that have suffered extraordinary hardships and have made every effort to mitigate their exposure to similar disasters deserve additional grant relief. Eligibility for grants should be based on economic hardship, the extent of the damage or loss, and preventative measures taken in the past to mitigate damages.
b. Therefore, the Legislature determines that it is in the public interest to provide financial assistance to farm operations recovering from the catastrophic agricultural damage of the April 2026 crop freeze. Prompt assistance is necessary to prevent the loss of otherwise viable farms, preserve New Jersey's agricultural capacity, protect jobs and related businesses, sustain the State's food supply, and ensure that the Garden State's farming community can continue producing crops in future growing seasons.
3. As used in this act:
"2026 Freeze and Crop Loss Relief Dedicated Fund" or "Fund" means the fund established pursuant to subsection a. of section 4 of this act.
"April 2026 Freeze" means the unseasonably warm temperatures, followed by extreme cold temperatures, and resultant crop freeze, that occurred in the State of New Jersey between April 19, 2026 and April 22, 2026.
"Department" means the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.
"Farm operations" mean any agricultural businesses connected to the commercial growing, harvesting, processing, producing, or raising of agricultural products in the State, including crops, dairy animals, livestock, fur-bearing animals, poultry, bees, crops used in fermented alcoholic beverages and wine, and any products therefrom, including organic agricultural products; aquacultural products; horticultural products; and silviculture products.
4. a. There is established in the department a nonlapsing dedicated fund to be known as the "2026 Freeze and Crop Loss Relief Dedicated Fund." The amount appropriated to the fund pursuant to section 5 of this act may be used for, but need not be limited to:
(1) grants or other forms of financial assistance to farm operations for demonstrated land damage or crop loss incurred as a result of the April 2026 Freeze; or
(2) the provision of relief to agricultural businesses for those crop losses, land damages, and situations not covered by existing federal, State, or local government aid programs.
b. The Secretary of Agriculture shall adopt criteria for the administration of the fund and the disbursement of funds therefrom, under a temporary "Freeze Crop Loss Relief Program" established in the department. The criteria of the program shall provide that:
(1) funds from the dedicated fund may be used for any damage or loss which is not met by any other governmental funding source;
(2) preference for the disbursement of monies from the dedicated fund, pursuant to this section, is given to farm operations that incurred greater than 25 percent verifiable or reliably measurable agricultural loss from prior-year sales revenue or crop production, by individual commodity, as a result of the April 2026 freeze; and
(3) eligibility for grant awards shall be proportionate to the level of financial need, the magnitude of the damage or loss, the extent of damage to specialty or long-recovery crops, and any other qualification and application criteria as may be established by the department, with due attention paid to distributing the financial assistance equitably throughout the freeze-impacted areas of the State, to the maximum extent practicable and feasible.
c. Under the Freeze Crop Loss Relief Program, the Secretary of Agriculture shall establish:
(1) an expedited grant application process;
(2) a documentation procedure for grant-funded activities by farm operations, to be included in the final program report submitted to the Legislature and the Governor, pursuant to section 6 of this act;
(3) a grant award allocation method, which is considerate of an agricultural operation's level of proportionate need, and which establishes a maximum award limit for each recipient; and
(4) a method for verifying claims of land damage, crop loss, or extent of financial need with existing information and data available through the United States Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency.
d. No later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall publish on its Internet website the availability of the grants authorized pursuant to this act, establish any administrative processes necessary for the disbursement of the monies in the 2026 Freeze and Crop Loss Relief Dedicated Fund, and commence accepting applications from interested farm operations.
e. Notwithstanding any provision of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to the contrary, the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to adopt, immediately upon filing with the Office of Administrative Law, rules and regulations necessary to implement this act. The rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this section shall be effective for a period not to exceed 18 months following the date of filing and may thereafter be amended, adopted, or readopted by the Secretary of Agriculture in accordance with the requirements of P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).
5. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Agriculture, to be deposited into the "2026 Freeze and Crop Loss Relief Dedicated Fund" established pursuant to section 4 of this act, the sum of $60,000,000.
6. No later than one year after the date of enactment of this act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit a written report, to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), detailing the disbursement of monies authorized pursuant to this act and making a recommendation as to whether there is a need to provide additional assistance beyond that provided by this act.
7. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the nonlapsing "2026 Freeze and Crop Loss Relief Dedicated Fund" in the Department of Agriculture (department) and appropriates $60 million from the General Fund to the dedicated fund. From the "2026 Freeze and Crop Loss Relief Dedicated Fund," the department would provide grants or other forms of financial assistance to farm operations for the purposes of crop freeze and loss relief, which are not addressed by existing federal, State, or local government financial aid or relief. These grants would then be distributed to agricultural businesses, with priority given to businesses that incurred greater than 25 percent verifiable or reliably measurable agricultural loss from prior-year sales revenue or crop production, by individual commodity, as a result of the April 2026 freeze. Eligibility for grants is to be proportionate to the level of a farm operation's financial need, the magnitude of the damage or loss, the extent of damage to specialty or long-recovery crops, and any other qualification and application criteria, as may be established by the department. The department would be directed to pay due attention to distributing financial assistance equitably throughout the freeze-impacted areas of the State, to the maximum extent practicable and feasible.
Under the Freeze Crop Loss Relief Program, the Secretary of Agriculture would be directed to establish: (1) an expedited grant application process; (2) a documentation procedure for grant-funded activities by agricultural businesses, which would be included in the final program report submitted to the Legislature and the Governor; (3) a grant award allocation method, considerate of a farm operation's level of proportionate need, with a maximum award limit for each recipient; and (4) a method for verifying claims of land damage, crop loss, or extent of financial need with information or data available through the United States Department of Agriculture and Farm Service Agency.
Within one year following the date of enactment, the Secretary of Agriculture would be required to submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature, detailing the disbursement of resources from the "2026 Freeze and Crop Loss Relief Dedicated Fund," and make a recommendation as to whether there is a need to distribute additional assistance beyond that provided by this bill.
The Legislative impetus to offer grant and financial assistance to agricultural operations responds to the unprecedented damaged incurred to New Jersey's agricultural sector, caused by the extreme cold temperatures and crop freeze that occurred between April 19, 2026, through April 22, 2026. The timing and severity of the freeze reduced expected horticultural and crop yields, affecting multiple agricultural commodities grown throughout the State. On May 20th, 2026, the Governor declared a resultant State of Emergency across all 21 counties in response to the extraordinary agriculture losses caused by the freeze, anticipating that growers and farmers throughout New Jersey could suffer at least $300 million in total crop losses. The emergency declaration was later recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture. The April 2026 freeze imposed an immediate and severe financial burden on New Jersey's farm operations. Farmers incurred substantial sunk costs for labor, fertilizer, equipment, and other inputs for crops that were subsequently damaged or destroyed. Many farmers continue paying operating expenses, property taxes, and employee wages, despite having little or no marketable crop from which to generate revenue. Agricultural businesses require continued financial assistance to preserve an engine of the State economy, which produces over $1.5 billion in wholesale value across sectors, producers, and sellers, and employs about 25,000 State residents.
