Visit to Hunterdon County Greenhouse Highlights Garden State’s Largest Agricultural Sector

(READINGTON) – New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Ed Wengryn today along with state and local officials marked National Agriculture Day with a visit to Hionis Greenhouses in Hunterdon County.

National Agriculture Day, which is March 18, highlights the abundance provided by agriculture and the importance of farmers to New Jersey and the nation. Farmers in the state take in nearly $1.5 billion from products sold at the gate each year.

“The diversity of New Jersey’s agriculture makes it one of the truly unique states in the country,” Secretary Wengryn said. “Whether it’s growing potted flowers and plants like we have seen today, or our world-famous Jersey Fresh fruits and vegetables, raising livestock, turning Jersey grapes into award winning wines, or producing aquaculture and seafood products, our farmers do a remarkable job each year providing the best for New Jersey, the nation and even internationally. It’s important to recognize the efforts of all involved in the industry and to remind consumers why we are still the Garden State.”

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Garden State’s largest agricultural sector is the nursey/greenhouse/sod industry with more than $725 million in sales annually. New Jersey ranks No. 4 in the country in floriculture (flowers) sales and No. 7 in the country in overall horticulture sales.

Hionis Greenhouses is in its 40th year of business, started by Spiro and Angie Hionis in 1985. They have turned the day-to-day operations over to their children Tim, Spiro, Pete and Gerry. The operation now has 18 acres of undercover production and 65 acres of outdoor production at multiple sites. Hionis Greenhouses serves consumers throughout the East Coast growing such items as spring bedding plants, summer annuals, fall outdoor mums and other fall outdoor products, including poinsettias and zygocactus, flowering bulbs and early spring products like pansies, succulents, house plants, and more.

“It’s truly been an honor to continue what our parents started 40 years ago, and we love supplying our customers with New Jersey grown plants and products,” said Hionis Greenhouses co-owner Tim Hionis. “With the spring nearly upon us, we look forward to another year of doing our part of providing plants that enhance landscapes in New Jersey as well as up and down the East Coast.”

New Jersey’s other primary agricultural sectors include fruit and vegetables, which when combined with the nursey/greenhouse/sod industry, make up approximately 80 percent of agriculture receipts in the state. According to the latest USDA Census of Agriculture data released in 2022, the Garden State had nearly $300 million in sales for vegetables, melons, potatoes, and sweet potatoes and nearly $200 million in sales for fruits, tree nuts, and berries.

Other New Jersey products that rank in the top 10 in the U.S. in production are asparagus, blueberries, bell peppers, cranberries, eggplant, spinach, tomatoes, peaches, cucumbers, squash, and sweet corn, as well as agritourism, seafood catch, and seafood landings.

With more than 250,000 acres permanently preserved for agriculture, the industry plays a significant role in maintaining a strong economy and provides numerous career opportunities including farm production; agribusiness management and marketing; agricultural research and engineering; food science, processing, retailing; banking; education; landscape architecture; urban planning; energy and many more.

The top New Jersey counties in farmland acres are Salem (97,465), Burlington (93,594), Hunterdon (91,588), Sussex (71,688) and Warren (70,747). According to the USDA, 94 percent of farms in New Jersey are considered family farms.

With almost 10,000 farms on approximately 750,000 acres, New Jersey farmers are stewards of the land, contributing to the health, beauty, productivity and quality of our water and soil resources for the benefit of all state residents.

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