How does Rutgers meet Urban Fringe programming needs?
Programming is “a systematic plan for solving problems.” Thus, Agricultural Issues Programming is “a systematic plan for dealing with matters or solving problems that are in public dispute and where Public Interest is unclear.” Rutgers members are engaged daily, gathering original research data to guide management decisions and policy making, solving crop production risks, improving marketing, hosting training for communities and farmers to avoid practices leading to nuisance complaints, and participating dispute resolutions. The goal is reducing conflicts between the needs farming, and the needs of New Jersey residents and resources. We focus on profitable practices because, as a farm economist noted, “If you can write a check for it, you don’t have a problem.”
A Mideast politician once remarked, “If a problem or conflict appears intractable, without solution, it might not be a problem. It may be a fact that you need to live with.” Urban fringe farming conflicts are far less intractable!