Late July through September

Voluntary standards help distinguish New Jersey peaches, add value and provide a competitive advantage in the market place.  Peaches with the “Premium Peach” label will be packed and shipped within 7 days, will meet USDA “Fancy Grade” standard, and must come from farms that pass the USDA’s Fresh Produce Audit Verification Program.  The USDA program audits for good agricultural practices and good handling practices.

100+ varieties
·Yellow flesh comprise 90% of Jersey peaches 
·White flesh comprise 4% of Jersey peaches
·Yellow and white flesh nectarines comprise 6%
·Something new Doughnut or flat peaches less than 1%

·GaLa yellow fleshed peach fruit, ripens before the popular JohnBoy.  
·Flamin’ Fury yellow fleshed peaches, popular throughout the season.
·Laurol, yellow fleshed peach, a key late-season variety
·Klondike and Sugar Giant, relatively new white fleshed varieties.
·Arctic Star (early) and Arctic Joy, two great new mid-season white fleshed nectarines, in limited supply. 

·Eight new varieties have been recently introduced for planting, and will be in production over the next several years.

·John Boy, long-standing most popular peach.
·White Lady, still the Queen of low-acid white-fleshed peaches. 
·Lady Nancy, the aromatic white fleshed peach.

To be labeled "Jersey Fresh," peaches must be US Extra No. 1 grade, sized at least 2.25" diameter.

Fresh freestone peaches also yield peach cider, peach syrup, peach jam

6,600 acres throughout the state. 

90 orchards

The southern district-- Gloucester, Cumberland, Camden, Atlantic and Salem Counties-- is the state's major growing area.  Gloucester County has the state's most peach trees, but peach orchards are throughout New Jersey.  

Farm markets and stands and pick-your own are located mainly in central, northern and western regions.  There are also many of these in the southern part of the state. 

Several peach growers take their peaches to community farmers markets located in cities and towns throughout the state.

25, see separate listing

2010 Peach production forecast:  36,000 tons, up 1,000 tons from 2009
Value of utilized production:  Approximately $33.7 million

$5,625  (12,500 pounds x.45 per pound )

$3,500 per acre (approximately) to produce peaches in New Jersey

‘Jersey Fresh Premium Peaches’ is a label of increasing importance and prestige.  Twenty one peach shippers, located mainly in southern Jersey, use labels that include Jersey Fruit, Atlantic Sunrise, Top Crop, Bernato Farms, CircleM Fruit Farms, Haynicz Bros Orchard, Holtzhauser Farms, Mood's Orchard, JerZee Orchards, Just Picked, Sun Valley Orchards, Sunny Valley, Melicks Town Farm, Nichols Orchard, Sunny Slope, Wm Schober, Zee Orchards Inc, Cohansey Valley.

The New Jersey Peach Promotional Council is the state’s independent, primary organization of peach growers, shippers, wholesalers, and associated industries.
Directors of the Council are elected from these groups. Grower directors are elected from all areas of New Jersey based on tree acreage. Rutgers Cooperative Extension faculty and staff, and representatives of New Jersey Department of Agriculture assist the council and serve as ex officio members of the Board.

Funds to support peach marketing activities come from membership dues and voluntary contributions of the members, the annual publication of a wholesale buyer’s guide in which ads are sold, other fund raising activities and the New Jersey Peach Festival held each year. The NJDA supports the industry through the Jersey Fresh Matching Fund program as well as through their advertising and merchandising programs that include the promotion of peaches.

 21 packing houses, 40 distributors
Many restaurants create original recipes using fresh Jersey peaches.

·New Jersey Peach Festival – late July, Mullica Hill
·Ag Innovation Day, August , Rutgers Agricultural Research & Extension
·Peach Parties -special peach-featured events at farmers markets, restaurants and supermarkets throughout August, Jersey Fresh Peach Month.

·New Jersey Peach Promotion Council, ·New Jersey Department of Agriculture, ·New Jersey Peach Festival Association, ·New Jersey State Horticultural Society, ·New Jersey Farm Bureau ·Rutgers Cooperative Extension at the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, ·New Jersey Peach Council

The biggest pest problem is brown rot. Additionally, chewing and sucking insects, birds, wood chuck and deer all compete with each other and damage peaches. 

Through Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Practices, peach growers have significantly reduced both amounts and costs of pesticides needed to control pests.

Since the 1600’s when the first peaches were grown from seeds, peaches have been produced in New Jersey.  In 1900, there were more than four million peach trees within Hunterdon County, then the major peach-growing region of the state.  San Jose scale wiped out the industry in the early 20th century.   

Today, New Jersey has less than two million peach trees.  However, the industry has for several years been recovering vigorously, currently ranking fourth in the country in fresh peach production.  With this year’s introduction of eight new varieties, the industry looks forward to healthy growth in coming years.

Our soils and climate are ideal for maximum production of quality peaches.  Soils have the right nutrients and are well -drained Sunlight is just right and there is enough water to provide supplemental soil moisture.

New Jersey Peach Promotion Council is dedicated to the orderly promotion and marketing of fresh New Jersey Peaches; to enhancing returns to growers and shippers; to maintaining a viable peach industry in the Garden State for the purpose of preserving farmers and farmland; and to providing the highest quality and best tasting fresh peaches for consumers.

Santo Maccherone, grower, president NJ Peach Promotion Council,
856-207-4542; circlemfarmsllc@gmail.com
Jerome Frecon, peach expert, Gloucester Co. Co-op Extention
856-307-6450  frecon@rcre.rutgers.edu
Phil Neary, dr, grower relations & operations, Sunny Valley Intl.
856-881-0200   pneary@sunnyint.com
Dr Daniel Ward, pomologist, Rutgers Extension Agent
732-932-4000x4118  dward@rcre.rutgers.edu
Dr. Joe Goffreda, Rutgers
609-758-7311 x13  goffreda@aesop.rutgers.edu