NEWS RELEASE

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Extension Program Honored

Rutgers NJAES/RCE 2007 New Jersey Equine Economic Impact Study Program has been honored as one of three recipients of the 2007 Award of Excellence from the Northeast Cooperative Extension Directors.

July 29, 2008

Bethesda, MD--Rutgers NJAES/RCE 2007 New Jersey Equine Economic Impact Study Program has been honored as one of three recipients of the 2007 Award of Excellence from the Northeast Cooperative Extension Directors. This is the highest award presented by the Directors of Extension in the northeast. It recognizes Extension outreach programming that has achieved outstanding accomplishments, results, and impacts in addressing contemporary issues. Paul Gottlieb, Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource and Diana Orban-Brown, Director of Communications, Equine Science Center, NJAES, accepted the award for the team at the Northeast Summer Joint Session of Cooperative Extension Directors, Experiment Station Directors and Council for Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching (CARET) members on July 14, 2008. Team members besides Gottlieb and Orban-Brown were: Karyn Malinowski, Director of the Equine Science Center, Brian Schilling, Associate Director of the Food Policy Institute, and Kevin Sullivan, Institutional Research Specialist for the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. Twelve programs were nominated in the northeast region which includes states from Maine to West Virginia, including The District of Columbia.

The 2007 New Jersey Equine Economic Impact Study exemplifies the power of teamwork in leading and accomplishing a mission critical to an important New Jersey industry and answering the needs of stakeholders, while at the same time leveraging funds, demonstrating ingenuity and entrepreneurial initiative, and engaging a significant segment of the populace in a common goal. The accomplishments of this program brought enormous positive attention to Rutgers, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. The research study was designed to provide a comprehensive picture of the impact of the horse industry on the economy of New Jersey, on traditional agriculture, and on the preservation of working agricultural land and open space. In addition, it incorporated an Extension focus that ensures the final report and accompanying DVD continues to be circulated among policy makers and opinion leaders throughout the state.

Study results documented that the total economic impact of the equine industry was $1.1 billion annually. The industry employs nearly 13,000 and generates an estimated $160 million annually in federal, state and local taxes. There are 42,500 equine animals housed in New Jersey. The equine-related acres represent about one-fifth of the state's 790,000 acres in agriculture.
Contact: Diana M. Orban Brown
Director of Communication
Rutgers Equine Science Center
848-932-9419
orban@aesop.rutgers.edu


  1. Rutgers
  2. Executive Dean of Agriculture and Natural Resources
  3. School of Environmental and Biological Sciences