The Hammonton Gazette 07/30/14 Edition | Page 6
Page 6 • Wednesday, July 30, 2014 • The Hammonton Gazette
The Hammonton Gazette
“The Paper of Record”
Gabriel J. Donio, Publisher
Gina rullo, Editor-in-Chief
Dan russoman, Sports Editor
Benny Mendez, Staff Artist
Marysusan Hoffman, Paul J. Macrie iv,
Michael Hozik, Donna Brown, Joseph Bruno,
lauren Bucci, lauren crescenzo,
Zack Brown, Staff
The Hammonton Gazette is located at 233 Bellevue Ave. to reach a staff
member, call 704-1940 or fax at 704-1938. the mailing address is P.o. Box
1228, Hammonton, NJ 08037.
eDitoriAls
The Hammonton Gazette is published Wednesdays, by The Hammonton Gazette, Inc. Copyright © 2014. All
rights reserved. ISSN 1093-6181
the blue reality
You’ve probably heard of the phrase “the new reality.”
It’s the reality that follows the past, which was usually better than the present reality.
When we think of the blueberry industry, we think of “the blue reality.”
The double-entendre is entirely intended. Things in the blueberry industry aren’t what they were a few years ago, and that’s lowered people’s spirits, and expectations.
There are a variety of reasons for this situation. In the past, this newspaper has cautioned that the overproduction of blueberries by other states will
send local growers down the same path they were sent down with peaches
and cranberries. When a commodity is overproduced, there is a glut and
pri ces fall, leading to a downturn for the owners of farms. There has been
increased competition from blueberry growers in other areas, both foreign
and domestic.
For a good analogy, one needs to look no further than the downturn in the
Atlantic City casino industry. The same market forces apply there.
We have one fact in our favor when compared to the Atlantic City casino
industry, however. People can gamble almost anywhere. Only Hammonton
has the Hammonton Blueberry, the best blueberry in the world.
Some major change needs to happen, including having all local and area
blueberry growers begin marketing Hammonton Blueberries together, the
same way wine growers in the Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley do, or the
way pistachio nut growers do. There must be a national campaign, and that
will cost a lot of money. It’s the only way to stand out in the global market:
same name on the label, one marketing push, with growers maintaining their
individual farms and identities.
The product is great. People need to hear about it. The effort should be
coordinated locally, so the profits from the blueberry industry remain largely in Hammonton.
Labels with the name “Hammonton Blueberries” can go on every pint of
blueberries packed in Hammonton, in addition to the regular name of the
grower on the pints. People would look for our blueberries by name, which
would be synonymous with high quality.
The concept is the same as the well-regarded “Jersey Fresh” marketing
campaign for fruit and produce.
The best advice we have for blueberry growers is the same advice
Benjamin Franklin had for the colonies before they became the United States
of America:
Join, or die.
Following that advice worked out well for the nation. The Gazette feels
following that advice will work out well for the local and area blueberry
growers.
NJM’s expansion
The progress of NJM is one of the best success stories in local history.
When the company originally opened its first branch office in
Hammonton, they began modestly in the Augusta Professional Center. As
they grew, they moved to the former Whitehall Laboratories Research and
Development Building on Grand Street.
By 2010, they built their own 147,000-square-foot facility on 12th Street
(Route 54) and have continued to grow. When they opened their office building, they had 200 employees in Hammonton. Now, according to NJM
Spokesperson Eric Stenson, they have 275.
Last week Stenson told The Gazette about the company’s next move: fitting out the 21,000-square-foot third floor of the facility for use as a Personal
Lines Call Center by this October.
In a few short months, all three floors of the NJM office building will be
in use, humming with activity and filled with people working in quality jobs.
What’s next? Stenson confirmed that the building’s capacity is 330 people,
but it is built for expansion.
We wish NJM continued success as it grows in Hammonton. The company is now one of the bright lights in the local economy, and we are excited
to chart their future progress. If the last decade is any indication, the positive headlines should continue into the future.
PersPective/UsDA
These days, it seems like it’s easier than ever to turn a good idea into reality. This is the era of
Kickstarter, where entrepreneurs can connect with potential investors at the click of a button.
Of course, it takes more than money to grow an idea. It takes an atmosphere that fosters creativity and rewards innovation. And at a deeper, less obvious level, it requires strong, secure
infrastructure—roads and bridges, but also internet access and community facilities like hospitals and schools—that improves connectivity and access to information, moves products to market, and makes communities competitive and attractive to new businesses and investments.
Part of the challenge we face in rural America is that in too many places, infrastructure is outdated and cannot support the same kinds of opportunities that are easily found in cities and larger towns.
USDA itself has a strong record of supporting rural infrastructure upgrades. Our Rural
Development program has a loan portfolio of more than $200 billion direct and guaranteed
loans. Yet, there continues to be a significant unmet demand for investment in rural America that
exceeds our capacity.
We can’t address this disparity alone, which is why this week, USDA, as part of the White
House Rural Council, hosted the first-ever Rural Opportunity Investment Conference. This conference brought together key people from the investment community, rural areas and government to make the business case for investing in rural America.
In conjunction with the conference, we also announced a new $10 billion Rural Infrastructure
Opportunity Fund. Supported entirely by private sector dollars with an initial investment from
CoBank, a national cooperative bank and member of the Farm Credit System, and managed by
Capitol Peak Asset Management, the fund offers a sustainable platform for new kinds of
investors to inject billions into rural infrastructure projects.
Up until now, we have faced a major hurdle when it comes to making the connection between
the demand for investment in rural areas and the financial community. The new fund serves as
a proof point that rural America is a promising investment. The financial community should look
at investing in rural America not just as a good thing to do—there is a huge opportunity for them
to see a return on their investment in rural America as well.
The fund represents a new approach to USDA’s support for job-creating projects across the
country. It allows us to act as a matchmaker between strong projects and potential private
investors and expands our capacity to facilitate rural investment beyond what we can do alone.
Rural America needs strong, stable infrastructure in order to meet the current demand for food
and farm products, as well as the growing demand in areas such as renewable energy, local and
regional food, and the bioeconomy. To attract young people to rural America, prevent rural
“brain drain,” and ensure a stable rural workforce, we have to make sure that rural areas offer
the same breadth of opportunity that cities can offer and that starts with strong, modern infrastructure.
These are high-potential areas that will create jobs and stimulate growth, which makes rural
infrastructure not just a rural issue—it’s a national economic issue, too.
We believe that this fund and the communities brought together for the first time at this week’s
conference are a key part of addressing the unmet demand for rural investment. If we can inject
even a small portion of the enormous amount of available investment capital in the United States
into rural projects, we can help to foster an environment that spurs rural innovation and ensures
that rural America remains open for business.
tom vilsack
secretary, UsDA
Washington, D.c.
The Hammonton Gazette welcomes letters to the editor that are no more than 800 words long. All letters must include the name of the author and
an address and telephone number for verification. Letters should be mailed to The Hammonton Gazette, Editorial Page, P.O. Box 1228, Hammonton,
NJ 08037. Letters also will be accepted via fax. The fax number is 704-1938. Or by email to [email protected]. Deadline for all submissions is 2 p.m. Monday. The Hammonton Gazette reserves the right to edit any submissions. The opinions expressed in letters, perspectives or in
guest columns do not necessarily reflect those of The Hammonton Gazette. The Gazette is not responsible for factual errors in letters, perspectives
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