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 or in guest columns. The Gazette retains the right to refuse any submission or advertisement.