the Numbers and Horsepower Agriculture License Plates

The 2022 value of floriculture sales in Connecticut is up 2% from the 2021 valuation according to King Whetstone, acting state statistician for USDA’s NASS, New England Field Office. The total crop value for all growers with $10,000 or more in sales is estimated at $167 million for 2022, compared with $164 million for 2021.

Number of Producers: The number of producers for 2022, at 171, is up 3% from the 2021 count of 166.

Area Used for Production: Total covered area for floriculture crop production was 24.9 million square feet in 2022, up slightly from the 2021 area of 24.8 million square feet.

The 2022 value of New Jersey floriculture sales was $342 million, fourth highest in the U.S., according to Bruce Eklund, state statistician of the USDA’s NASS, New Jersey Field Office. This production was from 272 growers, the Nation’s eleventh highest. For production in the open, New Jersey was third at 4,769 acres.

The 2022 value of floriculture sales in New York is up 35% from the 2021 valuation according to Charles Walker, state statistician of the USDA’s NASS, New York Field Office. The total crop for all growers with $10,000 or more in sales is estimated at $244 million for 2022, compared with $181 million for 2021.

Number of Producers: The number of producers for 2022, at 596, is down slightly from the 2021 count of 600.

Area Used for Production: Total covered area for floriculture crop production was 25.1 million square feet in 2022, up 29% from the 2021 area of 19.5 million square feet.

The 2022 value of floriculture sales in Pennsylvania is up 11% from the 2021 valuation according to King Whetstone, director of the USDA’s NASS, Northeastern Regional Field Office. The total crop value for all growers with $10,000 or more in sales is estimated at $209 million for 2022, compared with $188 million for 2021.

Number of Producers: The number of producers for 2022, at 741, is down 5% from the 2021 count of 782. Pennsylvania leads the nation in the total number of floriculture operations.

Area Used for Production: Total covered area for floriculture crop production was 24.8 million square feet in 2022, up 10% from the 2021 area of 22.6 million square feet.

The USDA’s NASS conducts hundreds of surveys every year and prepares reports covering virtually every aspect of U.S. agriculture. Production and supplies of food and fiber, prices paid and received by farmers, farm labor and wages, farm finances, chemical use, and changes in the demographics of U.S. producers are only a few examples.

Let’s move on to horses and license plates.

The Assembly recently put some horsepower behind legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Kevin J. Rooney to create license plates honoring the state animal and supporting therapeutic riding programs. The measure passed the full Assembly unanimously.

“The monies generated from the sale of this license plate will not only help our beautiful state animal, the horse, but also people with special needs and veterans who benefit from programs that combine riding and therapy,” said Rooney (R-Bergen). “Deserving residents experiencing disabling mental and physical health conditions will be able to experience a horse’s healing gifts thanks to this bill.”

National statistics show that about one in five people, or approximately 1.7 million New Jersey residents, have a disability. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, about seven out of every 100 veterans, or 24,500 of New Jersey’s 350,000 vets, suffer from some form of posttraumatic stress disorder.

“More than a million New Jerseyans have a condition that could be improved by working with a horse. This bill could have a very meaningful impact,” Rooney added.

Therapeutic riding is an equineassisted activity that improves a person’s balance, flexibility, coordination, and muscle strength. People benefit cognitively, physically,