New Jersey Department Of Agriculture

The New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NJDA) is a state government entity operating as a division of the State of New Jersey that serves as a prime recipient for federal grants and prime contractor for federal contracts in animal health testing, food assistance administration, and agricultural pest management and biological control programs. NJDA operates exclusively in a prime capacity across its federal award portfolio with no subcontract relationships; the agency competes in full-and-open federal procurements without set-aside designations.

NJDA's federal footprint centers on two distinct capability streams. The first is animal laboratory diagnostic services for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Veterinary Services division. NJDA holds a $20 million single-award Indefinite Delivery Contract (IDC) running through November 2026 to conduct highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and foreign animal disease (FAD) testing at facilities in Trenton, New Jersey and Ames, Iowa, supporting USDA's National Animal Health Laboratory Network. Recent delivery orders include a $20,000 HPAI testing order from May 2026, a $100,000 HPAI and FAD testing order from February 2025, and a $50,000 diagnostic testing delivery from April 2024. The second stream encompasses large-scale child nutrition program administration and food assistance logistics. NJDA administers formula grants for the National School Lunch Program (nearly $600 million combined across recent awards), Child and Adult Care Food Program, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer, and state-level child nutrition administrative expenses through the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service. Representative awards include a $233.5 million National School Lunch Program block grant and a $5.71 million Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program award, both for the October 2025 to September 2026 period.

NJDA's customer concentration is heavily skewed toward the USDA across three administrations. The Department of Agriculture accounts for approximately 78% of recent awards by count, split across APHIS Veterinary Services (235 awards, $17 thousand combined potential value), Food and Nutrition Service child and adult nutrition programs (235 awards across multiple service lines), Agricultural Marketing Service (33 awards), and APHIS Marketing and Regulatory Programs Business Services (6 awards, $20 million). By potential value, APHIS Veterinary Services anchors the portfolio at $20.2 million, followed by APHIS Marketing and Regulatory Programs at $20 million. The Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration contributes nine awards ($688 thousand) for animal food surveillance and laboratory services, including a $150,000 cooperative agreement through June 2030 to enhance animal food testing capabilities under the Laboratory Flexible Funding Model and Food Safety Modernization Act support.

Beyond animal health and nutrition, NJDA operates a substantial federal grant portfolio in biological pest control and agricultural pest surveillance. APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine funds multiple cooperative agreements for invasive species management, including rearing and release of biological control agents (parasitoid wasps, nymphal parasitoids, and insects) targeting spotted lanternfly, Japanese knotweed, and other agricultural pests. NJDA operates the Plant-Arthropod Biological Interception Laboratory (PABIL) in support of these programs. Recent cooperative agreements include a $245,500 award for spotted lanternfly control (July 2025 to June 2026), a $125,000 honeybee pest survey and monitoring agreement, and multiple agreements for rearing of Ganaspis brasiliensis (Samba wasp) for spotted wing drosophila biocontrol. Specialty Crop Block Grants from USDA Agricultural Marketing Service total roughly $1.7 million across three fiscal years to enhance competitiveness in peaches, blueberries, cranberries, and other New Jersey specialty crops. NJDA also received a $1.282 million Farm to School formula grant and a $870,479 three-year Specialty Crop Block Grant award effective September 2025.

Activity has remained flat to modest over the past five years, averaging 27 to 37 awards annually, with 645 total awards in the source dataset and a most recent award from September 2026. The combined potential value across all awards stands at $41.2 million, though the combined obligated value ($9.28 billion) reflects the massive scale of the child nutrition formula grants, which are calculated annually and carry multi-year reobligations. Approximately 30 awards (combined potential value $187 thousand) face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months and will require recompete or renewal activity.

NJDA's primary contract vehicle is the $20 million APHIS IDC for animal laboratory testing. The agency also holds task order authority under APHIS Animal Lab Testing 2016-2021 (two historical task orders) and participates in a Blanket Purchase Agreement (AG6395B090024) with four task orders. The vast majority of NJDA's federal engagement, however, flows through formula grants and cooperative agreements rather than traditional contract vehicles; this structure reflects the agency's role as the state administering entity for federally mandated nutrition and agricultural protection programs.