Millstone Township beekeeper and mum producer Angelo Trapani, Cumberland County fruit and vegetable farmer Shirley Todd Kline and Hunterdon County livestock and hay producer Erick K. Doyle are the newest members of the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture.
The board installed Kline and Trapani to four-year terms on July 22 during its reorganization meeting in Hamilton Township. Doyle was installed at the board’s regular meeting in Trenton on Aug. 26 to fill an unexpired term ending in 2017, according to a press release.
Kline, Trapani and Doyle were elected by the delegates at the February 2015 state agricultural convention for recommendation to the governor for nomination and later confirmed by the state Senate.
“Shirley Kline, Angelo Trapani and Erick Doyle are great additions to the Board of Agriculture, demonstrating the diversity of New Jersey’s agriculture industry,” New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher said. “They bring their vast knowledge and experience to the board, which sets policy for the industry throughout the entire state.”
Trapani operates A. Trapani Farms and Trapper’s Honey in the Clarksburg section of Millstone Township, producing honey and providing pollination services to other farmers. He and his wife, Anna, also grow field mums, according to the press release.
Trapani studied engineering at Mercer County Community College and heating, ventilation and air conditioning at Mercer County Technical School.
Trapani is currently president of the Monmouth County Board of Agriculture, first vice president of the New Jersey Beekeepers Association and a New Jersey Farm Bureau alternate director.
He is a member of the New Jersey Vegetable Growers Association, Central Jersey Beekeepers, Tri-County Co-op Market, the New Jersey Farmers Direct Marketing Association, American Honey Producers Association, American Beekeeping Federation and the New Jersey Agricultural Society.
During the reorganization meeting, Mar- During the reorganization meeting, Martin Bullock, a Cream Ridge hay, grain and Christmas tree farmer, was elected president of the board, and Marilyn Russo, a Chesterfield fruit and vegetable farmer, was selected as vice president. In addition, Steve Wagner, who represented the nursery industry, resigned, and Robert Swanekamp, a grower of plugs and bedding plants in Upper Freehold Township, was chosen to fill the open seat.
Members of the Board of Agriculture serve without salary.