The President's Award is presented to individuals or organizations who have made significant contributions to the New Jersey Agricultural Society and the entire NJ agriculture industry. This award is presented at the Society’s Annual Dinner Gala, held each spring.
Harbe Dan Farm
Previous to his passing, Dan & Janet Farrand owned and operated Harbe Dan Farm, in Long Valley. Dan had been in Long Valley since 1964 when his father relocated from Parsippany, where the family had farmed before the Revolutionary War.
Dan graduated from West Morris Regional High School in 1970. He received a degree in Ag Business Management from the University of Delaware in 1974, where he also played on National Champion football teams.
After college, he started farming with his father, Harold, and joined the Morris County Board of Agriculture and the New Jersey Farm Bureau. Together with his father and wife Janet, they grew the farm from 150 acres to a modern state of the art grain and hay farm of over 1,000 acres. After many years of suffering with seemingly unrelated illnesses, in 2018 Dan was diagnosed with amyloidosis, a rare and often misdiagnosed organ disease, which resulted in a heart transplant that year.
Dan served on the State Board of Agriculture, starting in 2016 representing the hay and grain industry, and was vice president of the state board in 2019-20. Dan also served as chairman of the New Jersey Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee; was a member of the American Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers Advisory Committee; is a past president of the Morris County Board of Agriculture; was a director for the New Jersey Farm Bureau for 16 years; was a delegate to the New Jersey Farm Bureau and New Jersey State Agricultural Convention each for multiple years; was a member of the New Jersey Soybean Board; was a founding member of the Garden State Ethanol Committee; was a founding member of the New Jersey Grain and Forage Producers Association; and was on the Farmers Home Administration Committee.
With his recent passing, Dan is survived by his wife, Janet, and four children, Jim, Sam, Dezi and Emmy. His legacy goes well beyond his four birth children. In fact, Dan and Janet fostered over 50 children in need, and adopted two children, over a twenty-three-year period. Having Dan’s support at home, Janet has been a volunteer leader and staunch supporter of foster children and their needs through Foster and Adoptive Family Services and various county and state committees, organizations, and government panels.
Fun Fact: The history of Harbe Dan Farm goes back to the American Revolutionary War
Dan graduated from West Morris Regional High School in 1970. He received a degree in Ag Business Management from the University of Delaware in 1974, where he also played on National Champion football teams.
After college, he started farming with his father, Harold, and joined the Morris County Board of Agriculture and the New Jersey Farm Bureau. Together with his father and wife Janet, they grew the farm from 150 acres to a modern state of the art grain and hay farm of over 1,000 acres. After many years of suffering with seemingly unrelated illnesses, in 2018 Dan was diagnosed with amyloidosis, a rare and often misdiagnosed organ disease, which resulted in a heart transplant that year.
Dan served on the State Board of Agriculture, starting in 2016 representing the hay and grain industry, and was vice president of the state board in 2019-20. Dan also served as chairman of the New Jersey Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee; was a member of the American Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers Advisory Committee; is a past president of the Morris County Board of Agriculture; was a director for the New Jersey Farm Bureau for 16 years; was a delegate to the New Jersey Farm Bureau and New Jersey State Agricultural Convention each for multiple years; was a member of the New Jersey Soybean Board; was a founding member of the Garden State Ethanol Committee; was a founding member of the New Jersey Grain and Forage Producers Association; and was on the Farmers Home Administration Committee.
With his recent passing, Dan is survived by his wife, Janet, and four children, Jim, Sam, Dezi and Emmy. His legacy goes well beyond his four birth children. In fact, Dan and Janet fostered over 50 children in need, and adopted two children, over a twenty-three-year period. Having Dan’s support at home, Janet has been a volunteer leader and staunch supporter of foster children and their needs through Foster and Adoptive Family Services and various county and state committees, organizations, and government panels.
Fun Fact: The history of Harbe Dan Farm goes back to the American Revolutionary War