Owner Of Etsch Farms In Monroe Honored By State

MONROE, NJ — The family that runs a well-known Central New Jersey farm and corn maze was honored Feb. 5 by the state Board of Agriculture for their dedication to preserving New Jersey's farming economy.

The farm is Etsch Farms, which has been in operation since 1931 on Buckelew Avenue in Monroe Township. Together with their son, husband-wife team James and Caroline Etsch farm more than 1,000 acres that spread between Middlesex and Monmouth counties.

Etsch Farms is popular in the area for its summer outdoor movies and eight-acre corn maze in the fall, complete with a hayride, farm animals, apple cider donuts and pumpkin picking. The farm’s corn maze was started in 2006 and attracts thousands of visitors each autumn.

Year-round, Etsch Farms sells hay, straw, mulch and feed corn and carries farm-fresh brown eggs from their hens and local raw honey. Etsch Farms also provides a day camp for children ages 7-10 for a week during the summer.

James Etsch is the son of Roy and Mary Etsch, who established the farm with ground originally purchased by Roy’s father. The Etschs have two sons, Zachary, who works at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. and Peter, a fourth-generation farmer who is actively involved in the family business.

James Etsch was honored last week alongside Jane Brodhecker, who runs Brodhecker Farm in Sussex County. Both farmers were given Distinguished Service to Agriculture Citations by the state of New Jersey.