Introduction

The New Jersey equine industry is a complex, dynamic part of the state's economy. While it has been commonly known that the equine industry is a major segment of New Jersey agriculture, a detailed survey of its economic impact has previously not been undertaken since 1987. Representatives of the Industry, through the NJDA'S Equine Advisory Board, recognized the need for a more comprehensive statistical representation of the industry and commissioned this survey in 1997.

Survey Objectives

Operating in the most densely populated state of the nation and in a rapidly changing environment, the New Jersey equine industry faces many formidable challenges. The purpose of conducting the survey was to produce accurate equine statistics which would allow decision makers within and associated with the industry, as well as policy makers at all levels of government, to make decisions based on an accurate representation of the industry rather than assumptions and speculation. In addition the survey will give those not associated with the industry a picture of its size and economic importance to the State of New Jersey.

Survey Methodology

The New Jersey equine industry is large and diverse. The population of interest for this survey included:

Excluded from the survey were trainers, jockeys, drivers, veterinarians, farriers, grooms and others who are employed within the industry but had no expenditures or income in 1996 related directly to equine animal ownership or operation of an equine facility.

The survey questionnaire was developed to accommodate all reporting situations for the population of interest. The questionnaire was divided into eight sections which allowed useable data within an incomplete report to be included in summarization.
 

To obtain results as accurately as possible, the survey was conducted in four stages. In the first stage, a list of all equine owners and operators was built from all possible sources for which information was available. After minimizing duplication, 28,908 questionnaires were mailed. Of the total, 8,293 were out-of-state addresses and 6,130 were returned by the post office without a forwarding address. A second request questionnaire was mailed to non-respondents. Telephone enumeration of second request nonrespondents completed stage one of the survey process. A total of 5,230 questionnaires were summarized in this stage.

In stage two, a probability sample of 428 was selected from the 17,548 non-respondents from stage one.  Information was collected by telephone and personal interviews for the 428 stage two operators to evaluate the non-respondent population.

It is impossible to build a complete list of equine animal owners and operators for a segment as diverse as the New Jersey equine industry. In order to account for the incompleteness of the list data, 2,144 separate parcels of land were personally visited and the owner or operator interviewed to determine if equine animals were present on the parcel. The names of the equine animal owners found on the parcels were compared to the original list of 28,908 names. This procedure, completed in stage three, assured complete coverage of the population being surveyed

Information was collected from the New Jersey equine race tracks in stage four: Atlantic City (Thoroughbred), Freehold (Standardbred), Garden State (Standardbred and Thoroughbred), Meadowlands (Standardbred and Thoroughbred), and Monmouth (Thoroughbred).

The survey summary was comprised of reported data from 3,642 stage one completed questionnaires plus the list of non-respondent additions from stage two, the surveyed area respondents and the race tracks in New Jersey.

Survey Summary

Statistically, the survey was designed to provide state level estimates. County data accuracy is limited based on the number of responses by county and operation types by county.

County Highlights

Monmouth County ranks first in every equine-related category. Hunterdon, Burlington and Sussex would be ranked the second, third, and fourth most extensive equine counties, respectively. Somerset, Gloucester, Morris and Camden form the third tier of counties (Table 1,4,6,9).

Equine Operations

New Jersey had 7,600 facilities with equine animals in 1996 (Table 1). A facility is defined as an operation on which equine animals are kept. Owners of equine animals who board their animals on land that they did not operate were excluded from the facilities count. Of the 166,000 total acres associated with the 7,600 operations, 81,000 acres were used solely for equine-related purposes (Table 9). Not included are thousands of hay, straw and small grain acres raised by others in agriculture for use by the equine industry.

The number of equine operations increased by 500 from the 1987 survey number of 7,100. However, the acreage associated with these operations decreased by 39,000 acres during the same time period. This is a similar trend to that of Garden State agriculture in general; the number of farms is increasing while acreage is decreasing.

Equine Operation Activities

New Jersey equine operations vary widely in their activities. Many of the 7,600 operations that had equine animals located on their land reported income from multiple activities. For example, the same operation may have had income from the sales of animals, boarding and breeding activities. Other operations may generate income from a single activity such as riding lessons. The 7,600 equine operations reported 9,200 revenue-generating activities. The activity reported by the largest number of equine operations was boarding, reported by 2,500 operations or 27.2% of the total. This was followed closely by sales of animals reported by 1,956 operations or 21.3% of the total. Racing, training, and show or competition categories were third through fifth (1,138; 965 and 877, respectively). Riding lessons, a combination of other activities, breeding, recreation and rehabilitation, as well as rodeo, law enforcement, polo, research, U.S. Olympic Equestrian Team Training Center, county and state parks, carriage ride services, hay and sleigh rides, parades, rentals, and trail rides rounded out the reported activities (Table 6).

Equine Inventory by County

The 49,000 equine animals inventoried on July 1, 1996 were distributed throughout New Jersey (Table 1). Fifteen of the 21 counties had inventory totals of at least 1,000 head, two had inventory between 500 and 1,000 and the remaining four counties had less than 500 head. Monmouth County had 11,500, or 23 percent of the state total. Hunterdon, Burlington and Sussex counties ranked next (13, 11, and 9 percent respectively). The value of the equine inventory within a county depends not only on the number of animals but also on the make-up of the total by type (for example, racing versus non-racing).

County Equine
Related Assets

The market value of the 81,000 acres used for equine-related purposes is estimated at $2.5 billion (Table 9). In addition to land, this includes the value of fencing, facilities, equipment and supplies associated with both equine operations and race tracks. Monmouth County led in asset value at $672 million followed by Bergen with $385 million, Hunterdon with $321 and Burlington with $227 million.

The statewide average value per acre for the equine infrastructure (land, fencing, facilities, equipment and supplies) totaled $31,043. The range by county was from $9,000 per acre in Salem County to $350,000 per acre in Bergen County, which includes The Meadowlands Racetrack and land proximate to New York City (Table 9).

Equine Inventory by Category

Racing-related Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds accounted for 15,050 (31 percent) of the July 1, 1996 state inventory of 49,000 head. Horses not associated with the racing industry totaled 29,510 (60 percent) while ponies numbered 3,940 (8 percent) and donkeys and mules totaled 500 (1 percent)(Table 3).

Primary Use
of Equine Inventory

Survey respondents were asked to categorize their inventory into primary usage categories. An individual animal can be used for multiple purposes such as breeding, competition and pleasure riding. In this case, the respondent was asked to list each animal under the single usage category which provided the most important service to the respondent. Because future primary utilization of offspring is speculative, foals were summarized separately without regard to category of use.

The primary breakdown of the 49,000 head inventory was: pleasure and sport, 35 percent; competition, 16 percent; brood mares, 14 percent; racing, 13 percent; 1996 foals, 8 percent; other, 7 percent; 1995 foals, 5 percent; and stallions, 2 percent (Table 2). Examples of 'Other' include retired, ranch chores, pets and teasers for breeding.

Utilization breakdown of the 15,050 horses associated with the racing industry was: breeding, 22 percent; foals, 24 percent; competition, pleasure and sport, 9 percent; other, 1 percent; and racing, 44 percent.

The corresponding utilization breakdown of the 33,950 equine not associated with the racing industry are: breeding, 13 percent; foals, 8 percent; competition, pleasure and sport, 69 percent; and other, 10 percent.

Animals Owned
By New Jersey Residents

Due to the breeding incentive programs offered by New Jersey, a large number of out-of-state mares are brought into New Jersey each spring. Of the 49,000 inventory on July 1, 1996, 2,280 were principally owned by out-of-state residents, of which 1,497 were racing-related Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds.

Equine Related
Expenditures - 1996

The equine industry is a major component of New Jersey's economy. In 1996, $698 million were spent in New Jersey by equine operations, in-state and out-of-state owners of equine and New Jersey race tracks (Table 7, 8). In addition, millions of dollars in equine related expenditures are made each year by the infrastructure of the industry: farriers, veterinarians, feed and bedding producers, dealers, tack shops, equipment manufacturers, trainers, grooms, jockeys and many more. Over five million people attend horse races and other equine events each year as spectators, adding substantially to the equine industry's expenditure base in New Jersey.

Of the $698 million spent in New Jersey in 1996, $407 million was spent by New Jersey equine owners and operators, $224 million by race tracks, and $67 million by out-of-state equine owners and operators.
(Table 7, 8)

The major expenditure components for 1996 were: labor, $111 million (Table 5); purchases of equine inventory, $66 million; boarding of animals, $44 million and feed and bedding supplies, $43 million.
(Table 7, 8)