Archives for October 2013

October 31, 2013 Meredith Melendez

Vegetable Disease ID Workshop

This Workshop is for Small, Beginning, and/or Organic Farm Operators

Date: Friday, November 15th 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Location: Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Mercer County
930 Spruce Street, Trenton 08648
Cost: $25.00 includes lunch

Speakers:

Disease Suppression with Brassicas and Cover Crops
Jack Rabin, Director Rutgers Farm Programs
Nutrient Deficiency ID vs Disease ID
Meredith Melendez, Mercer County Senior Program Coordinator
Rutgers Pepper Disease and Disorder Research
Wesley Kline, Cumberland County Agriculture Agent
Management of Vegetable Diseases
Andy Wyenandt, Vegetable Pathology Specialist
Pesticide Safety for Small Farms
Wesley Kline, Cumberland County Agriculture Agent

Registration required with payment by November 12th
Pesticide credits offered: CORE – 4, PP2 – 6, 10 – 6
For more info call Dana at 609-989-6830

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates

October 31, 2013 Wes Kline

Marketing for Profit: Tools for Success

This webinar series for farmers and educators is supported by USDA NE SARE and runs November 2013 through February 2014.

Designed with the assistance of regional and national marketing experts to provide critical marketing insights for farmers and farm markets throughout the northeast, the webinars are free, approximately an hour and a half long, and easy to access with a basic internet connection. This winter, 6 webinars will be held and interested participants are encouraged to register.
For more information and to register go to:
http://www.nyfarmersmarket.com/ work-shop-programs/online-marketing-for-profit-course.html?massmail=122

Sponsors: The Farmers Market Federation of NY and the NY Farm Viability Institute in partnership with USDA Northeast SARE

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates

October 31, 2013 Wes Kline

USDA-NRCS Program Application Date Extended

State Conservationist Carrie Mosley has extended the application period for two conservation programs to November 15th. All applications received for Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA) and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) by November 15 will be ranked and funds allocated after the new deadline. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Organic Production

October 31, 2013 Wes Kline and Meredith Melendez

Food Safety Workshops 2013-2014

Seven food safety workshops will be presented from December 2013 through February 2014.

TOPICS:

Harmonized Food Safety Standards
How to develop a food safety plan for your operation
Produce sampling results from 2013
Risk Assessment
Writing Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Blueberry, Food Safety, Fruit, Vegetable Crops

October 28, 2013 Wes Kline and Meredith Melendez

FSMA Produce Rules Comment Deadline: November 15

New Jersey farmers are urged to send in comments by November 15th regarding the Proposed Produce Safety Rule and the Proposed Preventive Controls Rule. It is expected that about 20% of New Jersey farms will be expected to comply with the Produce Safety Rule. Several components of this rule have the potential to impact the financial stability of non-exempted farms and limit the growth of exempted farms.

At the Food Safety Modernization Act meeting held at the EcoComplex on Tuesday October 22nd growers expressed their concerns to FDA representatives. The most concerning portions of the rules are:

PRODUCE SAFETY RULE

Agricultural Water Testing Requirements – Subpart E

Municipal water – You must have a copy of the municipal water testing certificate on hand
Well water – At the beginning of the season and every three months during production
Surface water (pond, stream, etc) – Every 7 days during production
Surface water (well water pumped into a pond) – Once a month if there is no potential for contamination

Biological Soil Amendments of Animal Origin – Subpart F

Raw manure applications – 9 month wait time from application to harvest of crop
Purchased soil amendments – Must have a certificate of conformance from producer of product
Compost – 0 – 45 day wait time from application to harvest of crop based on composting methods used

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Food Safety

October 26, 2013 Administrator

Dormancy in October? It is very dry and cool.

By Jim Murphy

I spent a couple days this past week teaching in a turf care training program at Central Park in NYC.

Lawn area entering the onset of dormancy.
Shoot growth is shutting down and leaves are wilting.

Many lawn areas in Central Park that are not irrigated were entering dormancy because of the dry soil conditions. And as you look around there is an increasing acreage of turf as well as shrubs and trees in our area that are being challenged by drying soil conditions. Fortunately, it is cool and many plants are tolerating the drying by entering dormant.

However, managers should think about their end of the season programs related to irrigation shut down on high value turfs and other plantings. Make sure that you fully evaluate soil wetness/dryness before blowing out and shutting down the irrigation system. If the soil is very dry, it would be wise to irrigate to restore some soil wetness under your high value areas before shutting down the irrigation. Allowing soil dryness to extend into winter, should it continue to stay dry (little to no rain or snow cover), could set up those plants for desiccation injury during winter. Desiccation injury is relatively rare in our climate but the current conditions are a precursor for that possibility. Obvious high risk scenarios include sand-based putting greens and plantings grown on the very sandy soils of the coastal plains of NJ that have been allowed to dry down during October.

Below: Central Park provides some beautiful landscapes within the very urban setting of Manhattan. The Conservatory Garden is one of the formal gardens at Central Park.

Recently restored lawn on
Frisbee Hill in Central Park.

A very colorful display of Korean mums in the
Conservatory Garden at Central Park.

Filed Under: Turf