USDA provides more details about the Buy Fresh program and a link to its solicitation page here.
USDA Announces Coronavirus Food Assistance Program
From usda.gov/media/press-releases on April 17, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP).
“The program will provide $16 billion in direct support based on actual losses for agricultural producers where prices and market supply chains have been impacted…” including $9.5 billion in aid to cattle, dairy and hog farmers, $3.9B to row/commodity crops, $2.1B for specialty crops growers, and $500 mil for “other” crops ($500 million).
The remaining $3B will be used to increase purchases of fresh produce, dairy, and meat to be distributed through “food banks, community and faith based organizations, and other non-profits serving Americans in need.”
More details about the CFAP can be found in the press release, however, as of yesterday morning, local USDA Service Centers had not yet received directions on how/where/when farmers should apply for direct assistance. They will inform local farmers as soon as the information becomes available and we will also pass on that information as soon as we have it.
Soil Temperatures and Seed Germination/Growth
This season’s warm March made it tempting to get an early start planting crops. However to give plants a jump on the season, resist the lure of warm air temperatures. Instead, pay more attention to your soils’ temperatures.
One might think the warmer March, not to mention the very mild January and February, and even this past weekend’s 70°F, would mean warmer soil temperatures by now than when retired colleague Ray Samulis originally wrote most of this post in 2014. Ray discussed recording 56-58°F temperatures from soils in various Central Jersey commercial vegetable fields on April 15 just before a multi-day cold front arrived. He had anticipated colder temperatures. Today, expecting higher temperatures, a quick sampling revealed soils nearly ten degrees cooler (48-52°F) than what Ray had measured.
What do soil temperatures have to do with your early vegetable seedlings?
- Mean spring soil temperatures determine nutrient availability, especially phosphorus which is closely related to early root growth, as well as nitrogen, hence, overall crop development.
- Knowing your earlier warming ‘hot’ fields can be reliable planting spots for cold tolerant vegetables, but monitoring the temperatures is the only way to know for sure. Germination temperature requirements for common vegetables are listed in the table below.
- Many of the same techniques (raised beds, clear plastic mulch, floating row cover, windbreaks) used to protect early warm season transplanted crops can also be used to warm the soil to give a boost to early direct seeded crops.
When it is sunny or when the wind is howling, judging the suitability for planting may seem clear. However, monitoring field specific soil temperatures and paying close attention to crop varietal cold tolerance (published by most seed companies) are better guides. Besides a soil thermometer, there are now many relatively inexpensive weather monitoring systems (from dataloggers that monitor individual parameters like soil temperature, to complete systems that will measure air and soil temps, wind speed, rainfall, and more – more on those in another post) that can be observed directly or can be linked to smart phones/devices and/or office computers miles away.
While it’s best to measure soil temperatures in your own fields, there are also online soil temperature reporting alternatives like the Rutgers NJ Weather Network. Twelve weather stations offer real time soil temperatures. Check the numbered station nearest your fields and bookmark the station. Syngenta GreenCast also offers broad regional soil temperature maps, with a 5-day soil prediction forecast feature, or you can put in your town and zip code for a local average (see figure 1). This is useful data when weather conditions are less than favorable and only narrow planting windows exist.
These temperatures represent vegetable seedling survival tolerance, not necessarily best performance:
Average Minimum Spring Soil Temperatures |
Vegetable Crop Tolerance for Reliable Germination |
40°F | Beet, Cabbage, Potato, Spinach, Turnip |
45°F | Pea, Mustard, Leek |
50°F | Carrot, Lettuce, Onion, Sweet Corn |
60°F and above | Bean, Cucumber, Pumpkin, Squash |
70°F and above | Eggplant, Watermelon |
Rutgers Ethnic Crops Research In The News
Dr. Albert Ayeni of Rutgers Department of Plant Biology summarized ongoing work of our Ethnic Crop Research Group exploring new crops for the diverse ethnic populations of the Garden State and beyond in an article published on HortDaily.com during the summer.
According to Ayeni, “Ethnic (or Exotic) crops present new opportunities for growers, produce marketers and consumers in New Jersey (NJ) and the Mid-Atlantic.”
As the season comes to an end and you have some more time to read, learn about four crops that Ayeni finds especially interesting at “Ethnic Crops Present New Opportunities for Growers in NJ and Mid-Atlantic”.
Protect Your Farm Workforce Now!
The threat of COVID-19 infecting one of your employees is real. The impact on your business could be devastating. A news report from North Carolina just confirmed the first case of a seasonal farm worker testing positive for the virus there. It can happen here just as easily, unless you are proactively helping your workers to protect themselves.
While it is not mandatory yet for field and packing house workers to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), common sense suggests supplying and requiring your employees to wear face masks and single-use gloves while working in close proximity to others. Last week, we suggested some basic practices to help with social distancing here. Our https://onfarmfoodsafety.rutgers.edu/covid-19-information/ website has been updated with new fact sheets concerning face masks for field workers, new publications in Spanish, as well as new sections on resources available in French and Creole French.
The health of your workers in the current situation is not only critical to the safe operation of your farm business, but also has potential to impact public perceptions about NJ agriculture. Concerns have been reported about seeing harvest crews picking and packing side-by-side in the field with no face masks. Even if you’ve been closely monitoring their health and none are sick, the drive-by public will only see they are not protected.
Don’t let that be the image they remember about Jersey Fresh produce.
TONIGHT – Spanish-language Training for Farmworkers and Farmers on Coronavirus
The Cornell Farmworker Program and the Finger Lakes Community Health Clinic will be hosting a webinar and Q and A, in Spanish, for farm workers and farmers. Dr. Canario, Medical Director of Finger Lakes Community Health will discuss the coronavirus, what it is, how to protect oneself, and what one should do now. He will also respond to questions submitted in advance. Mary Jo Dudley, Cornell Farmworker Program will moderate the session.
Farm employers are encouraged to share this with Spanish-speaking employees, and consider hosting a farm meeting since this will be broadcasted via Zoom.
Time: Monday, April 13, 2020 at 6:30 PM.
To register and submit questions, please visit: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScsocEZCwGgIiGi3V2X-d0Ws_Zq78k5XSeSqGVbIReE13Jw9w/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1
El Programa de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agrícolas de la Universidad de Cornell y
Finger Lakes Community Health (la clínica) invita cordialmente a los trabajadores agrícolas a una llamada gratuita con el Doctor José Canario.
“Los trabajadores agrícolas y el coronavirus: Lo que debe saber y lo que puede hacer ahora”
Doctor José Canario, Director de Medicina del Finger Lakes Community Health explicara el coronavirus y responderá a sus preguntas.
Por favor invite a sus compañeros de trabajo y familiares. La llamada será moderada por Mary Jo Dudley, Programa de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agrícolas.
Lunes, Abril 13, 2020
6:30 PM
Clic aquí para registrarse y enviar sus preguntas