There have been several calls today regarding a form letter required for farm laborers to travel to NJ farms during the current COVID-19 shut down. A draft Letter for Employee Travel Related to Critical Infrastructureis available from the New Jersey Department of Agriculture (this is in pdf format that must be retyped onto your company letterhead). The version, EmployeeTravelRelatedtoCriticalInfrastructure, is in a format that you can copy and paste onto your own letterhead and insert the appropriate company and representative information.
Selling Rutgers Plant Varieties? How to Get Your Business on the “Where to Buy” List
The COVID-19 shutdown has lead to a surge of interest in planting home vegetable gardens this spring according to this NY Times article. The Rutgers NJAES Rediscover the Jersey Tomato program provides a list of markets where people can buy Rutgers 250 tomato seedlings and other popular Rutgers varieties of tomatoes, strawberries, basil, habanero peppers, dogwoods, and more for planting, as well as produce grown from these varieties. NJ residents will soon be looking for outlets to buy Rutgers varietal seedlings and produce. (See link below if you would like to grow any of these varieties for plant sales.)
To be included on the 2020 list of where people can buy Ramapo, Rutgers 250, or the new Scarlet Sunrise transplants and/or tomatoes, and other Rutgers breeds, you can e-mail information about your business to: njfarmfresh@njaes.rutgers.edu by April 24, 2020. Please put “Commercial Plant Sales” in the e-mail subject line and provide the following information:
- business name
- contact name
- address
- phone number
- web address
- county
- indicate whether Rutgers 250, Ramapo and/or Scarlet Sunrise tomato transplants and/or tomatoes will be for sale and/or other Rutgers breeds and approximate availability dates (we also list Moreton and KC-146 tomato availability, so please indicate if you carry these varieties also).
For more information on the availability of Rutgers NJAES tomato seeds and POP materials for commercial production and sales, go to:
https://breeding.rutgers.edu/commercial-grower
For information on all Rutgers NJAES plant varieties, go to:
Communicating Science-based Information to Your Farm Market Customers
Good communication with your farm market customers is essential now more than ever to maintain their trust and support. Recommendations include telling, displaying and practicing science-based information about what you are doing to protect the shopping public visiting your farm or market. There is too much confusing misinformation available about how to protect yourselves and consumers so experts, such as Rutgers NJAES Food Safety Specialist Dr. Don Schaffner in this story, are working hard to provide credible resources to help you.
Just as we teach our Rutgers Master Gardener volunteers for answering home gardening questions, if you are searching the internet for information to answer customer questions, whether about the good hygiene and food safety practices you utilize in your facility to combat COVID-19, or for questions regarding your growing practices, look first for information on websites that end with a .edu (universities, colleges and extension), or .gov (federal/state/local government offices). In some cases, there are .org (organizations) websites that can provide useful information, but look for those whose content is backed by a scientific review board and/or has scientists providing the content.
Here is a short list of resources that will help you communicate science-based information to reassure your customers that you’re doing everything you can to provide safe and healthy food for them.
Signs and fact sheets on COVID-19 and Food
- COVID-19 Information for Growers, Food Workers & the Agriculture Industry
- Partnership for Food Safety Education/Fight Bac!
On the importance of eating fresh produce for healthy diets
- Health.gov
- Alliance for Food and Farming’s Safe Fruits and Veggies
COVID-19 Update – NJ Executive Order 109 Mandatory PPE Inventory Reporting Details
Since you received the alert below yesterday afternoon, new Cumberland County Ag Agent Dr. Tim Waller discovered the following details:
“[Both] inventory reports and donations of PPE can be made at this site:
“What does this mean? It is the current understanding that the state will not take PPE from companies at this time, but that could change in the future if the situation reaches a critical mass. Public health and medical workers may need these devices to provide care for ill COVID-19 patients.
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On March 23, NJ Governor Phil Murphy’s signed Executive Order 109 that includes the following impacting all NJ businesses:
“Inventory of personal protective equipment to be taken: Any business, non-hospital health care facility, or institution of higher learning in possession of PPE, ventilators, respirators, or anesthesia machines not required for the provision of critical health care services shall undertake an inventory of these supplies and send that information to the State by 5:00 pm on Friday, March 27. The Office of Emergency Management shall establish a process for affected entities to submit this information.”
Information on where to submit your inventory will be shared as soon as it is available.
In the meantime, New Jersey State Police working with the NJ Hospital Association has announced that anyone willing to donate PPE equipment should please email ppedonations@njsp.org to assist with this critical need.
From https://njbiz.com/together-want-help-njha-offers-can/, NJHA also suggests these ways to help:
- Support the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund, launched by First Lady Tammy Murphy to help New Jersey residents with the economic and social impact of COVID-19.
- Give blood. There is an urgent shortage of blood in our state. Blood donation sites are taking heightened precautions to protect those who give. The American Red Cross-New Jersey helps supply hospitals statewide; call ahead for appointment information.
Rutgers NJAES Plant Diagnostic and Soil Testing Services Still Processing Samples
The Rutgers Plant Diagnostic and Soil Testing Laboratories are currently closed to the public.
However, lab employees will be processing samples during limited hours and without extra support from student workers.
Instructions for submitting plant samples and questions to the Diagnostic Lab are:
- Samples may be shipped via UPS or FedEx (not via US Postal Service) directly to: Rutgers Plant Diagnostic Laboratory, Ralph Geiger Turfgrass Ed. Ctr., 20 Indyk-Engel Way, North Brunswick, NJ 08902. Please email us at rutgerspdl@njaes.rutgers.edu to inform us when to expect your sample (please provide tracking information if available).
- Hand deliveries of samples may be left in the hallway at our front door. Please email us at rutgerspdl@njaes.rutgers.edu to inform us that you have dropped off a sample.
- For questions, the best way to reach the lab staff is via email to rutgerspdl@njaes.rutgers.edu as we may have limited access to voicemail.
To for submit soil samples and questions to the Soils Testing Lab:
- Soil samples may be mailed via the US Postal Service or shipped UPS or FedEx to: Rutgers Soil Testing Laboratory, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 57 US Highway 1, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8554.
- In-person visits for dropping off samples are not permitted.
- Soil testing kits can be mailed, or for clients without soil testing kits, sampling instructions and the soil test questionnaires are available on the NJAES/soil-testing-lab webpage: How to Have Your Soil Tested. It is important to select the correct kit/questionnaire for the type of soil you are testing and the analysis required.
- For questions, the best way to reach the lab staff is via email to: soiltest@njaes.rutgers.edu as we may have limited coverage of phones.
With limited hours and no student workers to assist, please anticipate slower turnaround times. We thank you for your patience.
Rutgers Cooperative Extension Working Through COVID-19
To learn the status of your Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) office, please visit the County Office tab at njaes.rutgers.edu. Note that the status of office access listed below is subject to change in this current state of emergency. Personnel in most offices are working remotely or in offices with restricted access, but are still available to assist via mail, phone or email.
From RCE Director Dr. Brian Schilling,
“…Cooperative Extension… continue[s] to operate under the directive that all Rutgers Cooperative Extension events, programs, and noncredit classes involving groups larger than 15 participants are to be cancelled through at least April 3. Significant progress is being made with the movement of programs and associate resources into online formats.
“Over the past week, RCE county offices have begun altering their operations to promote social distancing and continue programs/service provision, as is feasible. RCE and county government partners are working to ensure continuity of operations, which in many instances involves remote work arrangements and/or restrictions of the public to county facilities. The [current] operating status of our county offices is as follows:
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- Closed – 9 offices (Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Essex, Mercer, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Union)
- Open, Public Access Limited – 10 offices (Atlantic, Bergen, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Salem, Warren)
- Open, No Restrictions – 1 office (Sussex)