Wondering if/how you can use drones and GPS data on your farms/business? Workshops at Rutgers University Inn/Conference Center in New Brunswick will help you decide if you want to try it yourself –
Dec 11 – Use your Smartphone/Tablet for High-Precision GPS Data Collection
Dec 12 – Learn to Do-it-Yourself – Accurate Drone Mapping Made Easy
Register for one or both days here (preregistration discount ends Nov 15). Detailed agendas are online here or download the Workshop Brochure & Agenda (pdf).
Rutgers Center for Remote Sensing & Spacial Analysis Presents DIY GPS & Drone Workshops
Food Safety Survey Looking for Responses from NJ Growers
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A National Grower and Processor Needs Assessment currently underway is seeking additional input from the Northeast farmers and food processors who serve local markets. The Local Food Safety Collaborative aims to provide specialized training, education, and outreach. They are conducting a food safety survey until October 31, 2017 to help direct their resources to best enhance fundamental food safety knowledge and help small farmers and processors comply with applicable Food Safety Modernization Act regulations.
How will this work benefit the Northeast? The overall results of this survey will be shared with the region but with enough local responses, specific information relative to the NE can be determined, including identified barriers to implementing food safety practices, such as types of material and training needs for growers and processors.
The survey will take about 20 minutes to complete, is available in English and Spanish, and participants can choose to enter a raffle to win 1 of 20 $100 gift cards. Responses are anonymous and confidential. The survey can be found at www.localfoodsafety.org/survey.
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The Northeast Center to Advance Food Safety (NECAFS) is an FDA-funded Regional Center (RC) hosted by University of Vermont Extension, led jointly with co-directors from Cornell University, University of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania State University and The University of Maryland and in partnership with stakeholders from the Northeast Region.
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NJ DEP Surveying Irrigation Water Certs & Logs
A call from a local farmer late last week indicated an NJ DEP inspector had stopped by to ‘survey’ water use and had asked to inspect his irrigation records. The call was to say, “Thank you!” for having given him earlier in the year an irrigation pump log sheet to use. He had made a couple of copies and given them to his irrigation manager who has been recording the hours pumped every day. The inspector was happy to see that. The farmer was happier. [Read more…]
Cranberry Growers’ Twilight Meeting
Ray Samulis, Agricultural Agent, RCE-Burlington, invites all cranberry growers to the
2017 Cranberry Growers Twilight Meeting
Tom Budd’s Farm
Retreat Road
Vincentown, NJ
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m
Tom has graciously offered a BBQ dinner you won’t want to miss beginning at 5:30 P.M., to be topped off with some special ice cream from his friend in Wisconsin. DO NOT EAT DINNER BEFORE COMING!
Agenda
5:30-6:00 p.m. BBQ dinner
6:00-6:45 p.m. Tour of the Farm
6:45-7:15 p.m. “Choosing Recommended Insecticides for Cranberry Insects”
– Dr. Cesar Rodriguez-Saona, Extension Specialist, Entomology
7:15-7:45 p.m. “Applying the Proper Fungicide for Root Rot”
– Dr. Peter Oudemans, Professor Blueberry/Cranberry Pathology
7:45-8:00 p.m. Local Forestry Update
– Sam Moore
8:00-8:15 p.m. “Herbicide for Use in Cranberry Bogs”
– Dr. Thierry Besancon, Extension Weed Specialist
8:15-8:45 p.m. “WPS Regulations Update and Pesticide Safety Training for Workers”
– Patricia Hastings, Program Associate Pesticide Management Office
8:45-9:00 p.m. Certification, Water Regulations and Program Wrap-Up
– Ray Samulis, County Agriculture Agent
Pesticide credits will be issued at the conclusion of the meeting.
East Vineland Vegetable Twilight Tuesday 4/25
Our annual Vegetable Integrated Crop Management Twilight Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 25, 2017, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at the East Vineland Fire Hall, on Landis Ave. across from the Savoy Restaurant (use 4931 Landis Ave, Vineland, NJ 08360 for your GPS, and please park behind the building to enter conference room door in rear).
Agenda
Pesticide Recertification Credits have been requested for this meeting.
Hope to see you there!
Checking Your Pesticide Recertification Credits and Course History
Roberta Lang is the Ag Resource Specialist at the NJ Dept of Agriculture who arranges the pesticide container recycling program. She reports there was a request at the Hammonton collection last Friday to provide the link to DEP’s pesticide control program where applicators can check the status of their credits and the courses that have been taken. I’ve also had recent calls from growers requesting this and it takes some searching to find it. Below are the instructions Roberta sent. You might want to bookmark whichever site below gets to the information you need most directly.
To review course history:
- go to www.pcpnj.org
- click on “Pesticides” in the middle of the page (this page has lots of other useful info, like pesticide training and exam dates, beekeeper notification registry, etc, as well as the link to recertification records)
- under “Credits and Courses” – click on
- follow instructions to get course history info (you’ll need your birth date, last 4 digits of your social security #, and pesticide license #).