Rutgers University | New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station | Pesticide User Responsibility

February 22, 2018

Still Time to Register for North Jersey Commercial Vegetable and/or Tree Fruit Meetings

Morris County Agent Peter Nitzsche and Hunterdon County Agent Megan Muehlbauer indicate there is still limited time to register for two upcoming educational events they are hosting at the Hunterdon County Complex in Flemington:

What:  North Jersey Commercial Vegetable Grower Meeting
When:  February 27, 2018
Where:  Hunterdon County Complex, Flemington, NJ
For Program & Registration Details go to https://events.rutgers.edu/pdfs/North_Jersey_Commercial_Vegetable_Growers_Meeting_2018.pdf

What:  North Jersey Commercial Tree Fruit Meeting
When:  March 6, 2018
Where:  Hunterdon County Complex, Flemington, NJ
For Program & Registration Details go to https://events.rutgers.edu/pdfs/NorthJerseyFruitMeeting_Program_2018.pdf

NJ & PA PESTICIDE RECERTIFICATION CREDITS HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED FOR THESE PROGRAMS

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Fruit, Vegetable Crops
February 13, 2018

Robots in the Field – Online Videos Illustrate Automation from Seedling Production through Harvesting

When asked for the links to some of the videos I shared in this presentation at the 2018 NJ Agricultural Convention, I found that I had only included about half of the videos that illustrated my talk in the Proceedings book which will be available on the NJ Veg Crops Online Resources site shortly. What follows is the amended version of that abstract with all of the (complete) video links and/or company websites that I mentioned. It’s ‘complete’ now because I had used only small portions of many of these videos that are online, so you’ll have much more content to view than what you would have seen in my talk. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Fruit, Vegetable Crops
January 30, 2018

Be Counted – 2017 Ag Census Includes Questions On Value-Added Sales & Agritourism

Bruce Eklund, NJ State Statistician for the U.S.D.A’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, shared this reminder to please complete the Census of Agriculture by Feb 5, and

for winery operators, direct marketers and other value-added and agritourism operations, be sure to pay attention to a few special questions:

  • Include wine and other value-added product sales under (Section 24) Practices (Item 2);
  • Other Income From Farm-Related Sources (Section 32) includes Agri-tourism (Item 4); and
  • Production Expenses (Section 30) are important as it shows this contribution from agriculture to the general economy.

With the once every five year census started, your participation is important to accurately represent the New Jersey’s specialty crop industries. USDA/NASS mailed 2017 USDA Census of Agriculture questionnaires to known farmers in December.

If you have any questions regarding the survey, or if you may have been overlooked, please call 1-888-424-78288 or 717-787-3904, or visit https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/, where you you can complete the survey online. Growers who have already completed the survey online format found that it saved time!

Remember that individual responses to the Census of Agriculture are required to be kept confidential by law, and only aggregate data are used for publication. Census results are important in showing the economic impact and significance of agriculture for your County, your Congressional District, and New Jersey. Agricultural advocates will use your combined information to inform decision makers and the public about the importance of agriculture.

More information on the Ag Census is available at:

http://www.nj.gov/agriculture/news/press/2017/approved/press171206.html

and… https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Partners/index.php.

Please help by reminding your neighbors and thank you for taking the time to be counted.

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, Uncategorized, Vegetable Crops, Wine Grape
January 26, 2018

2018 NJ State Ag Convention Educational Programs Now Online

The 2018 NJ State Ag Convention and Trade Show will be open February 6-8 at the Harrah’s Resort and Waterfront Convention Center in Atlantic City. The final version of the educational program developed by Rutgers NJAES Cooperative Extension faculty and staff in conjunction with the Vegetable Growers Association of NJ and the NJ Dept of Ag has now been posted at  njveggies.org/convention. In addition to the agenda of educational sessions and workshops, you will find links to membership/registration and meal reservation information. As in the past, Tuesday and Wednesday programs are chocked full of concurrent sessions mornings and afternoons, followed by a day of more intensive workshops on Thursday. Please pay special attention to that day’s Food Safety and Fumigation Certification workshops that require separate pre-registration. Instructions are detailed in each of those workshop agendas.

A special added feature of this year’s convention will be a produce buyers discussion panel moderated by NJDA Division of Markets Director Tom Beaver in the Trade Show area at 5pm on Tuesday afternoon.

If you will be attending as a delegate to the policy sessions of the State Board of Agriculture, a separate program and registration materials are available from the NJ Department of Agriculture’s website.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Food Safety, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Uncategorized, Vegetable Crops
December 27, 2017

New Tax Law’s Impact on Agriculture

Distinguished Professor and Rutgers Cooperative Extension Specialist in Financial Resource Management Dr. Barbara O’Neill spent the last week before the holiday break analyzing the newly passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). In the process, she found some information about the law’s impact on farmers. She says basically there are 4 key impacts for agriculture:

  • Increased (doubled) federal estate tax exemption:  $11.2 million for individuals and $22.4 million for a couple (2018 figures), with proper estate planning.
  • 20% deduction on co-op payments to farmer members.
  • Lower tax rates for pass-through business income (new Section 199A deduction); “pass through” businesses include partnerships, LLCs, S corps, and sole proprietorships.
  • New farm equipment depreciation schedule: five years instead of seven.

Many of these changes are complex so first and foremost, she advises consulting your professional tax advisor to determine how they affect you personally.

There was also much debate among her peers about prepaying state and local taxes in 2017 in case they are eliminated or capped in the new law. The final conclusion is that if your municipality is able to collect property  taxes, prepayments are allowed and will be deductible on your 2017 tax bill. However, state and local income taxes are specifically excluded in the new law, so prepayment of 2018 income taxes are NOT deductible on your 2017 tax bill. Again, consult your professional tax advisor to determine if prepayments will benefit you.

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops
November 3, 2017

Rutgers Center for Remote Sensing & Spacial Analysis Presents DIY GPS & Drone Workshops

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).

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Cranberry, Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops