The Northeast SARE (USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program) makes grants available to farmers and partnerships to test your ideas. Lists of previous years’ Farmer and Partnership grant awards provide you an idea of the projects they have funded. [Read more…]

Does a pesticide applicator need to notify beekeepers when applying a pesticide? That depends on these three factors: the specific pesticide being applied, the distance to the bee yard, and whether or not the beeyard is registered with the NJDEP.

The NJ Pesticide Control Regulations, at NJAC 7:30-9.11, require that beekeepers must be notified when pesticides that are labeled as hazardous to bees are applied within three miles of a registered beeyard. Not all pesticide applications require notification. The types of pesticide applications exempt from this notification are spelled out in the regulation.
[Read more…]

Plan ahead this Spring for maintaining pesticide compliance: ensure proper pesticide applicator training and licensing; track and report pesticide storage inventory; and document pesticide applications in a central area to notify workers.

Up-to-Date NJDEP Pesticide Applicator Licensing

Pesticide Applicator Certification is designed to demonstrate a certain level of competency by pesticide users on the safe use of pesticides. Users of pesticides are classified as either private applicators or commercial applicators. Consult updated information on the NJDEP Compliance and Enforcement web pages to determine what you and your employees need to do for certification or recertification.

Note that per the Worker Protection Standards (WPS), employees who don’t apply pesticides but do work in areas where pesticides are applied will need appropriate training and will need to carry blue WPS “worker” documentation of that training.

Pesticide Storage Inventory

See Jack Rabin’s reminder, Pesticide Storage Inventory due May 1 to Fire Department, for storage inventory and cover letter forms to help make compliance more convenient.

Record and Post Notification of Pesticide Applications

The “central posting” viewing area is a Worker Protection Standards requirement serving to inform workers that pesticides have been applied. Pesticide applications must be posted within 24 hours of the application and records must be kept for a 3-year period.

Resources
NJDEP Commercial Pesticide Applicator Information
http://www.nj.gov/dep/enforcement/pcp/bpo-appcom.htm

NJDEP Worker Protection Standard Summary Sheet
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/enforcement/pcp/bpc/wps/inspection.pdf

Date: January 16, 2015 10am – 1pm

Location: Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Burlington County,
2 Academy Drive, Westampton, New Jersey 08060

Keynote Speaker: Peggy Fogarty, Executive Director at Keystone Development Center.
Ms. Fogarty has expertise in strategic planning and organizational development for farmer groups.

All NJ Farmers currently growing hops and NJ Farmers considering growing hops are invited to participate in this initial meeting to discuss interest in the creation of a NJ Hops Grower Association. Network with fellow hop growers to gain a deeper understanding of what’s going on with hops in NJ, financing opportunities, and industry needs.

No registration is required.
For further questions, contact Ag Agents William Bamka or Michelle Infante-Casella.
Meeting Flyer: Hops Growers Meeting
Contact number: 609-265-5050

NJAES Agritourism Team members will be speaking at the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention in Hershey, PA. This session will be held Thursday, January 29, 2015 in the Crystal Room, Hershey Lodge and Convention Center.

Risk Management in On-Farm Direct Marketing

• 9:00 Direct Marketing – Is It Right For You, Doing a Self Assessment
  Stephen Komar, Sussex Co. Ag Agent, Rutgers Cooperative Extension
• 9:30 Selecting and Training Employees to Improve Safety for Direct Marketing
  Michelle Infante-Casella, Gloucester Co. Ag Agent, Rutgers Cooperative Extension
• 10:00 Assessing Farm Safety When Inviting the Public on Your Property
  William Bamka, Burlington Co. Ag Agent, Rutgers Cooperative Extension
• 10:45 Right To Farm, Deed of Easement and Other Regulations that Impact Direct Marketing
  Brian Schilling, Specialist in Ag Policy, Rutgers Cooperative Extension
• 11:30 Food Aspects for Direct Marketing
  Meredith Melendez, Mercer Co. Ag Program Coordinator, Rutgers Cooperative Extension

Join Northeast SARE grants coordinator Carol Delaney for a lunchtime webinar on Friday, October 10th at Noon regarding Farmer Grants and Partnership Grants. Carol will cover topics ranging from the application process, designing a budget, choosing a technical advisor (for farmer grants) and the review process. There will be plenty of time for Q&A. Register online.

This year, Michelle Infante-Casella takes over the reins from Jack Rabin as Northeast SARE coordinator for New Jersey. Visit NE SARE, New Jersey webpage for information on programs and priorities.