The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will conduct the 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey, beginning in January 2021. First conducted in 2015, this Census of Agriculture special study will look at local and regional food systems and provide new data on how locally grown and sold foods in the United States are marketed. The results will be available in November 2021. [Read more…]
December 30, 2020 Nick Polanin
USDA Extends Crop Insurance Flexibilities Amid Continuing COVID-19 Pandemic
Through today’s announcement, USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) is extending crop insurance flexibilities for producers amid the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, relief provided for electronic notifications and signatures is extended through July 15, 2021; organic certification, replant self-certification and assignment of indemnity are extended through June 30, 2021. [Read more…]
November 1, 2020 Nick Polanin
Livestock Risk Management Webinar November 12, 2020 at 2 pm
The national Extension Risk Management Education Program and the United States Department of Agriculture are collaborating to deliver a webinar for agricultural producers and professionals focused on livestock risk management. [Read more…]
October 25, 2020 Nick Polanin
November Deadline Nears For Fruit Crop Insurance in NJ
The USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) wants to remind New Jersey apple, blueberry, cranberry, grape, and peach growers that the final date to apply for crop insurance coverage for the 2021 crop year is November 20. Current policyholders who wish to make changes to their existing policies also have until November 20 to do so. [Read more…]
October 13, 2020 Nick Polanin
Building Our Capacity: Newest Team Members in Crop Production and Field and Forage
Despite the many challenges 2020 has thrown at all of us, Rutgers Cooperative Extension’s Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources has been successful in filling two positions vital to NJ’s commercial agriculture industries. While these positions are located in Burlington and Salem Counties respectively, they greatly enhance our regional and statewide expertise and outreach resources. [Read more…]
October 7, 2020 Nick Polanin
Update – Agricultural Water Permits and COVID19
In accordance with the Permit Extension Act signed by NJ Governor Murphy on July 1, the term of certain governmental permits, approvals, and deadlines that were due to expire on March 9, 2020, or the specified period following it, were extended. In addition and in accord with the rules published in the NJ Register on Sept. 8, an official request for such an extension via a NJDEP website was required for approval of the COVID-19 extension period by October 8, 2020.
These requests were finalized today on behalf of the growers through information provided by NJDEP Bureau staff and the efforts of ANR Department members to obtain missing required information, updating spreadsheets, and inputting information online.
This effort encompassed 613 agricultural water permits across the state with expiration dates from 2020 through 2024. In consultation with NJDEP, it was decided to include a wide a window as possible to accommodate the unknown future regarding COVID19 and NJ’s public health emergency declarations.
Growers who currently hold an ag water permit and a valid email address should have already received an auto-generated email from the NJDEP website once their information was uploaded confirming a permit extension request. If the permit holder had no email on record, ANR emails were included and the county faculty or staff member received the confirmation email. These should be filed locally with the allocation permit information, and a printed copy shared with the grower as soon as feasible.
I want to acknowledge Terry Pilawski, Jennifer Myers, Matthew Myers, Christa VanHaren, Yvens Dessalines (NJDEP) and Monique Purcell (NJDA) who reached out to initiate this collaboration, and Talia Zirin, Amina Lamrabat, and our ANR members and county office staff across the state for assisting me in this important endeavor.
The accommodations provided by the Permit Extension Act of 2020 supplement actions taken by Governor Murphy by way of Executive Order and by the NJDEP to address the impacts of COVID-19.
