NORTH JERSEY COMMERCIAL
VEGETABLE GROWERS MEETING
March 11, 2026
8:30 am – 3:00 pm
Harvest Hall, Alstede Farms
100 Route 24
Chester, NJ 07930
Program
Program Chair
Peter Nitzsche, Agriculture and Resource Management Agent
Cooperative Extension of Morris County
8:30 – Registration
Continental breakfast compliments of industry sponsors
9:00 – Welcome and Introductions
9:10 – Vegetable IPM Update
Amanda Quadrel, Senior Program Coordinator – Vegetable IPM, Cooperative Extension
9:40 – Developing a Targeted Worker Training Program for Produce Safety
Meredith Melendez, ANR Agent, Cooperative Extension of Mercer County
10:10 – Update on Farm Service Programs
Kristen Lake, County Executive Director, Farm Service Agency
10:20 – Jersey Fresh Marketing Update
Christine Fries, Coordinator of Agricultural Marketing, Division of Markets, NJ Dept. of Agriculture
10:30 – Strawberry Disease Management: How Environment Changes the Game
Nancy Sharma, Specialist in Fruit Pathology, Cooperative Extension
11:00 – Resistance Management and the Pesticide Label – What You Need to Know
Kate Brown, ANR Agent, Cooperative Extension of Somerset County
11:30 – What is New from Industry
11:40 – Next-Generation Weed Management Innovative Solutions for Specialty Crop Productions
Thierry Besancon is an Extension Specialist in Weed Science for Specialty Crops
12:10 – LUNCHEON (pre-registration required)
1:00 – Updates on Disease Control in Vegetable Crops
Andrew Wyenandt, Specialist in Vegetable Pathology, Cooperative Extension
1:30 – Update on Rutgers/NJAES Agrivoltaics Crops Research
Daniel Ward, Associate Research Professor, Dept. of Plant Biology, NJAES
2:00 – New and Emerging Vegetable Pests
Patricia Prade, Extension Entomologist, Penn State Extension
2:30- Specialty Winter Squash for NJ Growers
David Hlubik, ANR Agent, Cooperative Extension of Burlington County
3:00 – Pesticide Recertification Credits and Adjourn. Attendees must be present for the entire program in order to apply for NJDEP credits
NJDEP PESTICIDE RECERTIFICATION CREDITS ARE ANTICIPATED
North Jersey Veg Meeting Registration 2026 then fax or email to:
Fax: (908) 806-4735
E-mail: kfrey@co.hunterdon.nj.us
PRE-REGISTRATION BY MARCH 4, 2026 REQUIRED FOR LUNCH
Directions:
Harvest Hall, Alstede Farms 100 Route 24, Chester, NJ 07930
Look for the Harvest Hall sign at the entrance to the driveway.
The entrance to the Harvest Hall driveway is directly across the street from Chubb Park ~¼ mile east of the farmstand.
If you have any question please call Kim Crommelin: (908)-788-1338
