Christmas Trees Edition
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Seasonal pest alerts and news about insects, diseases, and weeds impacting Christmas Tree production including Commercial Ag Updates (meetings and marketing); and Pesticide Program updates from the Rutgers Pest Management Office News Blog.
Companion Website Links:
Rutgers Weather Forecasting - Meteorological Information important to commercial agriculture.
EPA Requests Comment on Modernizing Pesticide Label System to Improve Safety and Accessibility
USDA Increases Minimum Annual Payment for Conservation Stewardship Program
Conservation programs with USDA have received unprecedented increases in funding and farmers should investigate programs to make improvements on their farm. One program in particular, is increasing the minimum annual payments to producers for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) from $1,500 to $4,000 in fiscal year 2024. The increase addresses challenges faced by small farms making participation more financially beneficial for smaller operations. The new minimum payment is available for new and renewed CSP contracts.
CSP offers technical and financial assistance to help agricultural and forest producers take their conservation efforts to the next level. The program is designed to compensate agricultural and forest producers who agree to increase their level of conservation by adopting additional conservation activities and maintaining their baseline level of conservation.
Examples of CSP enhancements that are suitable for being adopted by smaller scale and urban producers include:
- Planting multi-species cover crops
- Mulching with natural materials
- Establishing pollinator habitats
- Soil health crop rotation
Currently, an unprecedented amount of funding is available for CSP through the Inflation Reduction Act and Farm Bill. The Inflation Reduction Act provided $19.5 billion in additional funding for NRCS oversubscribed programs like CSP for five years. Inflation Reduction Act funds are available to help producers adopt climate-smart practices.
NRCS recently announced it increased the number of Climate-Smart Agricultural and Forestry Mitigation Activities eligible for Inflation Reduction Act funding for fiscal year 2024 through CSP, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). To learn more, download the list of practices and a fact sheet.
NRCS accepts producer applications for its conservation programs year-round, but producers interested in this cycle of Inflation Reduction Act funding should apply as soon as possible. Producers interested in EQIP should apply by DATE or CSP should apply by DATE for consideration this year. Funding is provided through a competitive process and will include an opportunity to address the unmet demand from producers who have previously sought funding for climate-smart conservation activities.
For more information about assistance available, contact NRCS at your local USDA Service Center.
REMINDER – VIRTUAL Horticulture Education Series CORE Edition – THIS Wednesday Night
In preparation for 2024 Nursery IPM training we invite ALL growers (nursery, greenhouse, floriculture, sod, Christmas tree, vegetable, row crops, landscape professionals) to attend the following educational sessions surrounding overall plant health and pest management principals.
NOTE: These free virtual sessions (on Zoom) will count as “in-person”, meaning all attendees will receive offered CEUs if they: have a live video feed (and are visible the entire time), upload a government issued photo ID + NJ Pesticide license prior via a secure Rutgers Connect folder (follow directions below, only the agents will have access to information for verification), and participate in poll questions.
Government issued photo ID and NJ Pesticide License upload (only required if you have not attended another seminar in this series) :
- Click here to upload BOTH your government issued Photo ID and Pesticide License prior to the meeting
- Upload directions: If you click on the photo ID upload link using a smart phone/tablet you will have the option of simply taking a photo of your ID and uploading it directly into the system. Otherwise, you can scan a copy of your photo ID into a computer and follow the directions at the upload link. If you are unable to upload documentation prior to the meeting, please contact Tim Waller for assistance (twaller@njaes.rutgers.edu).
- Please upload files of your photo ID and applicator license to the link above as; “Last name_ First_ Photo ID” AND “Last name_ First_ Pesticide License”
(Registration is for the entire duration (2 talks), you must be present for BOTH to receive any CEU’s)
Date: 10/25/2023 (W) – CORE Edition
Click here to register for CORE Edition Session
- Sign-in: 5:30pm (PLEASE SIGN IN EARLY FOR ID VERIFICATION)
- 6:00 – 7:00pm: How Chemicals Work and Which to Use – Tim Waller, Cumberland RCE
- 7:00-7:15pm: Break (if you don’t return credits can not be awarded)
- 7:15 – 8:15pm: Science and Application of Horticultural Sanitizers– Tim Waller, Cumberland RCE
- 8:15 – 8:30pm: Questions/Adjourn
- NJ Pesticide CEU’s: 4x units in CORE, 1A – 3A – 3B – 3C – 6B – 8C – 10 – PP2
Horticulture Plant Health Educational Series – Virtual – October CORE Edition (10/25)
In preparation for 2024 Nursery IPM training we invite ALL growers (nursery, greenhouse, floriculture, sod, Christmas tree, vegetable, row crops, landscape professionals) to attend the following educational sessions surrounding overall plant health and pest management principals.
NOTE: These free virtual sessions (on Zoom) will count as “in-person”, meaning all attendees will receive offered CEUs if they: have a live video feed (and are visible the entire time), upload a government issued photo ID + NJ Pesticide license prior via a secure Rutgers Connect folder (follow directions below, only the agents will have access to information for verification), and participate in poll questions.
Government issued photo ID and NJ Pesticide License upload (only required if you have not attended another seminar in this series) :
- Click here to upload BOTH your government issued Photo ID and Pesticide License prior to the meeting
- Upload directions: If you click on the photo ID upload link using a smart phone/tablet you will have the option of simply taking a photo of your ID and uploading it directly into the system. Otherwise, you can scan a copy of your photo ID into a computer and follow the directions at the upload link. If you are unable to upload documentation prior to the meeting, please contact Tim Waller for assistance (twaller@njaes.rutgers.edu).
- Please upload files of your photo ID and applicator license to the link above as; “Last name_ First_ Photo ID” AND “Last name_ First_ Pesticide License”
(Registration is for the entire duration (2 talks), you must be present for BOTH to receive any CEU’s)
Date: 10/25/2023 (W) – CORE Edition
Click here to register for CORE Edition Session
- Sign-in: 5:30pm (PLEASE SIGN IN EARLY FOR ID VERIFICATION)
- 6:00 – 7:00pm: How Chemicals Work and Which to Use – Tim Waller, Cumberland RCE
- 7:00-7:15pm: Break (if you don’t return credits can not be awarded)
- 7:15 – 8:15pm: Science and Application of Horticultural Sanitizers– Tim Waller, Cumberland RCE
- 8:15 – 8:30pm: Questions/Adjourn
- NJ Pesticide CEU’s: 4x units in CORE, 1A – 3A – 3B – 3C – 6B – 8C – 10 – PP2
Webinar: 2024 NRCS Funding Opportunities
Monday, October 16 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm EST
Join NRCS Soil Conservationist Kimberly Dalton and Natural Resource Specialist James Strehse for a webinar explaining 2024 NRCS Funding Opportunities.
REGISTER HERE
Whether you’re small or large scale, conventional or organic, there are NRCS practices that can apply to your operation. The presentation will include program information and guidance on how to apply with your local USDA service center.
Registration is through the NOFA-NJ website.
Reminder Insect Pests / Entomology 101 – this Wednesday night.
September sessions-
PLEASE LOG IN EARLY
In preparation for 2024 Nursery IPM training we invite ALL growers (nursery, greenhouse, Christmas tree, vegetable, row crops, landscape professionals) to attend the following educational sessions surrounding overall plant health and pest management principals.
NOTE: These free virtual sessions (on Zoom) will count as “in-person”, meaning all attendees will receive offered CEUs if they: have a live video feed (and are visible the entire time), upload a government issued photo ID + NJ Pesticide license prior via a secure Rutgers Connect folder (follow directions below, only the agents will have access to information for verification), and participate in poll questions.
Government issued photo ID and NJ Pesticide License upload:
- Click here to upload BOTH your government issued Photo ID and Pesticide License prior to the meeting
- Upload directions: If you click on the photo ID upload link using a smart phone/tablet you will have the option of simply taking a photo of your ID and uploading it directly into the system. Otherwise, you can scan a copy of your photo ID into a computer and follow the directions at the upload link. If you are unable to upload documentation prior to the meeting, please contact Tim Waller for assistance (twaller@njaes.rutgers.edu).
- Please upload files of your photo ID and applicator license to the link above as; “Last name_ First_ Photo ID” AND “Last name_ First_ Pesticide License”
Sessions: (You must register for each session individually, but only need to upload ID material one time for this series)
Date: 9/27/2023 (W) – Entomology 101 – Tim Waller, Cumberland County RCE
- Click here to register for Entomology 101
- Time: 6:00 – 7:00pm (5:30-6:00pm sign-in)
- NJ Pesticide CEU’s: 1A (2) – 3A (2) – 3B (2) – 3C (2) – 10 (2) – PP2 (2)
- Tim Waller will be discussing the basics of insect biology (entomology) as it relates to horticulture. Developing a baseline understanding of which are troublesome pests and which are beneficial will aid in pesticide management decision making approaches across horticulture.