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.

Nursery IPM.

Choosing the Perfect Christmas Tree – Tim Waller & Bill Errickson Podcast on Ask the Agent

Just in time for the holiday season! Please listen and SHARE with clientele.

Listen to our NEW “Choosing the Perfect Christmas Tree” podcast by clicking here

Agents Tim Waller (Cumberland) and Bill Errickson (Monmouth) were invited by Rutgers – Ask the Agent – hosts Steve Komar (Sussex), Bill Bamka (Burlington), and Lisa Chiariello (Sussex), to discuss all things Christmas Trees in New Jersey.

The goal of this podcast was to provide the general public with an idea of what it takes to produce a perfect Christmas Tree. We discuss tree production, why Christmas trees cost what they do, variety considerations, complexities of this industry, seasonal offerings, tree care (cut vs choose and cut vs B&B trees), the importance of supporting local communities and traditions, as well as offering some resources for current Christmas tree operators.

Please share this podcast with your clients, and keep an eye for more podcasts to come.

 

Please visit the Ask the Agent Podcast Page for more interesting topics!

Online ‘Annie’s Project’ Course for NJ Farmers Registration Still Open

Offering important farm management lessons to help women* farmers succeed

Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) will present a new online version of the popular Annie’s Project, over the course of six weeks, one evening per week, starting this Wednesday, January 11. Registration (click here) is still open at the $100 price until the program begins and includes workshop study materials, and admission to the NJACTS (February 7~9). Annie Goes Online: Risk Management On Your Kitchen Table,” will be offered virtually via Zoom on January 11, 18, and 25; February 15 and 22; and March 1 from 6 – 9 p.m.

The course starts this week with an insightful session on transition, and managing marketing, financial and human resource risks by keynote speaker Wenfei Uva, co-owner of Seaberry Farm – a 36-acre specialty fruit and flower farm in Federalsburg, Maryland. Uva received her Ph.D. from Cornell University in agricultural economics and was an extension leader for the Cornell Horticultural Business Management and Marketing Program from 1999-2007.

An optional all day in person tax workshop on Thursday, February 9th will be offered at the 2023 New Jersey Agriculture Convention and Trade Show (NJACTS) in Atlantic City.

“As in the previous Annie’s Project programs, this workshop is designed to educate and train new and aspiring farm women on risk management strategies and provide tools for successful business management,” says Robin Brumfield, extension specialist in farm management, Rutgers Cooperative Extension.

Financial assistance, provided by Farm Credit East, is available to those in need. Funds are available on a first-come-first-served basis to those who apply by filling out a scholarship application.

Course topics include:

  • Labor recruitment and labor laws;
  • business income and cash flow management, as well as personal finances;
  • food safety and water use regulations;
  • insurance and taxes;
  • production relevant risk management related to:
    • soil fertility and soil health;
    • crop/livestock production budgets;
    • controlled environment agriculture;
    • storm water management;
    • livestock-poultry disease biosecurity; and
    • marketing and supply channels.

“New, aspiring, and current women farmers will gain educational training on the essentials of preparing a business plan, considered a vital roadmap to success for any business,” says Brumfield. Participants will also benefit from networking opportunities with their peers and other agricultural professionals.

*While targeting women as primary owners and partners in farm businesses, Annie’s Project training is open to all.

For more information about the program, visit Rutgers Farm Management Website. Material for this program is based upon work supported by USDA/NIFA under Award Number 2021-70027-34693.

 

NJ Governor Murphy Authorizes 2022 Bear Hunt

New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas Fisher shared today that Governor Murphy signed Executive Order 310 (attached) concerning the black bear population. EO 310 rescinds EO 34 and states that,

“…in consultation with the [DEP] Commissioner, I have determined that a regulated bear hunt that takes place on both state and private lands is necessary to protect New Jersey residents from harm and reduce the threat of tragic human-bear interactions, and I have concurred with the Council’s Statement of Imminent Peril; and

“WHEREAS, as a result of this emergency rulemaking, a Bear Hunting Season will take place pursuant to the Comprehensive Black Bear Management Plan and N.J.A.C. 7:25-5.6 from December 5 through December 10, 2022, and will be extended from December 14 through December 17 if necessary to achieve a 20 percent harvest rate;

 

Public Input on Draft Environmental Documents for Deregulation of American Chestnut Developed Using Genetic Engineering

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is inviting public comment on two draft documents involving a petition from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY) seeking deregulation of an American chestnut variety modified for tolerance to chestnut blight. The first document is a draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) that examines the potential environmental impacts, and the second is a draft Plant Pest Risk Assessment (DPPRA) that considers potential plants pest risks.

APHIS published SUNY’s petition on August 19, 2020, and solicited public comments for 60 days to aid the Agency in defining the scope and appropriate environmental documents. Following this, APHIS prepared an environmental impact statement to assess the potential impacts to the environment from deregulating the modified American chestnut variety. APHIS published a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS on August 6, 2021, and solicited comments for 30 days to further define the scope of the alternatives and environmental and interrelated economic issues and impacts for consideration in the DEIS.

APHIS is now seeking public comments on the DEIS and DPPRA for 45 days so the public may review our preliminary evaluation of potential impacts on the environment in consideration of the SUNY petition. You can view the Federal Register notice, DEIS, DPPRA, and supporting documents on the APHIS website. Beginning November 10, 2022, members of the public can submit comments through December 27, 2022, by going to www.regulations.gov and entering “APHIS-2020-0030” into the Search field.”- November, 9. APHIS PPQ Press Release

For more information go to: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/newsroom/stakeholder-info/sa_by_date/sa-2022/american-chestnut-ge

 

NEW: Rutgers Private Applicator 2023 Online License Renewal Assistance Available Daily Until October 31st!

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has released an announcement “Pesticide License Renewal Info 2023” to licensed applicators via email. The announcement is posted at https://www.nj.gov/dep/enforcement/docs/Pesticide-License-Renewal-Info-2023.pdf?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery.  See today’s companion post to the Plant & Pest Advisory entitled “Private Applicators: NJDEP August Mailing of 2023 Invoices & Recertification Credit Status“. All Private Applicators are now […]

Why Do Spruce Christmas Trees Show Interior Needle Discoloration?

Occasionally, observations of White Spruce (Picea glauca) or Colorado Spruce (Picea pungens) within landscapes, nurseries, & Christmas tree farms will show current needle growth having a blue or blue-green color, but with older, inner needles having lost the desirable color and turning pale or even yellow. Although sometimes seen on Norway Spruce, these symptoms are most common on the White & Colorado Spruce species. Sometimes symptoms can become dramatic and initiate both aesthetic and plant health concerns. Although the reasons for such symptoms can be from a complex number of conditions, a compromised root system is typically the underlying cause.

K & Blue Spruce2

Colorado Spruce showing symptoms of undesirable discoloration of older, inner needles. Photo Credit: Steven K. Rettke of Rutgers Coop. Ext.

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