Register by November 12: https://go.rutgers.edu/n2sc89zn
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.
October 8, 2025 Michelle Infante-Casella
Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education – Farmer Grant Applications Available – Due December 9, 2025
The Call for 2026 Northeast SARE Farmer Grant applications is now available. Awards of up to $30,000 are available, depending on the complexity of a project. Proposals are due no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on December 9, 2025. The NJ SARE Coordinator is Stephen Komar, Agricultural Agent in Sussex County and Michelle Infante-Casella is the Assistant Coordinator for SARE in NJ. If you have questions you can send an email to Steve or Michelle, or contact your local county Rutgers Cooperative Extension Agricultural Agents who can assist and also provide technical assistance.
Northeast SARE Farmer Grants provide the resources farmers need to explore new concepts agriculture conducted through experiments, surveys, prototypes, on-farm demonstrations or other research and education techniques. Projects address issues that affect farming with long-term practical impacts in mind.
Farmer Grants are designed to be a strong starting point for farmers interested in pursuing grant funding of projects. Before starting their proposals, potential candidates identify a Technical Advisor who can provide non-farming expertise in areas such as research design, troubleshooting, and promotion. The Technical Advisor acts as a go-to support person throughout the grant project, making it easier on first time grantees and forging new relationships in agricultural communities across the Northeast.
Northeast SARE funds projects in a wide variety of topics, including marketing and business, crop production, raising livestock, aquaculture, hydroponics, silvopasture, and more.
Northeast SARE covers the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Vermont, and Washington, D.C.
The Farmer Grant program is specifically for farmers. Northeast SARE will be releasing calls for proposals for other grant programs in the coming months.
For applications, tutorials on farmer grants, and other important information about this grant program see the NESARE Farmer Grants Webpage.
September 29, 2025 Tim Waller
In-person CEU session – 10/20/25 – Cumberland Co. RCE
‘Core Pesticide Topics in Agriculture’
NJDEP Approved Credits [4 units each – CORE] [3 units each – PP2, 1A, 3A, 10] [1 unit each – 3B, 6B, 8C]
Register by calling (only): 856-451-2800 ext. 1
Date: 10/20/2025 (Monday)
Location: Rutgers Cooperative Extension – Cumberland County
Address: 291 Morton Ave. Millville, NJ 08332
Time: 5:30pm sign-in, 6:00-8:15pm lectures (please arrive prior to 6:00pm)
Cost: $30 fee per participant – only cash or checks will be accepted at the start of the event. Please make checks payable to “Rutgers The State Univ. of NJ”. Receipts will be available.
Seminars: (6-7pm) Back to Basics – Pesticide USE & (7:15-8:15pm) How Chemicals Work and Which to Use – Speaker: Tim Waller, PhD.
Note: October 7th – Ornamental Twilight meeting has been postponed until Spring 2026
September 22, 2025 Claudia Gil Arroyo
Networks to Reduce Risk: Annie’s Project – Info session
The program, “Networks to Reduce Risk: Annie’s Project Builds Viable Farms in Urban and Rural NJ” will include four unique field trips and a dynamic, six-part webinar series. The overarching goal of this program is to improve risk management strategies of urban and rural farm business owners by connecting them with interactive educational opportunities, practical resources, and each other. This program is open to all.
Interested participants can attend an upcoming informational session to learn more about the program objectives and activities, the expected benefits for participants, and receive information about program registration. The informational session will be held online via Zoom on Wednesday, September 24, 2025, from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm. To register for the informational session, please visit go.rutgers.edu/ntrrinfosession. Registration is required.
All questions can be directed to anniesproject@njaes.rutgers.edu.
This work is supported by the Northeast Extension Risk Management project award no. 2024-70027-42540, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Thank you so much in advance!
September 19, 2025 Tim Waller
Save the Dates – Sept. 23 (Final IPM webinar), Oct 7 (POSTPONED), Oct 22 (Core Credit, In-person)
Join us for the Final Ornamental IPM webinar Tuesday 9/23/25
Still time to Sign up (click here) for the final remaining 2025 session
Topics to be covered:
- Beneficial insect: Preying mantids
- Mums
- White pine aphid
- Eastern spruce gall adelgid
- Cooley spruce gall adelgid
- Hemlock woolly adelgid
- Spruce spider mite
- Southern red spider mite
- Hemlock rust mite
- Fall practices for sanitation
- Importance of fall irrigation in field settings
- Using horticultural dormant oil
- Questions to consider regarding your nursery IPM monitoring program
Please visit our new –Rutgers Ornamental IPM Program Website (click here)
More details and registration links to follow in the coming days – once CEUs and collaborators are finalized. NOTE: CEUs have been applied for but those listed below are not guaranteed. Both events are in-person in Cumberland County, NJ.
