Rutgers University | New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station | Pesticide User Responsibility

Commercial Ag Updates + Farm Food Safety

Rutgers Cooperative Extension Ag Agents provide updates on what they see in the field, upcoming events, and other important news that affects your operation, such as developments in on-farm Food Safety. Subscribe if you wish to be notified about workshops, meetings, and upcoming commercial ag events.
 
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March 21, 2023

Free Webinar: Marketing Your Farm – Agritourism

Wednesday, March 29, 12-1pm Eastern Time

Rutgers Cooperative Extension is partnering with other New England states to deliver agritourism education. A free webinar will be held to help farmers learn the three essential components of marketing your farm, with a focus on agritourism. Myrna Greenfield is the “Top Egg” at Good Egg Marketing and the author of Marketing Your Farm: A practical guide to attracting loyal customers and increasing sales. Ellen Parlee is the co-owner of Parlee Farms in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts, which offers pick-your-own fruit and flowers, along with a farmstand, bakery, ice cream stand, animal petting area, and a food trailer for lunch. Ryan Wilson is the co-owner of DeMeritt Hill Farm in Lee, New Hampshire, which offers pick-your-own apples/peaches/blueberries/Xmas trees, hayrides, school tours, special events, Cross Country running, and hiking trails and has a full commercial kitchen. The farm plays host to Torey Roderick Performance Horses and every October, the world-famous Haunted Overload. Lisa Chase from University of Vermont Extension will moderate the session.

To register see: https://uvm-edu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_e3WWWaq9SoaQSR8nVkotdQ

This webinar is free, but registration is required.

Filed Under: Christmas Trees, Commercial Ag Updates, Fruit, Organic Production, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: ,
March 21, 2023

Webinar: Incorporating Classes into Your Agritourism Business

Thursday March 23, 2023 12-1pm Eastern Time

Rutgers Cooperative Extension is partnering on a regional project with other New England Land Grant Universities to offer webinars related to agritourism in the northeast.

Join our speakers for Incorporating Classes into Your Agritourism Business, where they will share their experiences with offering, hosting, and teaching classes. As farm and food business owners, you are experts in your craft and likely face endless questions from customers and the public. Why not use this as an opportunity to offer classes, enabling your customers or the public to learn from your expertise? Classes can be tailored to a variety of topics and activities.

Susan Rigg is the owner of and cheesemaker at Whey River Creamery. Susan offers both introductory and advanced hands-on cheesemaking classes. Michele Capron is the co-owner of Lavender Essentials of Vermont. She offers numerous classes, including lavender wreath creations, cooking with lavender, native tea blending, herb garden, and make it – take it. Deb Hartshorn owns White Picket Farm LLC, offering a variety of class experiences, including soap making, creating terrariums, succulent bowls, and more!

To register go to: https://extension.psu.edu/incorporating-classes-into-your-agritourism-business

This webinar is free, but registration is required. You will need to create an account with Penn State Extension to register for this webinar.

Filed Under: Christmas Trees, Commercial Ag Updates, Fruit, Organic Production, Uncategorized, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , ,
March 13, 2023

The 2022 Census of Agriculture – There’s Still Time To Be Counted!

New Jersey farmers still have time to be counted in the 2022 Census of Agriculture, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Although the deadline for submitting the ag census has just passed, NASS will continue to accept completed census questionnaires through the spring to ensure all farmers and ranchers take advantage of the opportunity to be represented in the widely used data.

“My sincere appreciation goes to producers who have already completed the census. We want to partner with New Jersey producers to show the importance of New Jersey agriculture,” said NASS New Jersey State Statistician Bruce Eklund. “There is strength in numbers. The time to do your part is now. There is still time for farmers to respond.”

NASS will continue to follow up with producers throughout the spring with mailings, phone calls, and personal visits. Farmers and ranchers are encouraged to complete their ag census either online at agcounts.usda.gov or by mail as soon as possible.

Federal law under Title 7 USC 2204(g) Public Law 105-113 mandates that everyone who received the 2022 Census of Agriculture questionnaire complete and return it, even if they are not currently farming. The same law requires NASS to keep all submissions confidential, use the information for statistical purposes only, and publish aggregate data to prevent disclosing the identity of any individual producer or farm operation.

If you need a survey code or questionnaire, please contact the USDA, NASS Northeastern Regional Field Office, 4050 Crums Mill Rd., Suite 203, Harrisburg, PA 17112; Phone – 717-787-3904; eFax – 1-855-270-2719; or Email – nassrfoner@usda.gov.

NASS will release the results of the ag census in early 2024. To learn more about the Census of Agriculture, visit nass.usda.gov/AgCensus. On the website, producers and other data users can access frequently asked questions, past ag census data, special study information, and more. For highlights of these and the latest information, follow USDA NASS on Twitter at @usda_nass.

NASS is the federal statistical agency responsible for producing official data about U.S. agriculture and is committed to providing timely, accurate, and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , ,
March 10, 2023

2023 Pre-Season Farm Labor Meetings to be Held Soon

Sponsored by NJ Farm Bureau and Rutgers NJAES Cooperative Extension, two opportunities for farmers to learn about seasonal updates for farm labor will take place at two different locations. See below:

When: Wednesday, March 22, 7-9pm

Where: Cumberland County Rutgers Cooperative Extension Office, 291 Morton Ave., Millville, NJ


When: Thursday, March 30, 7-9pm

Where: Atlantic County Rutgers Cooperative Extension Office, 6260 Old Harding Highway, Mays Landing, NJ 08360

These meeting will consist of presentations on regulations pertaining to farm labor. The presenters will be from the Department of Labor, NJ DEP Pesticide Control Program, and NJFB. The topics discussed will be as follows. This will be an opportunity to ask any questions you may have going into the growing season.

• Worker Protection Standards Overview of new EPA WPS rules-NJ DEP Bureau of Pesticide Control
• Federal Labor Regulations Update & Overview of MSPA, FLSA and transportation -US Dept. of Labor
• NJ Labor Regulations Update & Overview Wage and Hour and paid sick leave -NJ Dept. of Labor
• Farm Bureau update

NJ DEP Licensed Pesticide Applicators can receive 1 CORE Recertification Credit for attending this event. 

For additional information contact: Ben Casella, New Jersey Farm Bureau, 609-393-7163

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: ,
March 2, 2023

NJDEP Bureau of Water Allocation and Well Permitting Workshops Held

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection coordinated workshops in the past two weeks to assist farmers with Agricultural Water Certifications/Registrations who needed 5-year renewals. Those farmers with certifications expiring in 2023 were invited by NJDEP to attend the scheduled workshops. NJDEP Staff visited the 4 counties: Gloucester, Salem, Burlington, and Cumberland to complete renewals for 2023. These workshops are an efficient way to make sure forms are accurate, complete, and acceptable to NJDEP – avoiding the need to mail back paperwork to correct any information. If a farmer receives an invitation in the future to attend these NJDEP coordinated workshops, it is really important to attend and update your forms.

If a farmer was unable to attend workshops, or their county did not have a workshop, they must complete the 5-year renewal form mailed by DEP and make an appointment with the County Agricultural Agent in their county to finalize the forms in order to keep their status current. County Agricultural Agents do not have access to obtaining the renewal packets and farmers must bring them completed to the appointment or contact NJDEP for another copy, if they cannot locate their copy.

As per the NJDEP’s instruction, Agricultural Agents are to complete an “agent irrigation calculations sheet” and sign off on the form prior the forms are submitted to DEP. The forms can also be reviewed during an appointment with the Agricultural Agent. All other portions of the form are the responsibility of the farmer to complete. Also, it is important to read all instructions – that includes having a written daily log of the last month water was used in the past year to submit with the 5-year renewal application.

If a farmer does not have an Agricultural Water Use Certification or Registration, they can contact the NJDEP using the information below to obtain the forms.

If a farmer has any questions, NJDEP asks they contact staff at:

NJ Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Water Supply and Geoscience, Bureau of Water Allocation and Well Permitting, Mail Code 401-04Q, P.O. Box 420, Trenton, NJ 08625-0420, 609-984-6831. Also see the website at http://www.nj.gov/dep/watersupply/

 

Filed Under: Blueberry, Commercial Ag Updates, Cranberry, Fruit, Nursery, Organic Production, Strawberry, Tree Fruit, Turf, Vegetable Crops, Wine Grape Tagged With: , ,
February 24, 2023

Last Two Food Safety Trainings Until Fall

March 1, 2023: Advanced Audits Online Training from 9:00-12:00

This online program offers growers a deeper dive into audit standards and on-farm food safety issues they face on their farms. Current hot topics in food safety will be discussed as well as how to foster a food safety culture on your farm, updates to the harmonized audit,  post-harvest sanitizer use and labeling and more! Certificates will be sent out to those who participate in this program.

$15.00 per person

Deadline to Register is February 27, 2023

March 15, 2023: Food Safety Training for Blueberry Growers from 10:00-1:00

Topics included horticulture sanitizer chemistry and how they work, a risk vs. hazard hands-on training, updates to the FSMA Ag Water Rule, an update on Traceability, what the New Jersey Department of agriculture found in 2022 during FSMA inspections and more.  Certificates will be sent out to those who participate in this program.

Where:

Philip E. Marucci Center for Blueberry and Cranberry Research

125a Lake Oswego, Chatsworth, NJ 08019

$50.00 per person (lunch included)

Deadline to Register is March 8, 2023

For more information or to sign up for both trainings:  Go to: https://go.rutgers.edu/8bgart4a

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Food Safety, Fruit, Vegetable Crops