Commercial Ag Updates — Page 128 — Plant & Pest Advisory

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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January 27, 2016 Hemant Gohil

February Events: Grapevine Pruning Workshop & More

Date: Wednesday February 17, 1:00 to 3:00pm
(rain date: February 19)
Location: RAREC Rutgers Agricultural Research & Extension Center
121 Northville Road
Bridgeton, NJ 08302

This winter pruning workshop for beginning as well as experienced grape growers will feature dormant pruning methods demonstrated by Rutgers NJAES and Cooperative Extension experts Hemant Gohil, Gary Pavlis, and Dan Ward.
There is no registration fee however pre-registration is required.
To pre-register, please call or email Joan Medany: (856) 307-6450; jmedany@co.gloucester.nj.us

Don’t Miss the 2016 NJ Ag Convention & Trade Show Wine Grape Sessions

Click link to view 2016 Convention Information & Registration
Tuesday February 9, 2016
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Wine Grape

January 15, 2016 Andy Wyenandt and Jack Rabin

2016 NJ Ag Convention & Trade Show

Date: February 9 – 10 – 11, 2016
Location: Harrah’s Resort & Waterfront Conference Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Sponsors: Vegetable Growers’ Association of NJ, New Jersey Blueberry Association, Garden State Wine Growers Association, Rutgers NJ Ag Experiment Station, & NJ Department of Ag

View 2016 Convention Information & Registration
View 2016 Educational Program

Trade show and educational sessions will open on Tuesday, February 9, at the Harrah’s Resort & Waterfront Conference Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The show will feature exhibits and displays from many of the industry’s suppliers and business associates. This year, the educational program features twenty-five sessions, including an all-day Farm Food Safety training session and Basil Workshop Session. Start 2016 off right: learn from the best, touch base with fellow growers, and earn re-certification credits, all in three jam-packed days.

2016 CVPR Daily passes for the trade show and educational sessions are available for $50 a person. NJ Vegetable Grower Association memberships are $100 for 2 people who may attend the trade show and educational sessions all day/every day. Click the Information & Registration link above for more information on hotel and meal reservations. Members receive the comprehensive 2016 Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations.

In addition, the 2016 State Agricultural Convention will open with its regular business session on Wednesday, February 10, and continue on Thursday, February 11, 2016. The meeting will focus on developing and setting a policy agenda for the industry over the coming year through the resolutions process. The listening sessions, during which members of the agricultural industry can provide on-the-ground experiences and ideas for policy, will also be an important part of the convention. This year’s listening sessions will highlight Locally Grown, as well as feature an Agricultural Agents Micro Speed Session, where county agents will provide an update on their current projects.

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Vegetable Crops

December 28, 2015 Andy Wyenandt

Dickeya (blackleg) White Potato Meeting Jan 7, 2016

Click to View Flyer
Date: Thursday January 7, 2016, 2pm
Location: Salem County Extension Office
51 Cheney Road
Woodstown, NJ 08098

We will review the effect of Dickeya (blackleg pathogen) on the 2015 white potato crop for better decisions regarding your 2016 potato seed orders. Presenter Dr. Steven Johnson, Extension Plant Pathologist at UMaine, has over 20 years of experience with potato diseases.

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Vegetable Crops

December 22, 2015 Rick VanVranken

Hobby UAS (Drones) – New FAA Registration Requirements

FAA Small Unmanned Aircraft Registration Begins 12/21/2015

Officially, they’re Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), but these days most folks call them drones. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) opened a new mandatory registration system for hobby/recreational UAS this week, just in time for the millions of new UAS they expect will be found under Christmas trees. If you’re anticipating such a package, be aware that the FAA has a very narrow definition of ‘hobby’ and ‘recreational’, which may mean a different registration and certification if you have any plans to use your new ‘toy’, er, ‘tool’ around the farm. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates

November 24, 2015 Meredith Melendez

FSMA Produce Safety Rule Now Final

The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety rule is now final, and the earliest compliance dates for some farms begin one year after the effective date of the final rule (see “Compliance Dates” below). The rule establishes, for the first time, science-based minimum standards for the safe growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of fruits and vegetables grown for human consumption. The FDA has created a factsheet highlighting the produce safety rule.

This rule was first proposed in January 2013. In response to input received during the comment period and during numerous public engagements that included public meetings, webinars, listening sessions, and visits to farms across the country, the FDA issued a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking in September 2014. The proposed revisions were designed to make the originally proposed rule more practical, flexible, and effective.

The final rule is a combination of the original proposal and revisions outlined in the supplemental proposal, with additional changes as appropriate. The definition of “farm” and related terms were revised in the final Preventive Controls for Human Food rule, and the same definitions of those terms are used in this rule to establish produce safety standards. Operations whose only activities are within the farm definition are not required to register with FDA as food facilities and thus are not subject to the preventive controls regulations.
[Read more…]

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

September 29, 2015 Jack Rabin

Update on Ag Worker Protection Standard

A pre-publication version of the Ag Worker Protection Standard Revisions has been posted on the EPA’s website. In addition, a document comparing new protections to existing protections is available. Per Nancy Fitz, US EPA – Office of Pesticide Programs, compliance with most of the new standards will be required in mid-December 2016. Thanks to Pat Hastings, Rutgers NJAES Pesticide Safety Education Program Coordinator, for the heads-up.

Agricultural Worker Protection Standard Revisions (314pp, 880K)