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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February 27, 2025

Farmer Resource Fair in Somerset County

All New Jersey farmers are invited to attend this Farmer Resource Fair which will feature an array of agricultural service providers. In-between a light breakfast and a hearty lunch, there will be engaging presentations and opportunities to visit with service providers at their table displays. The program schedule, as well as a preliminary list of service providers who’ve confirmed their attendance, is included below.

The event will be held on Friday, April 11, 2025 from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm at the Ted Blum 4-H Center located at 310 Milltown Road, Bridgewater, NJ 08807.

Click here to register for this free event (registration is required). Please register by April 1, 2025.

This collaborative event is being organized by Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Somerset County, Somerset County Agriculture Development Board, and the State Agriculture Development Committee Next Gen Program. We hope you will join us! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Christmas Trees, Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops
February 26, 2025

TONIGHT: Farm Viability Extension Specialist Candidate Seminar

Kelvin Amon, candidate for Extension Specialist in Farm Viability, will deliver his stakeholder seminar “Willingness to pay for pest management information: Evidence from specialty crop growers” on Wednesday, February 26, 2025 from 7:00 to 8:00 pm. 

The seminar will take place at the Middlesex County E.A.R.T.H. Center located at 42 Riva Ave, North Brunswick Township, NJ 08902. We welcome you to attend in person, but a Zoom option is available. Email kbrown@njaes.rutgers.edu for Zoom attendance troubleshooting.

Wednesday, February 26, 2025 – Kelvin Amon

Flyer for seminar

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: ,
February 24, 2025

Stop the Bleed Training in Hunterdon County: Registration Open

Rutgers Cooperative Extension, in partnership with the Vegetable Growers Association of New Jersey and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, will host a Stop the Bleed training on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. The training will be held from 6:30-8:00 pm at the Amwell Valley Fire Company, located at 22 County Road #579, Ringoes, NJ 08551.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn the life-saving skills of pressure application, wound packing, and use of tourniquets. Attendees of this free training will also receive a complementary bleeding control kit.

Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Please complete our pre-registration form by Friday, March 14.

Questions? Email Kate Brown, RCE-Somerset County Ag Agent, at kbrown@njaes.rutgers.edu or call 908-526-6293.

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops Tagged With:
February 19, 2025

North Jersey Commercial Fruit Grower Meeting Program and Registration

NORTH JERSEY COMMERCIAL
FRUIT GROWERS MEETING

March 5, 2025
8:30 am – 3:30 pm
Hunterdon County Complex
314 State Route 12, Bldg. 1
Flemington, NJ
Program

Program Chair
Megan Muehlbauer, PhD
Agriculture and Resource Management Agent
Cooperative Extension of Hunterdon County

8:30 – Registration
Coffee and pastry, compliments of industry sponsors

9:00 – Welcome and Introductions

9:10 – North Jersey Tree Fruit IPM Updates
Kaitlin Quinn, North Jersey Fruit IPM Program Associate, Cooperative Extension

9:40 – Mycorrhizal Fungi Applications and their Effect on Soil Biology and Tree Health
Megan Muehlbauer PhD, ANR Agent, Cooperative Extension of Hunterdon

10:10 – Pest Updates for Tree Fruit in North Jersey
Anne Nielsen PhD, Specialist in Fruit Entomology, Cooperative Extension

10:40 – Weed Management Technologies for the Orchard and Vineyard
Thierry Besançon, Specialist in Weed Science, Cooperative Extension

11:10 – Compliance in Pest Management: Status Update for Chlorpyrifos and the Endangered Species Act
Janine Spies PhD, Statewide Program Leader and Agriculture Agent in Fruit IPM, Cooperative Extension

11:40 – Update on Farm Service Programs
Laura LaFevre, County Executive Director, Hunterdon/Somerset Office, Farm Service Agency

11:50 – Jersey Fresh Marketing Update
Joe Atchison III, Assistant Secretary, NJ Dept. of Agriculture
Christine Fries, Coordinator of Agricultural Marketing, NJ Dept. of Agriculture

12:00 – LUNCHEON (pre-registration required)

12:50 – What is New from Industry

1:10 – Understanding How Irrigation Water can be a Source for Soilborne Diseases in the Orchard
Kari Peter, Associate Research Professor Tree Fruit Pathology, Penn State University

1:40 – Bitter Rot in Apples What we Know and How to Control it
Kari Peter, Associate Research Professor Tree Fruit Pathology, Penn State University

2:10 – Pesticide Protection, Precautions and Procedures
Spencer Kerkhof, Environmental Specialist, Pesticide Compliance & Enforcement NJDEP

2:40 – What can the Rutgers Diagnostic Lab do for You

Rich Buckley, Director of the New Jersey Soil Testing & Diagnostic Services
Sabrina Tirpak, Laboratory Researcher II, Plant Diagnostic Laboratory Rutgers

3:10 – Pesticide Recertification Credits and Adjourn

NJDEP PESTICIDE RECERTIFICATION CREDITS ARE ANTICIPATED

 

Click here and fill out this form to register for the meeting then fax or email to:
Fax: (908) 806-4735
E-mail: kfrey@co.hunterdon.nj.us

If you have any questions please call Kim Crommelin: (908)-788-1338

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Fruit, pesticide credits, Tree Fruit
February 18, 2025

NJ Ag Convention Educational Session Summaries Available Online

The proceedings from the 2025 New Jersey Agricultural Convention educational sessions are now available online. Visit the Vegetable Crops Online website for this year, and previous years, proceedings.

Filed Under: Agrivoltaics, Commercial Ag Updates, Disease Forecasting, Field, Forage & Livestock, Food Safety, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Uncategorized, Vegetable Crops
February 17, 2025

CMC Board of Agriculture’s 2nd Annual Industry Night

If you are in Atlantic, Cumberland or Cape May County, you are invited to the 2nd Annual Industry Night:

Janine Spies, State IPM Program Coordinator for New Jersey will provide an overview of Integrated Pest Management and Pesticide Safety for New Jersey Agriculture. Spies’ talk has been approved for Pesticide Credits for CORE (2) and PP2 (2).

From 6 to 8 p.m. visit the Lockwood 4-H Youth Center for networking, food, and vendors. The Center is located on the Cape May County 4-H Fairgrounds, 355 Court House – South Dennis Road, CMCH, NJ 08210.

Additionally, a complimentary dinner, catered by Matt’s Family, Taste the Love!, is being provided by the Cape May County Board of Agriculture.

Industry Night is free, however, those interested in attending are asked to RSVP by February 26 to 609-465-5115 ext. 3607 or to capemayag@njaes.rutgers.edu.

Filed Under: Christmas Trees, Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Food Safety, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Uncategorized, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , , ,