The Rutgers On-Farm Food Safety Team and the New Jersey Department of Agriculture are now carrying out OFRR’s to help grower determine if they are ready for a Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Rule Inspection. The inspections will start in 2019 for operations with over $500,000 in fresh produce sales. The reviews, for these growers, which will take place during the 2018 growing season are free and confidential. A grower can sign up by calling 856-839-3377 or email Charlotte.Muetter@ag.nj.gov.
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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May 31, 2018
Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Gloucester County Has New Office Location
County Agricultural Agents, Michelle Infante-Casella and Hemant Gohil have a new office location in Gloucester County. The Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) Office in Gloucester County relocated last week. The new location is now at the Shady Lane County Complex, 254 County House Road, Clarksboro, NJ 08020. The entrance is on the right side of the main 3-story brick building, under the numbers 254; follow the sidewalk with gray brick pavers.
Entrance to the RCE of Gloucester County Offices down the sidewalk on the right.
The office also has a new phone number and Agricultural Agents and other staff can be reached at 856-224-8040 (Agriculture and Natural Resources is extension 1). This new complex provided by Gloucester County offers more office space and multiple options for educational programs. To the left side of the complex is a 4-classroom building, formerly the Gloucester County Fire Academy, that is now operated by Rowan College of Gloucester County, that can be utilized for extension education and other county-related events. The main office building has 3 conference rooms for small group meetings. RCE will still have access to the main auditorium at the former facility in Clayton. For more information about Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Gloucester County see http://gloucester.njaes.rutgers.edu.
April 20, 2018
North Jersey Fruit Twilight Meeting May 3, 2018
Sponsored by Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Hunterdon County
Date: May 3, 2018
Location: Donaldson Farms
358 Allen Road
Hackettstown, NJ 07840
Light Dinner for those who RSVP by May 1, 2018 to (908) 788-1339
Time: 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
5:00 pm Welcome/Introduction to Greg Donaldson and Donaldson Farms
Megan Muehlbauer PhD, RCE of Hunterdon County
5:05 pm Farm Tour – Tour will include high density apple planting, mature peach planting, strawberry planting and a brief overview of Greg’s extensive agro tourism operation
5:50 pm Mechanized Hand Held Peach Blossom and Fruit Thinning
Hemant Gohil PhD, RCE of Gloucester
6:00 pm Early Spring Updates from the Rutgers IPM Program
Dean Polk, State Wide IPM, Rutgers Cooperative Extension
6:15 pm Early Spring Disease Updates and Prevention
Norm Lalancette PhD, Specialist in Tree Fruit Plant Pathology, Rutgers Cooperative Extension
6:30 pm Strawberry Production Updates
Peter Nitzsche, RCE of Morris County
6:45 pm Early Spring Tree Fruit Insect Updates
Anne Nielsen PhD, Specialist in Tree Fruit Entomology, Rutgers Cooperative Extension
7:00 pm WPS Updates
Pat Hastings, Pesticide Safety Education Program Coordinator, NJAES
7:15 pm Use of the NEWA Model and Equilifruit Disc for Early Apple Thinning
Megan Muehlbauer PhD, RCE of Hunterdon County
7:00 pm Adjourn
ANTICIPATED PESTICIDE RECERTIFICATION CREDITS
April 5, 2018
South Jersey Vegetable Twilight Scheduled for 4/26
The South Jersey Vegetable Agents would like to invite you to our annual Spring integrated crop management meeting:
Vegetable Integrated Crop Management
Twilight Meeting
Thursday, April 26, 2018
6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
East Vineland Fire Hall
4931 Landis Ave. across from the Savoy Restaurant
(park behind the building and enter conference room door in rear)
6:00 pm Robots, Roselle & Resistant Basil, Finally!
– Rick VanVranken, RCE Atlantic
6:15 pm Respiratory Protection Requirements for WPS-labeled Pesticides
– Patricia Hastings, Rutgers Pesticide Safety Educ Program Coordinator
6:45 pm Soil Fertility, Liming, and Silicon Nutrition
– Joseph Heckman, Ph.D., Extension Specialist – Soil Fertility
7:15 pm Update on Herbicides & Restrictions in New Jersey Vine Crops
– Dr. Thierry Besancon, RCE Specialty Crop Weed Specialist
7:45 pm Pepper Variety Evaluations
– Dr. Wes Kline, RCE Cumberland
8:00 pm Vegetable Disease Control Options for Spring Crops
– Dr. Andy Wyenandt, RCE Vegetable Plant Pathologist
8:30 pm Vegetable Insect Pest Update
– Dr. Joe Mahar, Vegetable IPM Coordinator
9:00 pm Adjourn
Pesticide Recertification Credits have been requested for this meeting.
Hope to see you there!
March 16, 2018
Weed Survey for Specialty Crop Producers Using Organic Practices
Do you grow specialty crops and use organic practices? Meredith Melendez, who is an Agricultural Agent at Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Mercer County and Thierry Besancon, Weed 
Specialist, Department of Plant Biology at Rutgers The School of Environmental and Biological Sciences are conducting a survey to assess weed pressure and management strategies. This research is conducted through an anonymous 23 question online survey. The survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete. Anyone who is certified organic, transitioning to certified organic or uses organic production practices is eligible to complete the survey. Results will be used to assess programmatic impacts and develop future outreach efforts. This survey will open from March 2018 to April 2018.
To access the survey please click HERE!
If you have any questions about the study or study procedures, you may contact myself at 930 Spruce Street, Trenton, NJ 08648 or Melendez@njaes.rutgers.edu or 609-989-6830.
February 26, 2018
US Food & Drug Administration Announces Microbiological Surveillance Sampling for Fresh Herbs (Cilantro, Basil & Parsley) to Continue Through 2018
The US FDA has announced an ongoing surveillance program started in October 2017 will continue through 2018 until they collect at least 1600 samples each of fresh cilantro, parsley and basil. FDA inspectors will be visiting farm packinghouses, wholesale packers, domestic and import warehouses and shippers, as well as retail purveyors, From their press release,
From 1996 to 2015, the FDA reported nine [food born illness] outbreaks linked to basil, parsley, and cilantro, which resulted in 2,699 illnesses and 84 hospitalizations. Four of the outbreaks were linked to basil, three to cilantro, and two to parsley.
