Using a high-efficiency wood or pellet stove can be a cost-effective way to reduce your home heating costs compared to other fuels like natural gas, fuel oil, or electricity. According to Penn State Extension, the greatest savings are realized when you cut your own firewood rather than opting to buy pellets or have cordwood delivered. However, there are several hazards associated with use of a chainsaw or ax for felling trees or splitting firewood; the CDC estimates 36,000 people visit hospital emergency departments annually for injuries caused by chainsaws. If you plan to cut your own firewood this winter, it’s important to keep safety top of mind. [Read more…]
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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December 10, 2021 Wes Kline
Produce Safety Rule Proposed Agricultural Water Revisions to Subpart E
Subpart E of the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule has been under review for some time. On December 6, 2021, FDA published in the Federal Register the proposed final rule. There is a 120-day comment period which ends April 5, 2022. Once the FDA reviews comments and publishes the final rule it will go into effect 60 days later. The proposed rule applies to anyone who produces fresh fruits or vegetables and sales over $25,000 annually.
Federal Register: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/12/06/2021-26127/standards-for-the-growing-harvesting-packing-and-holding-of-produce-for-human-consumption-relating. The proposed rule is 35 pages – 69120 to 69155 (small print). The actual proposed rule starts on page 69130.
The current agricultural water compliance dates are set to begin in January 2022, but
FDA intends to exercise enforcement discretion for the agricultural water requirements for covered produce (other than sprouts) while proposing to extend the compliance dates for ALL Subpart E provisions. More information about the proposed compliance dates will be announced in the Federal Register and we will publicize those dates when announced.
FDA is looking for comments that are thoughtful and substantive, containing real life examples and solutions will assist them in creating a document that better suits the needs of fresh produce farmers across the country.
The On-Farm Food Safety Team has started to review the proposed rule. We will be sending out more information with areas where you may want to comment in the next few weeks.
Following are the instructions for making comments:
Proposed Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption Relating to Agricultural Water: https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2021-26127.pdf
Submit electronic comments in the following way:
Comments submitted electronically, including attachments, to https://www.regulations.gov will be posted to the docket unchanged. Because your comment will be made public, you are solely responsible for ensuring that your comment does not include any confidential information that you or a third party may not wish to be posted, such as medical information, your or anyone else’s Social Security number, or confidential business information, such as a manufacturing process. Please note that if you include your name, contact information, or other information that identifies you in the body of your comments, that information will be posted on https://www.regulations.gov. If you want to submit a comment with confidential information that you do not wish to be made available to the public, submit the comment as a written/paper submission and in the manner detailed (see “Written/Paper Submissions” and “Instructions.”)
Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier (for written/paper submissions):
Dockets Management Staff (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
For written/paper comments submitted to the Dockets Management Staff, FDA will post your comment, as well as any attachments, except for information submitted, marked, and identified as confidential, if submitted as detailed in “Instructions.”
Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket No. FDA-2021-N-0471 for “Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption Relating to Agricultural Water.” Received comments will be placed in the docket and, except for those submitted as “Confidential Submissions,” publicly viewable at https://www.regulations.gov or at Dockets Management Staff between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, 240-402-7500.
Confidential Submissions—To submit a comment with confidential information that you do not wish to be made publicly available, submit your comments only as a written/paper submission. You should submit two copies total. One copy will include the information you claim to be confidential with a heading or cover note that states “THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.” The Agency will review this copy, including the claimed confidential information, in its consideration of comments. The second copy, which will have the claimed confidential information redacted/blacked out, will be available for public viewing and posted on https://www.regulations.gov. Submit both copies to the Dockets Management Staff. If you do not wish your name and contact information to be made publicly available, you can provide this information on the cover sheet and not in the body of your comments and you must identify this information as “confidential.” Any information marked as “confidential” will not be disclosed except in accordance with 21 CFR 10.20 and other applicable disclosure law. For more information about FDA’s posting of comments to public dockets, see 80 FR 56469, September 18, 2015, or access the information at: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2015-09-18/pdf/2015-23389.pdf.
December 10, 2021 Rick VanVranken
Impacts of Pesticides on Soil Health – Part II?
Disinformation, misinformation, bad science, bad reporting… the public is becoming more aware that one of the toughest challenges faced these days is sorting out what is good reporting (and good science), versus what is misleading or untruthful. It seems ironic that after my post yesterday, the following article showed up in my inbox this morning – Perspective: This pesticide ‘research’ is short on data, big on hype .
In this post, the author, farmer-agronomist Jack DeWitt, critiques a commentary in Scientific American magazine that promotes a ‘study’ conducted by the same authors of the commentary, who happen to be the director and research assistant at the non-profit Center for Biological Diversity, an organization with a stated agenda. Their ‘analysis’ published online in Frontiers in Environmental Science appears to be a legitimate review of previous scientific studies concerning the effects of ‘pesticides’ on soil organisms, again the current often-cited gauge of “soil health”, though in this case they focused only on soil invertebrates (worms and insects, basically) and ignored fungi and bacteria.
Standard scientific journal formats require ‘materials and methods’ sections so that one can read how a study was conducted and determine if the results are analyzed and conclusions drawn appropriately from the data and how that was collected. If properly reviewed in the pre-publication stage, poorly conducted studies and/or inappropriate conclusions would be cause for rejection of the manuscript, or at least would require a significant revision and/or further explanation of how the data supports the conclusions. Scientists reading articles with such flaws scratch their heads in wonder how they were published, and in very rare cases, if there is enough negative reaction citing improper methodology, analysis and/or conclusions, an article is recanted after publication. In this case, going back to the original scientific review, DeWitt illustrates how carefully selected data are misinterpreted and/or misrepresented to support the authors’ cause, er … conclusions.
Moral of the story… don’t take scientific reporting as gospel, even from respected media outlets, until you consider the source, the funding, and take a careful look at the original article, if it’s available.
December 7, 2021 Rick VanVranken
Washington State University Summary ‘Comparing Effects of Herbicides, Fertilizers, and Tillage on the Soil’
Sometimes (many times) following social media (SM) threads can lead down some interesting rabbit holes. With a lot of news, research, and programming these days focusing on soil health and ‘regenerative agriculture’ (which focuses on soil health impacts on climate – read more here and here), the following article from Washington State University’s Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources (CSANR) caught my eye when it popped up in my Twitter feed. In this post, Irrigated Cropping Systems Agronomist Andrew McGuire reviews the scientific literature for the latest (although the post is actually 3 years old now) analyses of impacts of pesticides, especially herbicides compared to tillage, and fertilizers on microbiological activity, organic matter, and soil structure, i.e. soil health. It may be surprising to find the science doesn’t support the ‘chemicals kill the soil’ narrative being portrayed these days.
Comparing effects of herbicides, fertilizers, and tillage on the soil
November 18, 2021 Michelle Infante-Casella
Commodity Classic Conference, March 10-12, 2022 in New Orleans
Registration and housing for the 2022 Commodity Classic is now open. America’s largest farmer-led
agricultural and educational experience will be held Thursday, March 10 through Saturday, March 12 in New Orleans, LA.
Early discounts on registration end Jan. 21, 2022.
Commodity Classic brings the agriculture industry together again in-person for the annual showcase of ag technology, crop production science, marketing intelligence, and farm innovation.
Commodity Classic features a schedule of over 50 educational sessions, a huge trade show with over 350 exhibitors featuring the latest technology, equipment and innovation, top-notch entertainment, inspiring speakers, unique tours, and the opportunity to network with thousands of farmers from across the nation.
A schedule of events is available at the Commodity Classic webpage.
Established in 1996, Commodity Classic is America’s largest farmer-led, farmer-focused agricultural and educational experience. It is presented annually by the American Soybean Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Sorghum Producers, and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers.
November 4, 2021 Andy Wyenandt
Nematodes in Atlantic Soybean Production Webinar
Nematodes consistently rank as a top yield robber of soybeans. Join us November 16 from 9:00 AM-12:00 for the Nematode in Atlantic Soybean Production Webinar to discuss nematode distribution and management strategies for the region. The webinar is free, but registration is needed for access to the zoom link. Registration information can be found at https://www.pcsreg.com/nematodes-in-atlantic-soybean-production-webinar. Topics of emphasis will include updates from regional nematode distribution surveys, assessment of soybean cyst nematode seed treatments, root knot nematode on-farm field trials, general management strategies, and how to collect and submit soil samples. Please email Alyssa Koehler akoehler@udel.edu with any questions.
