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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October 22, 2021

Fall and Winter Management of Ruminants

November 8, 2021 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM

  • Forage Management for Sheep Flocks
  • Winter feeding and management of ruminants
  • Parasite management in small ruminants

Presenters:

  1. Kara Riccioni, PhD Student at West Virginia University
  2. Dr. Michael Westendorf, Animal Science Extension Specialist/Professor at Rutgers University
  3. Hank Bignell, Sr. Program Coordinator, Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Warren County

Our guest speaker for this evening is Kara Riccioni

  • Riccioni was born and raised on a livestock farm in Hunterdon County, NJ. She grew up participating in the local 4H program and competed at many junior livestock shows with Polled Dorset and Natural Colored breeding sheep.
  • She and her fiancé raise and show Simmental cattle and sell feeder steers, show heifers, and breeding stock.
  • She received her BS degree from Penn State University in Agricultural Business Management. While at Penn State she was a member of the livestock judging team.
  • She received an MS degree from University of Kentucky in Animal Sciences focusing on Ruminant Nutrition and an MBA from DelVal University focused on Food and Agribusiness.
  • Riccioni is currently a PhD student at West Virginia University in the Resource Management program.
  • She previously worked for a farm seed company as a product manager for silage and forage lines and currently works for PA Small Business Development Centers as the Director of Agricultural Business Development.

 

Register for this event: https://go.rutgers.edu/RUruminant

 

 

Fall and Winter Management of Ruminants Rutgers Meeting 11-8-21

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock
October 18, 2021

Stay Safe on the Road During the Harvest

Autumn is harvest season on the farm, and farmers are rushing to get the harvest in before the weather becomes cold.  With harvest season getting underway, more heavy farm equipment is going to be out on the same roads as vehicle traffic, going from field to field, dramatically increasing the odds for accidents. During this season, it is important to be aware of the increased possibility of accidents and injury, especially when using farm machinery. One area to pay particular attention to is road safety while moving equipment. Here are some tips to help make sure the season is safe.

Truck drifting off the road

USDA Photo by Preston Keres

Make sure your farm vehicles and equipment are visible.

  • Verify that all lights and flashers on your farm vehicle are working properly.
  • Use warning flashers, flags, lights and slow-moving vehicle emblems on all equipment.
  • Apply reflective tape to machines to improve visibility for motorists at dusk.
  • Avoid traveling before dawn and after dusk if you can. If you need to drive during these times, ensure that your headlights are working. Headlights help you see and be seen.
  • Consider the use of an escort vehicle following with lights and flashers

Also, make sure you know the size of all tractors, vehicles and equipment. Be mindful of the height of your farm equipment and avoid power lines, low bridges and other overhead obstacles. Remember to communicate with fellow motorists on the road. Use turn signals and hand signals whenever possible to communicate with fellow drivers. Avoid distractions and make safety a priority on the road. Also, particularly important is to pay attention to when you are feeling tired and fatigued. Taking a break to rest is an important safety tool not to be overlooked.

This post was written by Bill Bamka, County Agricultural Agent with RCE-Burlington County. 

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , ,
October 14, 2021

Annie’s Project New Jersey Celebrates its 10th Anniversary with Important Workshop for NJ Farmers

 BY 

Workshop offers important farm management lessons to help women succeed

Inspired by Annie's Project logoRutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) is celebrating10 years of Annie’s Project New Jersey with a free, online workshop headlined by Bridget Behe, professor and extension specialist in marketing at Michigan State University.

The training workshop, titled “Annie’s Project New Jersey 10 Years of Empowering New Jersey Farmers,” will be held via Zoom on November 4, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Registration is currently open. The workshop is free, but participants must register in order to receive the link to attend.

“As in the previous Annie’s Project programs, this workshop is designed to educate and train new and aspiring farm women and provide tools for successful business management with particular focus on successful strategies to deal with the ongoing pandemic and post-pandemic,” says Robin Brumfield, extension specialist in farm management with RCE.

“In addition, this program focuses on topics within these areas of risk that present unique challenges to urban farmers,” she explains. A 2019 article on Annie’s Project New Jersey is currently the featured success story by the Northeast Extension Risk Management Education Center.

Participants will have access to invaluable tools to help sustain their farm business, including the expertise of keynote speaker Bridget Behe, who will answer the number one question farmers have been asking us, “How can farmers turn the new customers they got during the pandemic into permanent customers?”

Behe, a sought-after speaker at state, regional and national businesses and associations, provides helpful marketing and management practices designed to improve profitability and sustainability. Her website, “Marketing Munchies,” features short podcasts that use research-based information on horticulture marketing. Her podcasts can be accessed on Connect-2-Consumer or on a favorite podcast provider. Her recent peer-reviewed publications are also available on this website.

Also addressing participants will be Brian Schilling, director of Rutgers Cooperative Extension, whose presentation will focus on recent direct marketing and agritourism issues. There will be breakout sessions on the topics, Succession Planning, Marketing, and Production. The workshop will feature a panel of women farmers who will discuss what has worked and what they would change in their own operations, with a wrap-up presentation on building resilience by Brumfield.

Read more about Annie’s Project New Jersey at Rutgers. Find a detailed agenda of the workshop here. 

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates Tagged With: , , , , , ,
October 1, 2021

Postharvest Equipment Cleaning and Sanitizing Twilight Meeting 11/17/21

The On-Farm Food Safety Team will hold twilight meeting at the Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Bridgeton focusing on the cleaning and sanitation of postharvest equipment.

Topics to be covered:
Cleaning Packing Equipment
Difference Between Cleaning & Sanitizing
Sanitary Design of Packing Lines
Different products to use for monitoring pH and sanitizer concentration
Cleaning Harvest Equipment

Who should attend:
Fruit Growers
Vegetable Growers
Others interested in produce safety
Extension Education
Departments of Agriculture

Visit our upcoming trainings website for more information and to register.

Twilight Meeting

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Food Safety, Vegetable Crops
September 20, 2021

COVID-19 Vaccines Still Available For Farmworkers

At the request of the New Jersey Departments of Health and Agriculture, please read the following message:

Our offices are working diligently to ensure that all farmworkers are protected against COVID-19 for the fall season – to that end, we have developed a new survey to assess the migrant and seasonal farm worker population for the fall and to identify focus areas for COVID-19 vaccination support. We would greatly appreciate if you could please fill out the survey here (even if all your workers are already vaccinated for COVID-19): http://healthsurveys.nj.gov/NoviSurvey/n/zz2q2.aspx. Any information you provide will be confidential and used solely for supporting COVID-19 vaccination efforts.

Additionally, if any of your workers are not yet vaccinated for COVID-19 and are interested in receiving a vaccine, please feel free to contact Omolola Taiwo, Ph.D,  MPA, Executive Director, Office of Primary Care and Rural Health, Division of Community Health Services, New Jersey Department of Health, at njmsfw@doh.nj.gov.  Our team will ensure that you are connected with the appropriate resources to keep your workforce healthy.

Thank you for your support in keeping our farm communities safe and healthy!

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
September 20, 2021

Secretary Fisher Message on Vaccine Survey

A message from Secretary Douglas Fisher:

We are reaching out regarding COVID-19 vaccination support for you and your farmworkers. We are working to ensure that all farmworkers are protected against COVID-19 as we head into the fall season – to that end, if any of your workers are not yet vaccinated for COVID-19 and are interested in receiving a vaccine, please fill out this survey. We will be happy to connect you with the appropriate resources to keep your workforce healthy.

Additionally, if your entire workforce has been vaccinated, we would still appreciate if you could please fill out the survey  Any information you provide will be confidential and used solely for supporting COVID-19 vaccination efforts.

Thank you for your support in keeping our farm communities safe and healthy!

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Food Safety, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops