- Read the solicitation completely (this is completely different from earlier program so need to reapply)
- Important to get the most up-to-date information from USDA’s acquisition staff.
- Two key submissions
- Adobe pdf
- Excel spreadsheet (don’t modify the template!)
- Submit questions to FFFBQuestions@usda.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.
Subscriptions are available via EMAIL and RSS.
USDA Farmers To Families Food Box Program – New Round Solicitation
Unsolicited Seeds From Foreign Sources
Several states are now reporting and you may have read or heard news reports of packets of seeds arriving in the mail from foreign shipping addresses that were not ordered. If you receive such a packet, DO NOT open or discard them. Rather, follow these directions from the NJ Dept of Agriculture:
UPDATED NJDA ALERT (https://www.nj.gov/agriculture/news/hottopics/topics200727.html)
We have been receiving reports of people receiving seeds in the mail from China that they did not order. Sometimes the seeds are sent in packages stating that the contents are jewelry. Unsolicited seeds could be invasive, introduce diseases to local plants, or be harmful to livestock.
Here’s what to do if you receive unsolicited seeds from another country:
This is known as agricultural smuggling. Report it to the USDA!
- DO NOT plant them and if they are in sealed packaging don’t open the sealed package.
- Take a photo of the package and seeds and send the photos to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture Joseph.zoltowski@ag.nj.gov and USDA SITC at SITC.Mail@aphis.usda.gov
- Maintain the seeds and packaging and send to the USDA Office located at 1500 Lower Rd, Linden NJ 07036 for evidence.
If individuals are aware of the potential smuggling of prohibited exotic fruits, vegetables, or meat products into or through the USA, they can help APHIS by contacting the confidential Anti-smuggling Hotline number at 800-877-3835 or by sending an Email to SITC.Mail@aphis.usda.gov. USDA will make every attempt to protect the confidentiality of any information sources during an investigation within the extent of the law.
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NYCAMH/NEC Farmworker Needs Assessment Survey
The New York Center for Agricultural Medicine & Health/Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety in Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing based in Cooperstown, NY is conducting a farm worker health needs assessment to help them better address worker health and safety needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. [Read more…]
Don’t Let Your Guard Down With Farm Worker Health
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical, indeed essential, role of farm labor in getting food from farm to plate. However, health concerns should not stop with a negative COVID test, especially if an employee or family member is exhibiting any of the ‘flu-like’ symptoms that are associated with corona virus.
A recent farm call was a reminder that working outside, especially during this July heat wave, exposes workers to a number of potential health risks that may present very similar symptoms and can be equally health, and even life, threatening. Recently published studies from the Rutgers Institute of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences suggest growing numbers of people worldwide are at risk of heat stress and related complications, including farmers and ag laborers working in high heat and humid conditions.
Harvesting and other activities along field edges, including going into the woods instead of using a portable bathroom facilities, also lead to a high risk of tick bites, which can also carry a number of diseases, many as or more debilitating than Lyme disease that most are now aware of. A recent story at Today.com suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic might lead to more tick-borne disease this year, quoting Rutgers entomologist and assistant professor Alvaro Toledo at the Center for Vector Biology with suggestions how to prevent tick bites.
It is critical for your employees’ health and well-being to get proper diagnosis and treatment for all of these ailments. This table illustrates how many tick-born diseases, as well as heat stress, all have potential symptoms very similar to those of COVID-19. Each is linked to additional resources at the CDC. In many cases, it may be the ‘other symptoms’ that may be unique to each disease and assist a medical practitioner with correct identification and lead to better verification with further testing.
Disease > Symptoms v |
COVID-19 | Heat Stress | Lyme Disease | Ehrlichiosis | Babe- biosis | Powas-san | Rocky Mtn Spotted Fever |
Vector* | Human | Black-legged Tick (a.k.a. Deer Tick) (I. scapularis) | Lone Star Tick (A. americanum) & Black-legged | Black-legged Tick | Ground hog(I. cookei), Squirrel (I. marxi) & Black-legged Ticks | American Dog Tick (D. variabilis) | |
Fever or chills | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
Cough | X | X | |||||
Shortness of breath/difficulty breathing | X | ||||||
Fatigue | X | X | X | X | |||
Muscle/body aches | X | X | X | X | X | X | |
Headache | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
New loss of taste or smell | X | ||||||
Sore throat | X | ||||||
Congestion or runny nose | X | ||||||
Nausea/vomiting | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
Diarrhea | X | X | |||||
Rash | X | X | X | ||||
Other symptoms | X | X | X | X | X | X | |
Potentially Deadly/Disabling |
X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
*NOTE – main vector listed, but many tick born diseases may be vectored by other species of ticks, or different species causing same disease may be carried by different tick species.
Make Sure Your Farm or Ranch Counts – And is Counted!
Did you know that according to the 2019 State Agriculture Overview for NJ, 3,900 acres of peaches yielded 5/tons per acre at a value of over $25.6 million dollars? Or that 3,500 acres of peppers were harvested in 2019, with a value of $45.8 million dollars? Or that 9,300 acres of harvested blueberries were valued at $85.3 million dollars in 2019? And in 2018, NJ ranked 4th nationwide in cranberry and peach production, and third in bell peppers?
Hackettstown Livestock Auction Results for July 14, 2020
This auction sells: lambs, sheep, goats, calves, beef cattle, pigs, rabbits, and all types of heavy fowl. Auctions are held every Tuesday with the first sale beginning at 10:30 am and ending with the last sale at 5:30 pm. Hay, straw, grain, and firewood are also for sale.
Hackettstown Livestock Auction
Farm Fresh Eggs available for purchase by the case (30 doz.) or by the flat (2&1/2 doz.) in the main office Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday. Also available some Monday’s and Friday’s but please call office first (908)-852-0444.
Click for auction results:
Hackettstown Livestock Auction Results for July 14, 2020