Fruit Crops Edition - Blueberry Section

Seasonal updates on diseases, insects, weeds impacting small fruit (blueberry, cranberry, and wine grape). Fruit Pest Alerts are also available via this category feed.
 
Subscription is through the general Fruit feed available via EMAIL and RSS.

November 5, 2020

U.S. Trade Rep & International Trade Commission Seek Grower Input For Section 201 Blueberry Import Investigation

As you may have read in this week’s NJ Farm Bureau newsletter or heard about elsewhere, following-up on a side comment about unfair trade practices concerning produce imports from Canada on an earlier phone call regarding the impact of COVID-19 on NJ agriculture, Congressman Jeff Van Drew arranged a meeting for growers with USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Affairs Ted McKinney. The meeting last week was hosted by Frank Donio Inc. Owner David Arena at his facility in Hammonton.

While Under Secretary McKinney provided an overview of his role through the USDA in working on trade deals for US products around the world, there was also a frank discussion about the need for farmer input into current investigations by the US Trade Representative and International Trade Commission (ITC). Called a Section 201 investigation, the ITC studies data from the agricultural community regarding import-export irregularities that cause unfair/unequal market access for American products. Such has been identified in the blueberry industry (see summary here).

Since the meeting, Representative Van Drew’s Legislative Assistant Haddon Antonucci provided the following summary of actions needed by South Jersey blueberry growers to be represented in the current investigation, including a request for your immediate attention as you must respond using the attached documents by Monday, November 16, a little more than a week from today.

This is Mr. Antonucci’s summary “regarding the Section 201 blueberry import investigation.”

“For access to the entirety of documentation and timelines for this project, go to this link: https://usitc.gov/blueberries

“The most important action item is ensuring that everyone in the South Jersey agricultural community fills out the ITC questionnaire. … attached [is] the producer questionnaire, there are also importer and purchaser questionnaires available on the website. This questionnaire collects proprietary information and will be used to help the ITC evaluate the impact of foreign imports of blueberries on domestic farmers. Also attached is a letter explaining the questionnaire and a document with ID codes.

“In order for the ITC to recommend action, there needs to be demonstrable harm to domestic industry. It is very important … to get this information to the ITC [to] demonstrate [any] deleterious impact that these imports have had on South Jersey agriculture.

“Please fill out this form as it pertains to your operations, and please provide it to other producers in the community as it pertains to their operations, particularly if they have not been contacted by the ITC yet.

“The deadline for the questionnaire is November 16. The point of contact at USTR is Jordan.Harriman@usitc.gov . Send [your questionnaire to] that email address once … completed. Congressman Van Drew’s office would like to be copied on your submission email so that he can file a holistic submission on behalf of the entire South Jersey agricultural community. Please cc haddon.antonucci@mail.house.gov with your submission to the ITC.

And in answer to a question about his original message, he stated:

“This particular investigation pertains to blueberries exclusively. There are high level discussions regarding imports of bell peppers. It is possible that there will be another section 201 investigation later this year for bell peppers, but that has not been initiated yet.

Filed Under: Blueberry, Fruit, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , , , , ,
November 4, 2020

Statewide Wine Grape Twilight – III

The Wine Grape Twilight –III meeting is scheduled at 6 – 7 PM on Nov 10 (Tue). There is no registration requirement for this meeting. Please use the Webex link below for attending the meeting.

https://rutgers.webex.com/rutgers/j.php?MTID=m7a85d84aabb245de7dd9a70b05891f76

Topics

 Who Gets to Say When the Epidemic is Over?

Peter Oudemans, Professor, Small Fruit Pathology, Rutgers NJAES

Fall Weed Management Strategies for Vineyard

Thierry Besancon, Extension Specialist, Weed Science, Rutgers NJAES

Discussions on Questions and Observations

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Blueberry, Cranberry, Fruit, Strawberry, Tree Fruit, Wine Grape Tagged With: , ,
October 25, 2020

November Deadline Nears For Fruit Crop Insurance in NJ

The USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) wants to remind New Jersey apple, blueberry, cranberry, grape, and peach growers that the final date to apply for crop insurance coverage for the 2021 crop year is November 20. Current policyholders who wish to make changes to their existing policies also have until November 20 to do so. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Blueberry, Commercial Ag Updates, Cranberry, Fruit, Tree Fruit, Wine Grape Tagged With: ,
October 13, 2020

Fall “Ask the Ag Agent” Discussion Forum Wednesday, 10/14 at 7:00PM

Farmers and others are welcome to join this bi-weekly teleconference every-other Wednesday night from 7:00pm-8:00pm in October. The 10/14/20 webinar/call in event is the 3rd of 4 events. The last webinar in this series will be on October 28th. Events are hosted by Rutgers Cooperative Extension Agricultural Agents working with the farming industry.

This call-in or WebEx webinar event features updates on farm management, crop conditions, farm industry observations, agricultural agency programs and other topics discussed by farmers, agricultural agents and other agricultural service providers.

Some topics for this Wednesday include:
1. Status of the New Jersey Vegetable Growers Convention in 2021
2. Fall Season Updates

Hosted by Agricultural Agents Bill Bamka, Stephen Komar, Michelle Infante-Casella and Meredith Melendez, this bi-weekly communication provides a forum for discussion for farmers and all involved in NJ agriculture, including agricultural agency personnel, non-profit organizations and others.

To join the “Ask the Ag Agent” forum each week on a computer/tablet/smartphone via the WebEx Videoconference

Click Here to Join or use the link https://go.rutgers.edu/g4v4gy0x
To Join by phone call:
+1-650-429-3300 passcode 1202639477##

For this event and other Rutgers Cooperative Extension events see the NJAES Calendar.

Filed Under: Blueberry, Commercial Ag Updates, Cranberry, Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, Nursery, Organic Production, Strawberry, Tree Fruit, Uncategorized, Vegetable Crops, Wine Grape Tagged With: ,
October 8, 2020

Notes from the 2019 Cabernet Franc Wine Tasting and Evaluations

Hemant Gohil, Gary Pavlis, and Daniel Ward

A Cabernet Franc (CF) wine tasting and evaluation workshop for winemakers was held on November 25, 2019, at Unionville Vineyards, located in Ringoes. Cabernet Franc (CF) is one of the most suitable Vitis vinifera varieties for New Jersey with high-quality wine production, for both north and south New Jersey1. It is also one of the best red varieties for New Jersey in terms of consistency in ripening. It can be easily adapted in the winery for Rosé, dry still varietals, and in red wine blends. The responses to a survey sent two weeks before the event, formed the basis of discussion at the workshop. Winemakers also described how they accomplished each of their wines. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Blueberry, Cranberry, Fruit, Strawberry, Tree Fruit, Wine Grape Tagged With: , , , ,
September 30, 2020

Tips for Renewal of NJDEP Private Pesticide Applicators Licenses

RecieptRutgers Cooperative Extension Agricultural Agents have been receiving questions from farmers on what to do with the renewal applications they recently received from NJDEP Pesticide Control Program. The invoice may be somewhat confusing. So here are a few tips to help.

1. The $0.00 Amount Due is correct on the invoice. Farmers with a “Private” applicator licenses do not pay for licenses and renewals. So you do not need to send any payment and in the box where it says “enter the amount of your payment” enter $0.00.

2. The best way to complete this renewal is not to mail in the form, but instead renew online. CLICK HERE to renew your license online. YOU WILL NEED YOUR PAPERWORK WITH YOUR “INVOICE NUMBER”. Do not use the NJEMS Bill ID number, instead find the invoice number above.

It would be a good idea to print the screen with the confirmation that you renewed online, since the system does not send you an email confirmation. The screen also states, “License generation may take a few weeks”. So, please be patient and if you need to use your license number, continue to use the same number on your expired license for recertification credits, as your license number will not change. It also says to not send the paper forms once you did your online submission. See photo to the below for an example of the confirmation screen you will see when renewing online.Website

3. If you must mail the renewal, here are some TIPS:

a. You will need to provide your own envelope and a stamp when mailing back the forms.

b. Also, the form may be confusing since the bottom tab to return says to mail to Treasurer-State of New Jersey, while the “Reminder” section says to mail forms/letters to NJDEP Licensing and Registrations.

c. Do not mail the bottom tab and other information for renewal of your Private Pesticide license to NJDEP. It is to be mailed to the NJ Department of Treasury – as stated on the return portion at the bottom of the first page.

d. Fill out page 2 and check to see if all your information is correct on page 2. Do not forget to sign and date the bottom of page 2 before mailing with your “payment” tab from page 1.

e. It may be best to send these forms in using USPS “Certified Mail” or UPS or FEDEX to track that it was received. Your pesticide license is very important for your business and you would want to verify it was received.

If you need more assistance with pesticide licenses, contact the NJDEP. Contact information in the photo below.Zoom in of a reciept

Best wishes and we hope this information is helpful in renewing your NJDEP Private Pesticide Applicators License.

Filed Under: Blueberry, Commercial Ag Updates, Cranberry, Field, Forage & Livestock, Food Safety, Fruit, Nursery, Organic Production, Strawberry, Tree Fruit, Turf, Vegetable Crops, Wine Grape Tagged With: ,