Fruit Crops Edition

Seasonal updates on diseases, insects, weeds impacting tree fruit and small fruit (blueberry, cranberry, and wine grape). Fruit Pest Alerts are also available via this category feed.
 
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January 8, 2018

Save the Date – 2018 South Jersey Commercial Tree Fruit Meeting

Dear Growers,

The 2018 South Jersey Commercial Tree Fruit Meeting has been scheduled for February 15. The meeting will be held at, Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center, 121 Northville Road, Bridgeton NJ.

The meeting will consist of presentations on the horticulture, entomology, and pathology of tree fruits during the morning, followed by an included lunch. The Full program will be published in the upcoming weeks.

Pre-registration is required and a fee will be charged to cover the cost of morning coffee/pastries and lunch.

Pesticide Credits Category: Core (2); 10 (6); 1A (07); 3A (07); 3B (01); & PP2 (07)

For registration call or email:

Susan Bradbury at bradbury@aesop.rutgers.edu or (856) 455-3100 x 4101 or

Joan Medany at jmedany@co.gloucester.nj.us or (856) 307-6450 x1

For program details contact: Hemant Gohil at 856-418-6538 or email at gohil@njaes.rutgers.edu

Filed Under: Blueberry, Cranberry, Fruit, Strawberry, Tree Fruit, Wine Grape Tagged With: , ,
December 27, 2017

New Tax Law’s Impact on Agriculture

Distinguished Professor and Rutgers Cooperative Extension Specialist in Financial Resource Management Dr. Barbara O’Neill spent the last week before the holiday break analyzing the newly passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). In the process, she found some information about the law’s impact on farmers. She says basically there are 4 key impacts for agriculture:

  • Increased (doubled) federal estate tax exemption:  $11.2 million for individuals and $22.4 million for a couple (2018 figures), with proper estate planning.
  • 20% deduction on co-op payments to farmer members.
  • Lower tax rates for pass-through business income (new Section 199A deduction); “pass through” businesses include partnerships, LLCs, S corps, and sole proprietorships.
  • New farm equipment depreciation schedule: five years instead of seven.

Many of these changes are complex so first and foremost, she advises consulting your professional tax advisor to determine how they affect you personally.

There was also much debate among her peers about prepaying state and local taxes in 2017 in case they are eliminated or capped in the new law. The final conclusion is that if your municipality is able to collect property  taxes, prepayments are allowed and will be deductible on your 2017 tax bill. However, state and local income taxes are specifically excluded in the new law, so prepayment of 2018 income taxes are NOT deductible on your 2017 tax bill. Again, consult your professional tax advisor to determine if prepayments will benefit you.

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops
November 3, 2017

Rutgers Center for Remote Sensing & Spacial Analysis Presents DIY GPS & Drone Workshops

Wondering if/how you can use drones and GPS data on your farms/business? Workshops at Rutgers University Inn/Conference Center in New Brunswick will help you decide if you want to try it yourself –
Dec 11 – Use your Smartphone/Tablet for High-Precision GPS Data Collection
Dec 12 – Learn to Do-it-Yourself – Accurate Drone Mapping Made Easy
Register for one or both days here (preregistration discount ends Nov 15). Detailed agendas are online here or download the Workshop Brochure & Agenda (pdf).

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Cranberry, Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops
October 12, 2017

Food Safety Survey Looking for Responses from NJ Growers
A National Grower and Processor Needs Assessment currently underway is seeking additional input from the Northeast farmers and food processors who serve local markets. The Local Food Safety Collaborative aims to provide specialized training, education, and outreach. They are conducting a food safety survey until October 31, 2017 to help direct their resources to best enhance fundamental food safety knowledge and help small farmers and processors comply with applicable Food Safety Modernization Act regulations.
How will this work benefit the Northeast? The overall results of this survey will be shared with the region but with enough local responses, specific information relative to the NE can be determined, including identified barriers to implementing food safety practices, such as types of material and training needs for growers and processors.
The survey will take about 20 minutes to complete, is available in English and Spanish, and participants can choose to enter a raffle to win 1 of 20 $100 gift cards.  Responses are anonymous and confidential. The survey can be found at www.localfoodsafety.org/survey.
The Northeast Center to Advance Food Safety (NECAFS) is an FDA-funded Regional Center (RC) hosted by University of Vermont Extension, led jointly with co-directors from Cornell University, University of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania State University and The University of Maryland and in partnership with stakeholders from the Northeast Region.

 

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Fruit, Vegetable Crops
September 15, 2017

NJ DEP Surveying Irrigation Water Certs & Logs

A call from a local farmer late last week indicated an NJ DEP inspector had stopped by to ‘survey’ water use and had asked to inspect his irrigation records. The call was to say, “Thank you!” for having given him earlier in the year an irrigation pump log sheet to use. He had made a couple of copies and given them to his irrigation manager who has been recording the hours pumped every day. The inspector was happy to see that. The farmer was happier. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops
September 8, 2017

Fruit IPM for September 8, 2017

Borers, Rots, Codling Moth and Leafhoppers

Peach:

Lesser Peachtree Borer and Peachtree Borer: With the few fruit left on the trees in northern counties, there is not much going on except for the borer application that still needs to be applied. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Blueberry, Fruit, Tree Fruit