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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November 28, 2022

Two Food Safety Webinars

On December 8th there will be two webinars related to on-farm food safety.  The first is part of our Lunchtime On-the-Go On-Farm Food Safety Webinar Series.

Using Sanitizers in a Postharvest Setting: Selecting a Sanitizer and Understanding its Label

Presented by: Donna Clements, Produce Safety Alliance Coordinator and NE Regional Extension Associate, Food Science Cornell AgriTech from 12:00-1:00. This series is Free! Connect with computer, the mobile app, or by calling in! You will get the link to sign on or call in a few days before the event.

Growers are taught “the label is the law” but finding the right information and understanding what the language means can be difficult. This webinar will make understanding and following the label instructions more manageable in the postharvest setting and discuss the FSMA Postharvest water compliance requirements and timeframes.

At the end of the webinar participants will understand:

    • EPA labeling, what to look for and what it means
    • Ideal chemistries for use in surface sanitation and postharvest water
    • Best practices for sanitizing surfaces and postharvest water
    • Management of postharvest sanitation systems
    • FSMA Postharvest water compliance dates

To sign up or for more information go to: Rutgers On-Farm Food Safety Programs Deadline to register is December 5, 2022

Agricultural Water “Risky to You?”

The second webinar scheduled from 3:00-5:30 is a continuation of the prior webinar on agricultural water and will feature Dr. Don Schaffner from Rutgers University. He will explain what attributes of a water testing program need to be included if it is to be risk based. The webinar will consist of a one-hour presentation followed by 30 min of interactive Q&A.

Registration link 👉 https://virginiatech.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GKkO7INqSUGnhPVCdAZX_Q

 

 

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Food Safety, Fruit, Vegetable Crops
November 28, 2022

USDA Assistance for On-Farm Food Safety Expenses

We mentioned a new program from United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to off set some expenses to help an operation prepare for food safety requirements earlier this year.  The “Food Safety Certification For Specialty Crops (FSCSC)” will cost share expenses for:

  • Developing a food safety plan for first-time food safety certification.
  • Maintaining or updating an existing food safety plan.
  • Food safety certification.
  • Certification upload fees.
  • Microbiological testing for products, soil amendments and water.
  • Training.

The FSCSC application period for 2022 is June 27, 2022, through January 31, 2023, and the application period for 2023 will be announced at a later date. FSA will issue payments at the time of application approval for 2022 and after the application period ends for 2023. If calculated payments exceed the amount of available funding, payments will be prorated.

Interested specialty crop producers can apply by completing the FSA-888, Food Safety Certification for Specialty Crops Program (FSCSC) application. All documents and additional information can be downloaded at farmers.gov/food-safety.  The application, along with other required documents, can be submitted to the FSA office at any USDA Service Center nationwide by mail, fax, hand delivery or via electronic means. Producers can visit farmers.gov/service-locator to find their local FSA office. Specialty crop producers can also call 877-508-8364 to speak directly with a USDA employee ready to assist.

Farm Storage Facility Loans

A second program that has been available for several years is the farm storage loan program.  This covers cold storage construction along with equipment in a packing operations such as baggers, brush polishers, bulk bin tippers, cement flooring, circulation fans, dip tanks, conveyors, graders, refrigeration units, sizers, sorting bins and tables, trucks, washers, waxers, etc.  A grower may borrow up to $500,000 for up to 12 years.  If an operation needs to make major changes in a packinghouse or needs a refrigerated truck this program is worth considering.  Contact the FSA office listed above.

 RAM-AMS Harmonized GAP Assistance Program

The USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) and USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) have covered the cost of voluntary USDA Harmonized GAP and Harmonized Plus audits over several years.  This program ended with the announcement of the new FSCSC program.  If you have used the RMA program to cover your audit, seriously consider applying for the new program.  The advantage of the new program is it covers many things which RMA did not cover.

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Food Safety, Fruit, Vegetable Crops
November 15, 2022

NJ Governor Murphy Authorizes 2022 Bear Hunt

New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas Fisher shared today that Governor Murphy signed Executive Order 310 (attached) concerning the black bear population. EO 310 rescinds EO 34 and states that,

“…in consultation with the [DEP] Commissioner, I have determined that a regulated bear hunt that takes place on both state and private lands is necessary to protect New Jersey residents from harm and reduce the threat of tragic human-bear interactions, and I have concurred with the Council’s Statement of Imminent Peril; and

“WHEREAS, as a result of this emergency rulemaking, a Bear Hunting Season will take place pursuant to the Comprehensive Black Bear Management Plan and N.J.A.C. 7:25-5.6 from December 5 through December 10, 2022, and will be extended from December 14 through December 17 if necessary to achieve a 20 percent harvest rate;

 

Filed Under: Christmas Trees, Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , , , , , ,
November 13, 2022

Public Input on Draft Environmental Documents for Deregulation of American Chestnut Developed Using Genetic Engineering

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is inviting public comment on two draft documents involving a petition from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY) seeking deregulation of an American chestnut variety modified for tolerance to chestnut blight. The first document is a draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) that examines the potential environmental impacts, and the second is a draft Plant Pest Risk Assessment (DPPRA) that considers potential plants pest risks.

APHIS published SUNY’s petition on August 19, 2020, and solicited public comments for 60 days to aid the Agency in defining the scope and appropriate environmental documents. Following this, APHIS prepared an environmental impact statement to assess the potential impacts to the environment from deregulating the modified American chestnut variety. APHIS published a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS on August 6, 2021, and solicited comments for 30 days to further define the scope of the alternatives and environmental and interrelated economic issues and impacts for consideration in the DEIS.

APHIS is now seeking public comments on the DEIS and DPPRA for 45 days so the public may review our preliminary evaluation of potential impacts on the environment in consideration of the SUNY petition. You can view the Federal Register notice, DEIS, DPPRA, and supporting documents on the APHIS website. Beginning November 10, 2022, members of the public can submit comments through December 27, 2022, by going to www.regulations.gov and entering “APHIS-2020-0030” into the Search field.”- November, 9. APHIS PPQ Press Release

For more information go to: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/newsroom/stakeholder-info/sa_by_date/sa-2022/american-chestnut-ge

 

Filed Under: Christmas Trees, Disease Forecasting, Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf
November 4, 2022

Retraining and Upskilling Workers on Produce Safety Best Practices Webinar

November 17, 2022, 12-1 PM EST Free Webinar

Growers who attend this food safety trainings will leave with a ton of information to help teach their employees. This will help make the task more manageable with practice tips.  The webinar will be given  by Phil Tocco, Extension Educator at Michigan State University Extension.

At the end of the webinar participants will:

  • Understand how to verify training is working.
  • Discern what training is required for different employees.
  • Develop a process for training folks on your farm.

For more information on this free webinar or to sign up:  Go to: https://go.rutgers.edu/8bgart4a

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Food Safety, Fruit, Vegetable Crops
November 1, 2022

USDA Grain Transportation Reports

The USDA Grain Transportation Report is a weekly publication from the Agricultural Marketing Service. The weekly highlights cover snapshots by sector for Export Sales, Truck, Rail, Barge, and Ocean movements.

Past reports provide a snapshot of production costs and grain delivery to ports, and how grains were ‘moving’ along in the system. These reports are useful for penciling out capital risk. For example: 

October 8, 2015 report: National diesel fuel price $2.49

  • page 2, feature article: The importance of China to Grain Transportation and Logistics.
  • page 4, current transportation issues: slow demand for barge services. No significant rail disruptions.
  • page 4, grain transportation cost indicators: Using a base year 2000 = 100 value (biweekly value shown)
    • truck 165
    • rail 255
    • barge 359
    • gulf 147
    • pacific 126
  • page 13, barge movements, all commodities nearly all above three year trend since July.

October 25, 2022 report: National diesel fuel price $5.34

  • page 2, feature article: Using inspection data and services metrics to analyze grain rail exports.
  • page 4, grain transportation cost indicators: using a base year 2000 = 100 value (biweekly value shown)
    • truck 358
    • rail 332
    • barge 1112
    • gulf 284
    • pacific 262
  • page 12, barge movements, all commodities nearly all below three year trend since July.

For more indepth reading on these reports and more, see the website: https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/transportation-analysis/gtr-datasets

 

Filed Under: Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Uncategorized, Vegetable Crops