Greetings Everyone, 2022 Wine Tasting and Evaluations meetings are scheduled. Participants are invited to bring their own wine releases. Each wine tasting will be followed by discussions. Please respond to below surveys, on harvest parameters, wine making processes, etc. That will also form the basis for the discussion. [Read more…]
October 4, 2022 Hemant Gohil
Tasting and Evaluations of New Jersey Wines – Pinot Noir, Coeur d’Est and Merlot
September 20, 2022 Michelle Infante-Casella
SARE Farmer Grants for 2023 – Webinar on October 4th
Multiple Northeast SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education) grant recipient Tommye Lou Rafes, of T.L. Fruits and Vegetables in West Virginia, is sharing her experiences to help other farmers experiment with new ideas through the Farmer Grant program.
At noon on October 4th, 2022, Rafes will join Northeast SARE Grant Coordinator Candice Huber for an informational webinar to assist farmers interested in applying for up to $30,000 in funding for projects beginning in March 2023. Registration is required and participants are encouraged to submit questions ahead of the event. The Call for Farmer Grant Proposals is currently available and the online system for submitting applications is opening soon. Applications are due November 15, 2022.
Northeast SARE Farmer Grants are perfect for farmers looking to grow through new practices. Rafes first learned about SARE while attending a Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) training. One of the professors hosting the meeting was a SARE reviewer who invited the attendees to apply for a grant. Rafes knew sustainable practices like using renewable-powered high tunnels to extend growing seasons could be good for business as well as the planet. “Growing in the winter months is a completely different way than you do in the summer months,” she said. “I decided to test varieties that were successful during the winter months as well as growing conditions that could be improved so that people would be more successful.”
Grant Coordinator Candice Huber says Farmer Grants are an opportunity for farmers to try things that could improve their operations. SARE funds can cover the farmer’s time on the project, any farm workers time spent on the project, supplies that are not capital purchase, technical support, soil testing and other budgeted items. Farmer grant projects generally are for one year.
If you have an idea and you need resources to really explore it, a Farmer Grant can connect you with those resources. This webinar will be a good starting point and participants must pre-register. See below.
To sign up for the October 4th webinar at 12:00PM go to https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/6516611235851/WN_RoG_IkMmSDGsduZwmFgKkA
For information about the application for SARE Farmer grants see https://www.sare.org/wp-content/uploads/Northeast-SARE-Farmer-Grant-Call-for-Proposals.pdf
For general information about Northeast SARE go to Northeast SARE Home Page – SARE Northeast
September 9, 2022 Hemant Gohil
Notes from the 2021 Chardonnay Wine Tasting and Evaluations Workshop
A Chardonnay wine tasting and evaluation workshop for winemakers was held on August 18, 2021, at the William Heritage Winery, located in Gloucester County. Chardonnay is one of the most suitable Vitis vinifera varieties for New Jersey for both north and south New Jersey. It is also one of the best white varieties for New Jersey in terms of consistency in ripening. It can be easily adapted in the winery for Sparkling, dry still varietals, and white wine blends. For example, a few wineries blended 75-80% Chardonnay with the remaining comprised of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Sauvignon Blanc. The responses to a survey weeks before the event formed the basis of discussion at the workshop. Winemakers also described how they accomplished each of their wines. [Read more…]
September 6, 2022 Thierry Besancon
Survey of cole crops and leafy green growers – novel weed control technology
Several university weed scientists from around the U.S. (Clemson, Cornell, UC Davis, Florida, Michigan State, Rutgers, Arkansas) have developed a survey as part of a Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) planning grant (SC-2021-07806 DEVELOPING A NATIONAL TEAM TO OPTIMIZE NON-HERBICIDE WEED MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES IN COLE AND LEAFY GREEN CROPS).
We would appreciate if you could share it with your constituents and cooperators (growers, crop consultants, extension personnel, industry partners) via newsletters, email blasts or other outreach efforts.
** WE NEED YOUR INPUT! **
Weed management in vegetables can be difficult due to a shrinking labor pool, which is becoming more costly to source, and a lack of effective herbicides. Research and extension efforts must focus on integrating novel weed technology into current crop production systems. Autonomous and semi-autonomous robotic weed control technology has been implemented by some vegetable growers, mainly in the Western US, but is not universally available to or adapted by many producers. This survey is designed to new tools of interest (e.g. precision sprayers or cultivators, electrical weeders, drones, etc.) for managing weeds in cole crop and leafy green systems as well as the environmental, physical and economic barriers to adoption. The results of this survey will benefit vegetable growers by enabling the research team to develop relevant and realistic research efforts informed by the needs of and constraints faced by our local stakeholders. Specifically, we will use survey data to develop a multi-regional USDA grant proposal to bring grower-specified technology to each our states for evaluation and demonstration under a variety of commercial conditions and provide growers with an economic assessment of their performance relative to current best management practices.
The survey is voluntary and anonymous. All replies will be de-identified. It should take less than 10-15 minutes to complete. The link is below.
https://clemson.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1IfwcgkAXC9i6h0
If you have questions, please feel free to contact Thierry Besançon, Associate Professor and Extension Weed Science Specialist for Specialty Crops, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, thierry.besancon@rutgers.edu.
August 23, 2022 Michelle Infante-Casella
2023 Farmer Grant Proposals from Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)
Do you h
ave an idea you would like to try on your farm that is related to sustainable agriculture? Stephen Komar, Rutgers SARE Coordinator and Sussex County Agricultural Agent, would like to announce that Northeast SARE will open the website for 2023 applications for Farmer Grants on October 1st. Approximately $750,000 has been allocated to fund projects for this grant cycle. Individual awards typically range from $5,000 to $30,000, depending upon a project’s complexity and duration. Projects must be related to sustainable agriculture and results are to be shared through a final report to SARE along with some type of outreach by the farmer as part of the project.
The online system for submitting proposals will open on Oct 1, 2022. Proposals are due no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on November 15, 2022. Go to Northeast-SARE-Farmer-Grant-Call-for-Proposals.pdf for more information.
Northeast SARE Farmer Grants provide the resources farmers need to explore new concepts in sustainable agriculture conducted through experiments, surveys, prototypes, on-farm demonstrations or other research and education techniques. Projects address issues that affect farming with long-term sustainability in mind. Northeast SARE funds projects in a wide variety of topics, including marketing and business, crop production, raising livestock, aquaculture, social sustainability, climate-smart agriculture practices, urban and indigenous agriculture and more.
The goals of SARE Farmer Grants are to help farmers try new things that could improve their operations and to share that information with others. There are also some other restrictions for budget items. Funds can be used to conduct the research project including paying farmers for their time, for project-related materials, for project costs like consulting fees or soil tests, and any communications or outreach expenses associated with telling others about project results. This grant program is not meant to help start or expand farm businesses. Farmer Grant funds cannot be used for capital costs associated with building a barn, greenhouse, or other major farm fixture, nor can funds be used to start a farm, purchase durable equipment like tractors or computers, or for any utility, telephone, or other costs that would be there in the absence of the project.
Farmer and employee wages can be included in a Farmer Grant budget for work done specifically on the grant project. Applicants should include a reasonable wage for their work on a grant project. In New Jersey, the current adverse wage rate used for the H2-A farm worker program is currently $15.54 per hour and could help gauge wages for employees time on the project. For farmer/project manager) wages, the rate to use would be higher and could be based on the complexity of the tasks on the project.
In addition, each project must include a technical advisor to assist with the project. Technical advisors can be anyone who is an agricultural service provider, such as your local cooperative extension agricultural agent, USDA personnel, an agricultural consultant, etc. In New Jersey and other states, SARE Coordinators are not eligible to be technical coordinators due to a conflict of interest of leadership in the program. Therefore, Agricultural Agents, Stephen Komar (Rutgers SARE Coordinator) and Michelle Infante-Casella (Rutgers SARE Assistant Coordinator) are not able to be technical advisors to grants. However, if you have questions about the grant process, they both can help answer questions or point farmers in the right direction to identify technical advisors.
A SARE Farmer Grant informational webinar featuring Tommye Lou Rafes, who has received multiple SARE Farmer Grants, will take place at 12:00 p.m. on October 4, 2022. This webinar information will help farmers thinking of applying for a SARE grant to learn about the process and types of projects that fit this program. To register for the webinar go to northeast.sare.org/farmergrantwebinar
The Northeast region includes Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Vermont, and Washington, D.C. Like other SARE Grants, Farmer Grants are competitive and will be judged against other applicants in the region.
To learn more about SARE project in New Jersey see New Jersey State Fact Sheet (sare.org)
July 8, 2022 Thierry Besancon
Update on Status of Dacthal Herbicide
DCPA (dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate) is a selective preemergence herbicide used for control of annual grasses (foxtail, crabgrass, barnyardgrass, goosegrass, fall panicum) and some broadleaved weeds (purslane, common lambsquarters, pigweeds) in vegetable crops and ornamental turf. Commercial formulations of DCPA include Dacthal® Flowable herbicide. Dacthal® Flowable is labelled for use on the following vegetable and fruiting crop groups: cole leafy vegetables, seeded melons (cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon), collards and mustard greens, horseradish and radish, onions, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and eggplants, strawberries.
- What is happening with DCPA, the technical ingredient in Dacthal® Flowable herbicide from AMVAC?
On April 27th the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice of intent to suspend (NOITS) DCPA technical registration in the U.S. The basis for this action was that AMVAC had not provided multiple studies required during the registration review. - How did AMVAC and key grower stakeholders respond to this action by the EPA?
According to FIFRA (Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act), AMVAC and impacted stakeholders had the opportunity to
appeal the NOITS within 30 days, which they did on May 27th. The purpose of the appeal was to obtain a hearing that would allow
evidence from each side to be presented in front of an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) appointed by EPA. - Did AMVAC and the grower stakeholders have the opportunity for a hearing?
No. The assigned EPA administrative law judge (ALJ) ruled on Friday July 1st that the NOITS was upheld without requiring a hearing. - How will that impact end use formulated products like Dacthal Flowable herbicide?
This decision does not impact formulated products (i.e., Dacthal Flowable). AMVAC’s customers can continue to sell, distribute, and
apply Dacthal Flowable. - What happens now in this process concerning DCPA?
The July 1st decision granted EPA the ability to suspend DCPA technical without requiring a hearing to examine AMVAC and
EPA testimony. AMVAC will appeal this decision to the Environmental Appeals Board. - Is the registration of the end-use product Dacthal Flowable herbicide impacted by the NOITS?
If you have used or plan to use end-use products containing DCPA, there are no consequences from that use or downstream
consequence for the crop you applied it to, now or in the future, from NOITS activities. Applications of Dacthal Flowable end-use
products remain legal and the established United States tolerances remain in place. - What are the next steps in this process? How will it impact the availability of Dacthal Flowable?
AMVAC can continue to manufacture, sell, and distribute end-use products until notification of the appeal process has been completed. AMVAC’s customers can continue to sell, distribute, and apply Dacthal Flowable. AMVAC is commitment to continuing to exhaust all options to defend DCPA. Outside of any legal proceedings, AMVAC continues to generate and submit to EPA the data necessary to fulfill the Data Call-In (DCI) Notices required to complete registration review for DCPA, regardless of the suspension status.
