Vegetable Crops Edition
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NJDEP Bulletin on Pesticide Licenses Arriving Late Due to COVID: RE-ISSUED with CORRECTION
EPA Awards Funding to Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs for Farmworker Pesticide Training in New York, New Jersey and Puerto Rico
What produce safety concerns keep you up at night?
Work in or around produce safety? We have a new project that wants to know what produce safety concerns keep you up at night. In this anonymous online survey you will be asked to
rank your top five produce safety risk management areas that need improvement. The information collected will be used to guide Extension work nationally and the development of resources to help manage risks and comply with regulations.
This survey should take about ten minutes to complete and there is no direct benefit to you for completing this survey. The first survey question, the informed consent, must be answered yes in order to proceed through the survey. The informed consent will give you more details about the nature of the survey, the handling of any information collected, and contact information should you have questions about this survey. Anyone involved in the produce industry who is at least 18 years of age may take this survey. Please click on the link below to enter the survey. https://go.rutgers.edu/4tuxsrdf
COVID 19: NJDEP Updates its Alert on Pesticide Paper License Delays – Includes Directions to Print Online Report
COVID-19: NJDEP Updates Pesticide Certification Exam Launch Date
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.
