The registration deadline is fast approaching for our December 5 and 6, 2024 Remote Food Safety Modernization Act: Produce Safety Rule Training. This training fulfills the requirements of the Food and Drug Administration that at least one person from each farm that produces fresh fruits and vegetables needs to receive a standardized curriculum recognized by the FDA. This class runs from 9:00-1:00 EST and both days are required to receive the certificate. The deadline to register is Sunday, November 17, 2024, exceptions to this deadline cannot be made due to the nature of the remote program and the need for participants to have a copy of the Growers Training Manual prior to the training. Without the manual at the time of training participants will not receive a certificate. Manual will be mailed to all registered participants. For more information and to sign up for the class go to https://onfarmfoodsafety.rutgers.edu/trainings.
Vegetable Crops Edition
Seasonal updates and alerts on insects, diseases, and weeds impacting vegetable crops. New Jersey Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations updates between annual publication issues are included.
Subscriptions are available via EMAIL and RSS.
Quick Links:
NJ Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations
Rutgers Weather Forecasting - Meteorological Information important to commercial agriculture.
Vegetable IPM Program – Corn Earworm Monitoring
Corn Earworm Monitoring – Moving Forward
It is likely that blacklight trapping will not be continued in the Rutgers Vegetable IPM Program beginning in 2025, due to the unavailability of the specific bulb that has been the standard for blacklight traps for decades. Under these circumstances, the IPM Program will rely on pheromone trapping to determine levels of important crop pests such as the corn earworm (CEW).
The 30” Hartstack trap (see photo at right by K. Albright of Purdue Univ.), also called the Texas pheromone trap (TPT), which is used in the Rutgers IPM Program, as well as many insect monitoring programs in other states, is the best tool for determining spray intervals on silking sweet corn to limit CEW injury. A number of New Jersey sweet corn growers already have one or more TPTs on the farm, but we encourage all growers of this crop to obtain at least one.
Deploying Traps
The TPT is mounted on ½” rebar set at a height of approximately 4’. The trap is baited with one Hercon Luretape Corn Earworm Lure, available from Great Lakes IPM®. An additional lure is added every two weeks, and the trap should always be deployed directly adjacent to sweet corn expressing fresh silks. This means that the trap should be moved frequently during the season.
Building or Buying Traps
The TPT is relatively simple to manufacture, and the University of Kentucky has posted the plans and parts list for making these traps in the growers’ shops. The UKy site for trap design is: https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef010
For those who wish to purchase this trap rather than making their own, TPTs are available from Mike “O” Olsowski in Geneva, NY. Mr. Olsowski has made a number of TPT tops for the Rutgers IPM Program and is willing to make and ship these traps to New Jersey growers. Contact information for Mike “O” Olsowski :
Mike “O” Olsowski
3510 Sutton Rd.
Geneva, NY 14456
Phone: 315-651-5929
Recording Catches
Current silk spray intervals based on corn earworm catches in the 30″ Hartstack trap were developed by the Univ. of Delaware some time ago, and are represented on the following chart, which may be printed and posted in a convenient site on the farm so that growers can record the catch and determine a silk spray schedule. This trap record also includes spaces for other insects for which commercial pheromones are available, including beet armyworm and fall armyworm. Contact information for Rutgers Vegetable IPM Program staff (currently, Amanda Quadrel) is also included on the chart.
Financial Assistance for Food Safety Certification and Training
This is the chance for eligible fresh fruit and vegetable growers to recover some of their expenses for implementing food safety practices on their farms.
For 2024:
- Applications are due between July 1, 2024 and January 31, 2025
- Eligible expenses must be between June 26, 2024 and December 31, 2024
For 2025:
- Application is due between January 1, 2025 and January 1, 2026
- Eligible expenses must be between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025
Eligible specialty crop operations can apply for Food Safety Certification for Specialty Crops (FSCSC) by working directly with the Farm Service Agency offices at your local FSA office for details. Applications will be accepted via mail, fax, hand delivery, or electronic means.
How the Food Safety Certification for Specialty Crops Program Works
The FSCSC program provides financial assistance for specialty crop operations that incur eligible on-farm food safety program expenses related to obtaining or renewing a food safety certification in years 2024 and 2025. This program helps offset costs to comply with regulatory requirements and market-driven food safety certification requirements. FSCSC will cover a percentage of the specialty crop operation’s cost of obtaining or renewing their certification, as well as a percentage of their related expenses.
Program Eligibility
Eligibility requirements for FSCSC applicants are outlined below. We recommend you review these requirements before initiating your FSCSC application.
To be eligible for FSCSC, an applicant must:
Have obtained or renewed:
- 2024 food safety certification issued between June 26, 2024, and December 31, 2024
- 2025 food safety certification issued during calendar year 2025.
- Be a specialty crop operation (growing fresh fruits and vegetables); and meet the definition of a small business or medium size business.
- A small (farm) business means an applicant that had an average annual monetary value of specialty crops the applicant sold during the 3-year period preceding the program year of not more than $500,000.
- A medium (farm) business means an applicant that had an average annual monetary value of specialty crops the applicant sold during the 3-year period preceding the program year of at least $500,001 but no more than $1,000,000.
| Category of Eligible Expenses | Payment Amount of Eligible Costs |
| Developing a Food Safety Plan for First Time Certification | · 75% (no maximum) |
| Maintaining or Updating a Food Safety Plan | · 75% up to $675 |
| Food Safety Certification | · 75% up to $2,000 |
| Certification Upload Fees | · 75% up to $375 |
| Microbiological Testing of Produce | · 75% up to 5 tests |
| Microbiological Testing of Soil Amendments | · 75% up to 5 tests |
| Microbiological Testing of Water | · 75% up to 5 tests |
| Training Expenses | · 100% up to $500 |
FSCSC payments are calculated separately for each category of eligible costs based on the percentages and maximum payment amounts. The FSCSC application and associated forms are available online at farmers.gov/food-safety.
You are encouraged to contact the Farm Service Agency office about FSCSC, program eligibility, or the application process. You may also call 877-508-8364 to speak directly with a USDA employee ready to provide one-on-one assistance.
For our current trainings please go to: Our Trainings – Rutgers On-Farm Food Safety
**Twilight Meeting – October 17**
Cape May County Agriculture and Natural Resources will host an October Twilight Meeting for South Jersey Farmers on Thursday, October 17 from 7:00PM – 9:00 PM at Cape May Winery, 711 Townbank Road, Cape May, NJ 08204.
The program will include presentations on Soil Health is Always a Good Investment, IPM for specialty crops in New Jersey including tree fruit crops, small fruits, and vegetables, Pesticide safety, non-hazardous pest control methods, label literacy and how to avoid the 3 most common violations, and the Labor availability and Labor regulations that impact agriculture. Also, pesticide recertification credits will be awarded: CORE (1), 1A (1), 10 (1), and PP2 (1).
Please RSVP by Oct 15 to Jocelyn at 609-465-5115 ext. 3607 or email capemayag@njaes.rutgers.edu.
October Twilight Meeting
October Twilight Meeting
October 17, 2024
7:00PM – 9:00 PM
Cape May Winery
711 Townbank Road. Cape May, NJ 08204
Program
6:45 PM: Registration / Light Refreshments
7:00 PM: Welcome – Claudia Gil Arroyo, Cape May County Agent III; Rutgers NJAES
7:10 PM: Soil Health is Always a Good Investment
William Errickson, Monmouth County Agent III; Rutgers NJAES
7:40 PM: IPM for specialty crops in New Jersey including tree fruit crops, small fruits, and vegetables.
Janine Spies, Statewide Program Leader in Fruit IPM, County Agent III; Rutgers NJAES
8:10 PM: Pesticide safety, non-hazardous pest control methods, label literacy and how to avoid the 3 most common violations.
Spencer Kerkhof, Environmental Specialist I, Pesticide Compliance & Enforcement; NJDEP
8:45 PM: Labor availability and Labor regulations that impact agriculture
Ben Casella, New Jersey Farm Bureau
Light refreshments will be served.
The following pesticide recertification credits will be awarded: CORE (1), 1A (1), 10 (1), PP2 (1)
Please RSVP by October 15, 2024:
Jocelyn Shillingford
609-465-5115 ext. 3607 or capemayag@njaes.rutgers.edu
Recommendations for Neopestalotiopsis control in fall planted strawberries
A new article by Dr. Phil Brennan (University of Georgia) from the Strawberry News website (UGA) has been published with information compiled by Dr. Guido Schnabel (Clemson University) and Dr. Bill Cline (North Carolina State) on managing fall-planted strawberries with the known presence of Neopestalotiopsis. New Jersey growers who may have purchased strawberry plants this fall from sources with known Neopestalotiopsis issues need to be proactive in mitigating it as best they can this fall and develop a plan for the upcoming spring. For more information please click here.
For more information on diagnosing Neopestalotiopsis in strawberry please click here.
