Cornell Agricultural Workforce Development will be offering two Ag Supervisory Leadership courses for all agricultural operations starting in June for farms in the Northeastern Region including: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Registration is currently open and closes on June 25. There are separate registration fees for New York residents and out of state residents. See below.
The courses available are:
ASL101-SP: Transición a Supervisor (in Spanish)
Transition to Supervisor helps to develop leaders and focuses on skills to improve communication and manage conflict. Learn how to recognize our inherent biases and how to build better working relationships. Gain insight into your leadership style and learn how to effectively lead diverse and multicultural teams.
Course topics include:
How to make the mental transition to supervisor
How to develop effective working relationships
Essential communication skills
How to be the leader of a multicultural group
How to build better working relationships
Course begins: Friday, June 20, 2025
Live Zoom discussions: Thursdays, June 26 – July 31, 4:00–5:00 PM ET
Register for ASL101-SP Transición a Supervisor
ASL106: Ethics and Employment Regulations (in English)
In ASL106: Ethics and Employment Regulations, you’ll explore how to implement fair and ethical labor practices in agriculture and why they matter. You’ll learn to recognize and prevent sexual harassment, understand wage and hour laws, and apply Equal Employment Opportunity regulations to foster a respectful, inclusive workplace. The course also covers best practices for handling employee discipline and termination.
Course topics include:
Ethics and sustainability
Equal Employment Opportunity, laws and implications
Hiring regulations and practices
Safety issues in agriculture
Farm employee housing
Compensation regulations
Being an ethical supervisor
Course begins: Friday, June 20, 2025
Live Zoom discussions: Thursdays, June 26 – July 31, 3:00–4:00 PM ET
Register for ASL106: Ethics and Employment Regulations
Course costs:
$275 for NYS residents/$325 for out-of-state residents
Scholarship Opportunity for Dairy Producers:
Thanks to the Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NEDBIC), eligible dairy producers can apply for a $100 scholarship to help cover registration fees. Scholarships are available to participants from qualifying states in the Northeast, including Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
Questions? Email cu-agworkforce@cornell.edu
Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/cornellagworkforcedevelopment
Registration Open for 2 Agricultural Supervisor Training Courses: In English and Spanish
Ornamental, including Christmas Tree – IPM Updates (Week of 5/1)
Some important actual and anticipated pest emergences as of 5/1/25
- Boxwood leaf miner emergence in southern NJ – monitor locations now.
- Crapemyrtle aphid appearance in southern NJ
- Bronze Birch Borer (BBB) approaching adult emergence
- Red-headed flea beetle (RHFB) egg hatch – adult treatment with systemic applications
- Clearwing Borer adult flight – time to monitor
- Conifer scale crawler emergence anticipated
- (click the ‘Read More’ below for complete dates in S-C-Northern NJ per pest)
Ornamental IPM 4/22 Recording Upload – Next session Tuesday 5/13
Sign up here for the NEW 2025 – Rutgers Ornamental IPM Program
Ornamental IPM – next session is Tuesday 5/13/25
Click here for a PDF of April 22, 2025 webinar that can be printed and used as a field guide or similar
Click here for a VIDEO recording of April 22, 2025 webinar
5/13/25 sessions topics:
Conifer Issues:
- Pine needle scale
- Cryptomeria scale
- Elongate hemlock scale
- Oystershell scale
- Needle cast diseases
- Red headed pine sawfly
- Hemlock woolly adelgid
- Phytophthora in conifers
Ornamental nursery:
- Boxwood mites
- Boxwood psyllid
- Horned and gouty oak galls
- Hawthorn lace bug
- Pythium in nurseries
IPM monitoring:
- Scale monitoring with double sided tape
2025 Registration includes:
The focus of this program is to provide timely updates on pest, disease, and weeds impacting commercial ornamental producers. The webinars will focus on the most important pests for a 2 week interval, will be recorded, and will be shared shortly thereafter with Spanish overdub (spoken word). The trap packages are in an effort to find grower led solutions for monitoring economically important pests throughout the multiple regions of New Jersey. Please consider joining this program for its inaugural year.
- Site visit to your ornamental nursery/farm from Rutgers agents
- Delivered printed IPM resources (Guides, factsheets, bulletins)
- Free pheromone & sticky trap kit + guidance on setup/monitoring
- Access to live bi-weekly webinars (Zoom)
- Every Second and Fourth, Tuesday, April through September
- Webinars will be recorded – posted later with Spanish overdub
This program is free, however registration is required.
(Next webinar Tu 4/22 at 12PM)
Ornamental IPM 4/8 Recording Upload – Next session Tuesday 4/22
Ornamental IPM – next session is Tuesday 4/22/25
Sign up here for the NEW 2025 – Rutgers Ornamental IPM Program.
Click here for a PDF of April 08, 2025 webinar that can be printed and used as a field guide or similar
Click here for a VIDEO recording of April 08, 2025 webinar
Next sessions topic:
- Updates (GDD, Miticides, Ambrosia Beetle, Boxwood blight alerts)
- Boxwood leafminer
- Holly leaf miner
- Eastern tent caterpillars
- Spongy moth
- Evergreen lacebugs
- Clearwing Borers (and trapping)
- Red-headed flea beetle (adult pre-treatment)
- Diseases: Fire Blight and Rusts
2025 Registration includes:
The focus of this program is to provide timely updates on pest, disease, and weeds impacting commercial ornamental producers. The webinars will focus on the most important pests for a 2 week interval, will be recorded, and will be shared shortly thereafter with Spanish overdub (spoken word). The trap packages are in an effort to find grower led solutions for monitoring economically important pests throughout the multiple regions of New Jersey. Please consider joining this program for its inaugural year.
- Site visit to your ornamental nursery/farm from Rutgers agents
- Delivered printed IPM resources (Guides, factsheets, bulletins)
- Free pheromone & sticky trap kit + guidance on setup/monitoring
- Access to live bi-weekly webinars (Zoom)
- Every Second and Fourth, Tuesday, April through September
- Webinars will be recorded – posted later with Spanish overdub
This program is free, however registration is required.
(Next webinar Tu 4/22 at 12PM)
NJ DEP issues Open Burn Permit from April 6 through April 12, 2025
To Agriculture and Agribusiness Representatives:
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is issuing this notice concerning open burning due to colder spring overnight temperatures presently forecasted for areas of New Jersey from April 6 (Sun), through April 12 (Sat), 2025, which could adversely affect fruit, vegetable, and floriculture crops in bloom or near bloom around the state. The DEP intends to exercise its authority and discretion under the Air Pollution Control Code, N.J.A.C. 7:27, et seq., and other applicable authorities to permit the following procedure for open burning or the use of smudge pots to assist farmers in protecting their crops in low temperatures. These cold events could adversely affect some of the fruit, vegetable, and floriculture crops.
Note: The NJDEP and New Jersey Forest Fire Service caution all farmers and agriculture businesses with respect to the use of open burning in high wind velocity conditions. Please take note that farmers are encouraged to utilize smudge pots is warming as necessary during higher wind conditions. Use of open burning when wind velocity is greater than 5mph is strictly prohibited, may contribute to wildfire risk, and can carry significant penalties.
For the Burn Permit Application form, please see: https://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/fire/docs/ag-permit.pdf
The DEP intends to exercise its authority and discretion under the Air Pollution Control Code, N.J.A.C. 7:27, et seq., and other applicable authorities to permit the following procedure for open burning or the use of smudge pots to assist farmers in protecting their crops in low temperatures. Procedures for Open Burning and the Use of Smudge Pots Pertaining to New Jersey Fruit, Vegetables, and Floriculture
- Facilities that believe they will conduct open burning or use smudge pots must provide notice to the DEP 24-hour Communications Center at 1-877- WARN DEP (1-877-927-6337) prior to the use of either technique. • Facilities should notify DEP if they believe they may need to use either technique. • Where DEP cannot be notified in advance, a facility must notify DEP the following morning no later than 9:00 a.m. • The following information must be provided to DEP upon each notification:
- Name of the individual deciding to conduct the open burning or use of smudge pots.
- Name of the farm or facility
- Actual street address of the facility on which either technique will be used.
- Contact person and telephone number at the facility.
- Predicted temperature (in F) at facility anticipated when the technique will be used.
- Predicted wind speed at facility anticipated when the technique will be used.
- Predicted hours of open burning or use of smudge pots
- Predicted material to be used for open burning or use of smudge pots.
- Upon completion of the open burning or the use of smudge pots, the facility must provide the following information within 2 business days to the DEP 24-hour Communication Center at 1877-WARN DEP (1-877-927-6337):
- The DEP Communications Center incident number
- Ambient orchard(s) temperature (in F) at the time the technique was used.
- Actual wind speed at the orchard(s) location at the time the technique was used.
- A statement that all restrictions in the open burning or use of smudge pots were followed. The restrictions are noted below.
RESTRICTIONS
- NO OPEN BURNING WILL BE PERMITTED UNLESS: 1. The temperature within the orchard area is at or below the critical temperature for the bud stage. The attached report lists the critical temperatures for New Jersey crops. -AND 2. The wind velocity is less than 5 miles per hour.
- Authorized open burning material may consist only of either the following materials: clean scrap lumber (untreated), felled trees, prunings, hedgerows or firewood.
- ABSOLUTELY NO refuse, trade waste, tires, garbage, or other solid waste may be added to the authorized open burning material. Introduction of any unauthorized material into an authorized open burn is a violation of environmental laws and may carry significant penalties.
- Smudge pots are only permitted when the temperature within the orchard area is at or below the critical temperature for the bud stage (wind velocity restriction does not apply).
- Smudge pots must be fueled only with either kerosene or No. 2 fuel oil.
- Failure to abide by these provisions and restrictions may result in enforcement action.
Register for the NEW – 2025 Ornamental IPM Program PLUS Boxwood Blight, Pest emergence, Updates
Please consider signing up for the NEW 2025 – Rutgers Ornamental IPM Program.
The focus of this program is to provide timely updates on pest, disease, and weeds impacting commercial ornamental producers. The webinars will focus on the most important pests for a 2 week interval, will be recorded, and will be shared shortly thereafter with Spanish overdub (spoken word). The trap packages are in an effort to find grower led solutions for monitoring economically important pests throughout the multiple regions of New Jersey. Please consider joining this program for its inaugural year.
Registration includes:
- Site visit to your ornamental nursery/farm from Rutgers agents
- Delivered printed IPM resources (Guides, factsheets, bulletins)
- Free pheromone & sticky trap kit + guidance on setup/monitoring
- Access to live bi-weekly webinars (Zoom)
- (First session NEXT TUESDAY 4/8 @ 12PM)
- Every Second and Fourth, Tuesday, April through September
- Webinars will be recorded – posted later with Spanish overdub
This program is free, however registration is required.
Boxwood Blight Risk Assessment as of 3/4/2025 | |||||||||
Region | Location | CODE | 31-March | 1-April | 2-April | 3-April | 4-April | 5-April | |
Southern | Upper Deerfield | NJ50 | Very Low | Very Low | Very Low | Low | Minor Risk | Very Low | |
Central | Howell / Freehold | NJ10 | Minor Risk | Very Low | Very Low | Low | Minor Risk | Very Low | |
Northern | Wantage | NJ79 | Low | Very Low | Very Low | Low | Risk | Very Low | |
M | T | W | TH | F | S | ||||
Please check YOUR LOCAL risk (click here) |
Please download and print the Rutgers Nursery and Landscape Pest Scouting Guide or Conifer and Christmas Tree Pest Scouting Guide and refer to this post “Obtaining your local growing degree-days (GDD)” for additional information. (See pest scouting guides for complete list of references)
Please SHARE what you SEE!! If you see a pest, disease, otherwise interesting or troublesome issue please report it to the Working Group by following the QR Code on the front of the Pest Scouting Guides or by filling out this reporting form.
Keep reading for more resources!