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September 1, 2022

Accelerated Irrigation Funding Now Available for New Jersey Producers

SOMERSET, N.J., Sept. 1, 2022 – The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in New Jersey is now accepting applications for accelerated Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) ACT NOW funding for irrigation.

Through this unique opportunity, producers and landowners can convert their existing overhead systems to low flow, high-efficiency systems such as drip or pivot which will efficiently and uniformly apply irrigation water, maintain soil moisture for plant growth, prevent contamination of ground and surface water, and improve poor plant productivity and health. Irrigation may also be combined with soil health practices to improve soil quality.

While NRCS accepts applications year-round, NRCS-NJ has established an evaluation period cut-off date for ACT NOW Irrigation funding of October 1, 2022. Applications submitted prior to the cut-off will be assessed and ranked as soon as the applicant has made treatment decisions through a conservation plan. Land offered for enrollment in EQIP must have been irrigated for at least two out of the last five years to qualify for irrigation-related conservation practices.

Based on fund availability, application assessments with a ranking score of 70 points or greater will be preapproved immediately, allowing the applicant to ACT NOW and achieve contract approval to begin practice installation without being evaluated against other submitted assessments. Application assessment ranking scores less than 70 points will be batched and funded in ranking order as funding allows.

For more details on EQIP, please contract your local USDA Service Center or visit https://www.nj.nrcs.usda.gov

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Food Safety, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops
August 29, 2022

Back-yard Poultry Producer Alert: HiPath Avian Influenza deaths in wild birds

On August 8th, 2022, The United States 2022 Detections of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Wild Birds reported multiple confirmations of dead black vultures in Sussex County, NJ. Today, August 29, 2022, the media has released information that a hundred dead vultures were found in the vicinity of the Sussex Branch Trail in Lafayette, NJ.

Back-yard producers in Sussex County should review their biosecurity measures to prevent avian influenza from wild birds coming in contact with their flocks.

For more information and who to contact in the NJ Department of Agriculture if you have a death in your poultry flock, see the following post https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/poultry-alert-review-implement-biosecurity-measures/

For more information on who to contact in the NJDEP if If multiple birds are found dead in a small area over a short period of time, please contact either 1-877-WARNDEP or Dr. Nicole Lewis (nicole.lewis@dep.nj.gov) for assistance. https://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/news/2022/04-19_avian_influenza.htm

Upcoming webinars and in person meetings for NJ producers (August 31 and September 26) https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/upcoming-sessions-for-backyard-poultry-owners/

Information regarding driving into a quarantine zone in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania currently has a 10 km zone along the PA/NJ border related to this detection. https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/driving-into-high-path-avian-influenza-quarantine-zones-in-pa-know-the-rules/

Filed Under: Disease Forecasting, Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops
August 29, 2022

Non-herbicide Management Options for Large Crabgrass in Specialty Crops

Large crabgrass can form robust root systems thanks to its numerous tillers and capacity to root at stem nodes, allowing it to out-compete crops for moisture and nutrients.  Understanding the life cycle and biology of large crabgrass is key to figuring out the best options for its control on your farm. Learn more about non-herbicide life cycle disruptions that can be used in the development of a short and long term management plan through the large crabgrass decision tool fact sheet and an informational video. These resources are one of a five-part weed management series created by Extension Specialist Thierry Besancon and County Agricultural Agent Meredith Melendez, funded by USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant AM190100Crabgrass. Provide feedback on these resources through an online survey.

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Organic Production, Vegetable Crops
August 27, 2022

Parasitoids: The Hidden Backyard Beneficials

Many landscapers are familiar with the larger beneficial insects such as lady beetles, praying mantids, lacewings, and flower flies. Although common, parasitic wasps/flies (parasitoids) are examples of landscape beneficials that are typically less recognized because of their small size, and that magnification is needed for best viewing. Also many parasitoids feed unseen on the interior organs within their hosts. Although the majority of parasitoids are found in the two orders mentioned above (Hymenoptera & Diptera), there are more than 50 families that have been identified. Many of these insects do not have distinctive differences in general appearance & therefore attempting to ID the specific species or even family is not practicable for the landscaper or nursery grower. Learning about & being aware of the activity of these less observed but exceptionally important biological control organisms are photographed & reviewed in this blog.

An apparent parasitoid wasp inadvertently captured on the edge of a yellow sticky trap. Most of these adult wasps are exceptionally small & will often have a constricted waist & beaded antennae. The vast majority of observed landscape parasitoids will be wasp or fly species. (Photo Credit: Steven K. Rettke, Rutgers Coop. Ext.)

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Nursery, Plant Diagnostic Lab
August 26, 2022

Your Input on Changes to the Next Farm Bill

House Agriculture Committee Farm Bill Review

“An integral part of the oversight and review process of the 2018 Farm Bill and further preparation for the 2023 Farm Bill is getting direct input from producers, stakeholders, and consumers on how various farm bill programs are working for them” – Click here to add your comments into the form posted on the House Agriculture Committee website with the option to answer the following questions:

  1. Which programs included in the 2018 Farm Bill do you think are performing well?
  2. Are there any new programs or ideas that you or the organization that you represent would like to see considered for the 2023 Farm Bill?
  3. Which programs included in the 2018 Farm Bill do you think could be improved upon or should be reconsidered?

Guidance on Farm Bill Sections.

“The farm bill refers to an authorization of mandatory and discretionary spending bills appropriated to provide assistance related to food and farms. It is a multi-year law that is primarily executed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and it governs a wide variety of agricultural and food programs” – Farm Bureau.org. Click here for a short summary and video on the history of the farm bill.

Title I, Commodity Programs. Under this authorization, USDA is reauthorized to provide and improve commodity and marketing loans, sugar, dairy and disaster programs. In addition to the links below for the farm bill overview, see the ERS link at https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-commodity-policy/title-i-crop-commodity-program-provisions-after-enactment-of-the-agriculture-improvement-act-of-2018/

Title II, Conservation. To read more about this title go to https://www.thefarmbill.com/title-2-other-conservation

or read more in https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/IF11199.pdf

Title III, Trade. To read more about this title go to https://www.thefarmbill.com/title-3-trade-programs

Title IV, Nutrition. To read more about this title go to https://www.thefarmbill.com/title-4-snap

Use the same website to scroll through each of the remaining titles:
Title V, Credit
Title VI, Rural Development
Title VII, Research, Extension, and Related Matters
Title VIII, Forestry
Title IX, Energy
Title X, Horticulture
Title XI, Crop Insurance. To read more about this title you can also go to https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-commodity-policy/crop-insurance-program-provisions-title-xi/
Title XII, Miscellaneous

Filed Under: Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Uncategorized, Vegetable Crops
August 23, 2022

2023 Farmer Grant Proposals from Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)

Do you hGrapevinesave 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) 

Filed Under: Blueberry, Commercial Ag Updates, Cranberry, Disease Forecasting, Field, Forage & Livestock, Food Safety, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Nursery, Organic Production, pesticide credits, Plant Diagnostic Lab, Strawberry, Tree Fruit, Turf, Uncategorized, Vegetable Crops, Wine Grape Tagged With: ,