Landscape, Ornamentals, Nursery, and Turf Edition

Seasonal updates on ornamental, nursery, and turf pests.
Subscriptions are available via EMAIL and RSS.

 

Companion Website Links:

Rutgers Turf Blog - Articles on turfgrass diseases and cultural practices for the commercial turfgrass industry. Subscription available via RSS.

 

Rutgers Weather Forecasting - Meteorological Information important to commercial agriculture.

October 7, 2020

H-2A Employer Audit Webinar hosted by Maryland Farm Bureau

Maryland Farm Bureau will be hosting a webinar on how to prepare for an H-2A employer audit. Experts from the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Maryland Department of Labor, and the private sector will be discussing what records need to be kept and produced in response to a labor investigation. Although geared towards Maryland employers, this webinar will certainly provide broadly applicable resources for those utilizing H-2A labor in New Jersey.

When: October 14, 2020, 8:00 a.m.-10:15 a.m.

Click here to register

Agenda

8:00- 8:05 Welcome and Introductions
8:05-8:45 Nicholas Fiorello & Kim Ga, United States Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
8:45-9:25 Jesús Díaz, Maryland Department of Labor
9:25-9:35 Break
9:35-10:05 Jesse Hammock, Esq., Partner, Parker Goodman Gordon & Hammock, LLC
10:05-10:15 Questions & Wrap-up

Moderated by Sarah Everhart, Agriculture Law Education Initiative

 

Filed Under: Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Nursery, Turf, Vegetable Crops
September 30, 2020

Tips for Renewal of NJDEP Private Pesticide Applicators Licenses

RecieptRutgers Cooperative Extension Agricultural Agents have been receiving questions from farmers on what to do with the renewal applications they recently received from NJDEP Pesticide Control Program. The invoice may be somewhat confusing. So here are a few tips to help.

1. The $0.00 Amount Due is correct on the invoice. Farmers with a “Private” applicator licenses do not pay for licenses and renewals. So you do not need to send any payment and in the box where it says “enter the amount of your payment” enter $0.00.

2. The best way to complete this renewal is not to mail in the form, but instead renew online. CLICK HERE to renew your license online. YOU WILL NEED YOUR PAPERWORK WITH YOUR “INVOICE NUMBER”. Do not use the NJEMS Bill ID number, instead find the invoice number above.

It would be a good idea to print the screen with the confirmation that you renewed online, since the system does not send you an email confirmation. The screen also states, “License generation may take a few weeks”. So, please be patient and if you need to use your license number, continue to use the same number on your expired license for recertification credits, as your license number will not change. It also says to not send the paper forms once you did your online submission. See photo to the below for an example of the confirmation screen you will see when renewing online.Website

3. If you must mail the renewal, here are some TIPS:

a. You will need to provide your own envelope and a stamp when mailing back the forms.

b. Also, the form may be confusing since the bottom tab to return says to mail to Treasurer-State of New Jersey, while the “Reminder” section says to mail forms/letters to NJDEP Licensing and Registrations.

c. Do not mail the bottom tab and other information for renewal of your Private Pesticide license to NJDEP. It is to be mailed to the NJ Department of Treasury – as stated on the return portion at the bottom of the first page.

d. Fill out page 2 and check to see if all your information is correct on page 2. Do not forget to sign and date the bottom of page 2 before mailing with your “payment” tab from page 1.

e. It may be best to send these forms in using USPS “Certified Mail” or UPS or FEDEX to track that it was received. Your pesticide license is very important for your business and you would want to verify it was received.

If you need more assistance with pesticide licenses, contact the NJDEP. Contact information in the photo below.Zoom in of a reciept

Best wishes and we hope this information is helpful in renewing your NJDEP Private Pesticide Applicators License.

Filed Under: Blueberry, Commercial Ag Updates, Cranberry, Field, Forage & Livestock, Food Safety, Fruit, Nursery, Organic Production, Strawberry, Tree Fruit, Turf, Vegetable Crops, Wine Grape Tagged With: ,
September 30, 2020

COVID-19: NJDEP Updates 2020 and 2021 Pesticide Certification & Licensing

[September 28, 2020]. Due to the continued COVID-19 public health emergency, the NJDEP has issued three new or revised alerts on pesticide certification and licensing: 1) paper license delays; 2)  examination resumption ; and 3) online CEU exemptions. These alerts are excerpted in whole below, and have been posted to NJDEP Licensing and Registrations – […]
Filed Under: Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops Tagged With:
September 22, 2020

Reminder: September Nursery Twilight This Thursday Night (Virtual)

Nursery Twilight Meeting

There is still time to register for the September 2020 Nursery Twilight Meeting (Virtual)

Registrations will be accepted until noon Thursday. Registration is required (Free).

This Thursday, September 24th, 2020

6:00-7:00 pm

please log-in between 5:30 and 5:50pm

Click here to register for the twilight meeting

Registration password: nursery

Click here to upload your government issued photo ID and Pesticide license prior to the meeting

In cooperation with the NJNLA, NJLCA, and NJCTGA

Instructions:

  • Register for event at the above link
  • Include your pesticide license number and date of birth if you would like recertification credits
  • After registration you will receive a confirmation email with a link to the actual twilight meeting.
  • Upload a copy of your government issued photo ID at the link above
      • Upload a copy of your government issued photo ID and Pesticide License
      • (This is required to receive pesticide recertification credits)  
      • If you click on the photo ID upload link using a smart phone/tablet you will have the option of simply taking a photo of your ID & pesticide license and uploading it directly into the system. Otherwise, you can scan a copy of your photoID & pesticide license into a computer and follow the directions at the upload link. If you are unable to upload documentation prior to the meeting we will work with you to verify your identity for NJDEP recertification credit purposes using the attendance roster to contact individuals that are seeking credits. 
      • Please upload files of your photo ID and pesticide license named as: 
      1. a)    “Last name_ First_ Photo ID”; and 
      2. b)    “Last name_ First_ Pesticide License”. 
  • Day-of: click the link in the registration confirmation email and select “join by browser-New” around 5:30pm
  • Day-of: Have your video on if you wish to obtain credits

Additional requirements for those seeking credits:  

  1. Licensed applicators with a recertification period expiring October 31, 2020 will be given an exemption from the NJDEP online credit cap of 25% and are eligible for all credits, otherwise this exemption does not apply.
  2. Required to be eligible to receive pesticide applicator recertification credits for this Twilight program:
  3. Attend the entire meeting with live VIDEO feed on, seated in the center of the frame. Those without a webcam or phone attendees without a live video feed are not eligible to receive credits.
  4. Attendees must participate throughout the entire session, staying to the end. Individuals are not eligible for credits if they arrive after the start of the first training topic or leave before the end of the last topic. Polls will be randomly scheduled, and attendance will be visually monitored to verify attendance.

Rutgers is dedicated to protecting your privacy and keeping your personal information safe.  Upon upload, your files will be encrypted and stored to Rutgers Connect. Your information will be kept strictly confidential; used solely to meet NJDEP ID verification protocol for recertification credit; and will not be used for any other purpose. Your files will be deleted within 60 days after the training event.  

 

Filed Under: Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Nursery, Turf
September 22, 2020

Farm Worker Housing Simulator Shows How To Help Reduce COVID-19 Spread

Partnering with the Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety (NEC), the Vessel Dynamics Laboratory at George Mason University created an online app that shows how various practices aimed to slow the spread of COVID-19 among farm workers in shared housing can work.

Room for Improvement:  An Online Tool for Reducing the Spread of COVID-19 in Farmworker Housing allows you to put in information about your on-farm housing and it will show how coronavirus can spread through farmworker housing. You can change the size of the room, type of beds, number of workers housed, and a variety of preventative practices to see the impact on spread of the disease.

The simulator is available at https://vesseldynamics.com/research/farmworker-housing-simulator/. (Note that the simulator works best in Google Chrome.)

More information about farmworker safety programs from the NEC are available at https://www.necenter.org/.

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
September 21, 2020

Please Help: Annual Bluegrass Survey

Conditions for good annual bluegrass growth have returned. Whether you adore or despise Poa annua, consider completing a survey which will allow us to collect valuable insights regarding the turf industry and opinions about managing this pesky grass. The results of this survey will inform a national project team of turfgrass weed scientists working to […]

Bluegrass
  
Filed Under: Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Turf