Organic Farm Advisory

The Plant & Pest Advisory serves NJ growers by reporting on important pests and recommending responses that are grounded in reproducible trials.

Articles in this section contain information helpful to the NJ commercial organic grower.

Sharing organic practice trial results between land-grant universities is a cost effective way to create a common knowledge base built on the strengths of individual programs. In the sidebar, find institutions with programs in organic agriculture which augment knowledge developed at the Rutgers New Jersey Ag Experiment Station.

Rutgers Cooperative Extension Field Guides: These concise guides help with decision making from pre-planting to harvest. For each crop listed, learn what pests to proactively look for as the season progresses, how to look for them, and when to take action.

Field Guide List

Second notice: Pepper Weevil Management and Research Priorities

Pepper Weevil Management and Research Priorities

March 3, 2021, 1:00 – 3:00 pm

Online Zoom Meeting

Pepper growers/agribusiness professionals/extension personnel are invited to attend a virtual meeting to discuss current pepper weevil management tactics and to set research priorities.

Since 2006, at least one farm each growing season has been infested with pepper weevil.  So far, timely spraying after detection has occasionally been successful in eliminating weevils.  Otherwise, insecticide applications have only suppressed weevil populations.  Pheromone traps are useful in detecting weevils, but often fields are infested before the weevils are trapped.  What else can be done?  What are the priorities in attempting to manage weevils?

Please join the discussion to help develop tactics to reduce the impact of pepper weevil.

To register please go to https://go.rutgers.edu/3bm2r3xl

The registration deadline is March 1, 2021, and you must pre-register to get the zoom link.

 

New Cover Crops Decision Making Tool Available Online

The Northeast Cover Crops Council (NECCC) recently released an online tool designed to support farm decision-making around cover crops. The Cover Crop Decision Support Tool is available at no cost at: http://covercrop.tools/. It includes a Cover Crop Explorer that provides in-depth information on more than 35 cover crop species. It also has a Species Selector that assists users in selecting individual cover crops based on plant hardiness zones, field soil and growing conditions, and cover cropping goals.

CoverMore than 35 specialists from around the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic contributed their expertise to develop the tool. The project was spearheaded by the Northeast Cover Crops Council, a group of farmers, researchers, Extension educators and personnel from nonprofits and industry that encourages the adoption of cover crops by fostering the exchange of information, inspiration and outcome-based research. The Council was formed with support from a Northeast SARE Professional Development Program grant. Through this and other USDA funding, the project team collaborated with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Agricultural Informatics Lab and Precision Sustainable Agriculture to design the tool.

More information about NECCC and the Cover Crop Decision Support Tool can be found on the NECCC website at: www.northeastcovercrops.com.

Proceedings Book – Speaker Summaries for February 22-25th NJ Vegetable Meeting

Each year for the New Jersey Vegetable Meeting, Rutgers Cooperative Extension publishes a proceedings book with summaries of presentations given during the educational sessions. The 2021 proceedings book is now posted on the Rutgers Vegetable Online Resources webpage. All proceedings books dating back to 2009 are also archived on this site and can be found by scrolling down to the bottom left corner of the webpage.

The 2021 Proceedings Book is dedicated in the memory of William Roberts who passed away on May 21, 2020 at theTwo people in dress clothes age of 88. After completing his college degree at Rutgers, Bill served our country in the military until 1955 where he earned the rank of First Lieutenant. He then returned to Rutgers, Cook College, to teach and later became an Extension Specialist in Agricultural Engineering. Early in his career, he invented the air-inflated, double-layer polyethylene film system for covering the roof of a greenhouse. Today, approximately 65 percent of all commercial greenhouses in the United States use the air-inflated system. This innovation won Bill many awards and tremendous gratitude from the industry. On a personal note, Bill was most known for his tremendous faith and love for family; especially wife Dottie. For more information about Bill Roberts, please see the beginning pages of the proceedings book for 2021.

We hope you will take the time to read the summaries included in the 2021 proceedings book. Robin Brumfield, Rutgers Extension Specialist in Agricultural Economics, recommends that anyone participating in the “Know Your Numbers, Know Your Options” morning and afternoon sessions on Monday, February 22nd, utilize her proceedings summaries on pages 19-25 (morning session) and pages 42-47 (afternoon session) while attending.

Also of interest – to obtain an online copy the 2020-2021 Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations Guide a free download is available on the Rutgers NJAES Publications website. The guide is the same as in 2020 and a “critical updates” document is also available online for changes – mainly pesticide recommendations updates.

New Jersey Annual Vegetable Meeting: Hemp Session

Don't Let Your Hemp Profits Go Up MeetingPlease join the Rutgers Hemp Team on Tuesday, February 23 at 9:00 AM

Pepper Weevil Management and Research Priorities

Pepper Weevil Management and Research Priorities

March 3, 2021, 1:00 – 3:00 pm

Online Zoom Meeting

Pepper growers/agribusiness professionals/extension personnel are invited to attend a virtual meeting to discuss current pepper weevil management tactics and to set research priorities.

Since 2006, at least one farm each growing season has been infested with pepper weevil.  So far, timely spraying after detection has occasionally been successful in eliminating weevils.  Otherwise, insecticide applications have only suppressed weevil populations.  Pheromone traps are useful in detecting weevils, but often fields are infested before the weevils are trapped.  What else can be done?  What are the priorities in attempting to manage weevils?

Please join the discussion to help develop tactics to reduce the impact of pepper weevil.

To register please go to https://go.rutgers.edu/3bm2r3xl

The registration deadline is March 1, 2021, and you must pre-register to get the zoom link.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Harmonized Food Safety Audit Training

We are offering a final, for this spring, online Harmonized Audit Training Course on March 2, 2021 from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM.  If you will need to obtain a USDA Harmonized Audit this year or want a refresher this is the course for you.

This three-hour virtual class will cover each question on the USDA Harmonized Audit allowing participants to hear how questions are interpreted by auditors.  New Jersey Department of Agriculture Auditors will also discuss how someone signs up for an audit and review common issues that auditors found during 2020.  Participants will have the opportunity have their questions answered to help make their audit run more smoothly.

The deadline to register for the class is Friday February 26. The registration form is on the Eventbrite page at rutgersonfarmfoodsafety.eventbrite.com