October 22, 2026

Farm Credit East to Offer Business Skills Training in Bridgeton and Virtually

Farm Credit East is a helpful partner to farmers in our region for many reasons. FCE offers training opportunities along with financial services. Starting soon, FCE is offering their GenerationNext program. This program may be beneficial to the future of your farm and can help train leadership to take care of the business-end of farming. Take some time to look over what is being offered.

GenerationNext is a dynamic workshop series designed for the next generation of ag managers and owners. Whether you’re stepping into a leadership role or looking to strengthen your business acumen, this program offers the tools and insights you need to succeed.

Program Highlights:

  • Format: Choose between virtual (7 sessions) or in-person (3 sessions) options
  • Topics: Leadership, HR, financial analysis, marketing, risk management, and estate planning
  • Cost: $199/person (discounted from $1900 through our Young, Beginning, Small & Veteran program)

In-person classes are 3 sessions from 9:30-3:30

  • Auburn ME Office: Nov 19, Dec 10, Jan 14
  • Bridgeton NJ Office: Nov 20, Dec 4, Dec 18
  • Batavia NY Office: Dec 3, Jan 14, Feb 3
  • Cortland NY Office: Dec 2, Jan 13, Feb 2
  • Potsdam NY Office: Dec 1, Jan 12, Jan 26
  • White River Junction VT Office: Nov 18, Dec 9, Jan 13

Online class is 7 weekly sessions from 2-4pm

  • Online: Jan 21, Jan 28, Feb 4, Feb 11, Feb 18, Feb 25, Mar 4

For more information and to Register: Visit FarmCreditEast.com/GenerationNext
Register at least 2 weeks before your session begins.

For questions or to discuss which format is best for you, please reach out to Chris Laughton for more information. We look forward to helping you grow your farm business!

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Fruit, training, vegetable, work shop Tagged With: , ,
October 20, 2026

Equipment Day Event 11-14-26

The RU Ready to Farm Program will be hosting ‘Equipment Day’ on 11-14-26. The event is geared towards new and beginning farmers and will focus on small to medium farm equipment and will feature several Rutgers programs that provide services to new farmers. The event is free, but registration is required, see link and schedule below.

Feel free to contact Linnea Eberly (lce28@njaes.rutgers.edu) or Trevor Styles (tds88@njaes.rutgers.edu) with any questions about the event.

Location: Hlubik Farms, 92 Chesterfield-Georgetown Rd, Chesterfield, New Jersey 08515
9:45 am – 10:00 am Registration
10:00 am – 10:05 am Welcome, David Hlubik, Burlington County Agent, Rutgers Cooperative Extension.
10:05 am – 11:00 am Small Equipment, Trevor Styles, Program Coordinator, Rutgers Cooperative Extension. BCS Machine and Implements, Tillmor, Small Seeders.
11:00 am – 11:15 am Pesticide Safety, Grayson Tung, Senior Coordinator, Pesticide Safety Education Program.
11:15 am – 11:25 am Soil Testing Lab, Stephanie Murphy, Rutgers Soil Testing Lab.
11:25 am – 11:35 am Plant Diagnostic Lab, Sabrina Tirpak, Rutgers Plant Diagnostic Lab.
11:35 am – 11:45 am On-Farm Food Safety, Meredith Melendez, Mercer County Agent, Rutgers Cooperative Extension.
11:45 am – 11:55 am Integrated Pest Management, Maria Cramer, Senior Program Coordinator, Vegetable IPM. Overview of Fruit and Vegetable IPM programs and services provided.
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Lunch, Networking with Fellow Growers, Extension Personnel, and Ag Service Providers.
12:30 pm – 1:00 pm Optional Orchard Tour, David Hlubik, Burlington County Agent, Rutgers Cooperative Extension.
1:00 pm – 1:45 pm Medium Scale Vegetable Production Equipment, David Hlubik, Burlington County Agent, Rutgers Cooperative Extension. Small Tractor, Transplanter, Plastic Mulch Layer, Safety.
1:45 pm – 2:00 pm Sourcing Used Equipment, Bill Hlubik, Retired, Rutgers Cooperative Extension.
2:00 pm End/Networking.
This event is free, but pre-registration is required:
Please RSVP by November 6th to reserve your spot: https://go.rutgers.edu/6iqwqax4

Filed Under: Fruit, Vegetable Crops, work shop
October 1, 2026

2027 Rutgers Educational Sessions at NE Agricultural Expo in Atlantic City

Everyone should be very excited for this event in 2027. The NE Agriculture Expo and Rutgers Educational Sessions will begin on Tuesday, January 19, 2027 at Harrah’s in Atlantic City, 777 Harrahs Boulevard. The final day of educational sessions and trade show ends on Thursday, January 21, 2027. The trade show already has an abundance of vendors signed up for booths in 2027.

The planning committee for the expo is looking forward to providing many new opportunities, and Rutgers has confirmed many new speakers to offer excellent information, covering various topics from the 2026 growing season and research results to help farmers improve their practices. The Harrah’s conference center offers the best layout in Atlantic City for this convention. Come for the opportunity to network with others in the industry, to learn from over 72 presenters on a diversity of topics, and to gain pesticide recertification credits to keep your applicator’s license current. To register and for more information from the organizing association, go to the Vegetable Growers Association of NJ’s website at https://vganj.com.

Please see the DRAFT Rutgers Educational Program below. Pesticide credits have been applied for with NJ DEP. When the credits are assigned this program will be republished and promoted with credits.

 

Filed Under: Agrivoltaics, Blueberry, Christmas Trees, Commercial Ag Updates, Cranberry, Disease Forecasting, Field, Forage & Livestock, Food Safety, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Nursery, Organic Production, pesticide credits, Plant Diagnostic Lab, Strawberry, training, Tree Fruit, Turf, Uncategorized, vegetable, Vegetable Crops, Wine Grape, work shop Tagged With: , , , ,
September 15, 2026

Hazelnut Growers Meeting Saturday, October 24, 2026

Commercial hazelnut growers are invited to join us on Saturday, October 24, 2026 for the Hazelnut Growers Meeting.

The meeting will be held at the Rutgers Eco-Complex: 1200 Florence Columbus Rd, Fieldsboro, NJ 08505

8:00 am – 9:00 am   Registration, Coffee, and Refreshments

9:00 am – 9:05 am   Welcome, David Hlubik, Rutgers Cooperative Extension

9:05 am – 9:45 am   Rutgers Hazelnut Update, Thomas Molnar

9:45 am – 10:15 am  Food Safety Considerations for Hazelnut Production, Meredith Melendez

10:15 am – 10:45 am   Review of Labeled Pesticides for Hazelnut Production, David Hlubik

10:45 am – 11:00 am   Coffee Break

11:00am – 11:15 am   Specialty Crop Block Grant Update, AAC, Sean Walsh

11:15 am – 11:45 am   Cooperative Updates, AAC, NYTCA, KTCC

11:45 am – 12:00 pm   Cooperatives Group Discussion

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm   Lunch, Networking with Fellow Growers and Researchers

1:00 pm – 1:15 pm   April 2026 Freeze Damage Group Discussion, led by David Hlubik

1:15 pm – 1:45 pm   Grower Panel (3 growers, 5 min overview each, 15 min for discussion)

1:45 pm – 2:00 pm   Group Sharing and Open Discussion

2:00 pm – 2:30 pm   Break and Travel to Foggy Bottom Tree Farm: 26815 Mt Pleasant Rd, Columbus, NJ 08022 (8 minutes from Eco-Complex)

2:30 pm – 3:30 pm   Tour of Foggy Bottom Tree Farm

3:30 pm   End/Networking

This event is free, but pre-registration is required:

Please RSVP by October 14th to reserve your spot:

Contact Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Burlington County

at 609-265-5050 or djh222@njaes.rutgers.edu

Filed Under: Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, work shop
August 25, 2026 and

Salem County Agronomy Twilight Meeting 2 – This Coming Monday!

Please join us Monday, August 31, 2026, from 6:00–8:30 p.m. at Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Salem County in Woodstown for an evening of timely field crop production updates.

Rutgers Cooperative Extension – Salem County
51 Cheney Road, Woodstown, NJ

Program begins at 6:00 p.m.; please arrive early.

Schedule & Topics

6:00 p.m. – Welcome & Introduction – Salvatore Mangiafico and Ramandeep Kumar Sharma, Rutgers Cooperative Extension

6:15 p.m. – Sulfur in Coastal Soils – Jarrod Miller, University of Delaware

6:45 p.m. – Sweet Corn Pest Management Updates: Scouting, IPM Strategies, and Responsible Pesticide Use – Amanda Quadrel, Rutgers Cooperative Extension

7:15 p.m. – Assessment of Agricultural Crop Damage by Black Bear in New Jersey – Salvatore Mangiafico, Rutgers Cooperative Extension

7:45 p.m. – Corn Lodging Insights and Agronomic Research Updates – Ramandeep Sharma, Rutgers Cooperative Extension

8:15 p.m. – Wrap-Up, Evaluations, and Pesticide Credit Submissions

Pesticide Recertification Credits (Credits are pending NJDEP approval)

Credits have been applied for: CORE (1), 1A (2), PP2 (2), and Category 10 (1)

Registration

Phone: 856-769-0090
Email: e_dehart@salemcountynj.gov

Please save the date and join us for an evening of practical information and discussion relevant to New Jersey field crop production.

We look forward to seeing you August 31!

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, pesticide credits, training, Uncategorized, work shop
August 17, 2026 , and

Pesticide Recertification Credits Approved for: Agri-Technology, Nursery, Agronomy, Fruit and Vegetable Research Twilight Meeting at RAREC: Wednesday August 26, 2026

NJDEP pesticide recertification credits approved for this meeting are: CORE (1), PP2 (4), 1A (4), and Category 10 (4). 

 

Agri-Technology, Nursery, Agronomy, Fruit and Vegetable Research Twilight Meeting at RAREC

Wednesday August 26th, 2026 (4 pm until dark)

Location: Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center (RAREC), 121 Northville Road, Bridgeton, New Jersey 08302

Hosted by: Ramandeep Kumar Sharma, Patrick McMullen, and Andy Wyenandt

Questions? Contact: Andy Wyenandt (wyenandt@njaes.rutgers.edu)

This year’s twilight meeting at RAREC will showcase advances in crop production, integrated pest management, soil fertility, weed management, and innovative agricultural technologies for growers and stakeholders across the state.

  • Dan Ward, Director, RAREC. Welcome to RAREC
  • Wesley Kline, Cumberland County Agricultural Agent
    • ‘Impact of Cyclospora on fruit and vegetable production’ CORE: 30 minutes
  • Tim Waller, Cumberland County RCE Nursery Agent.
    • ‘Useful Nursery and Ornamental Crops and Considerations’
  • Raul Cabrera, Extension Specialist in Nursery Production and Management.
    • ‘Recent developments on substrates (for container-grown crops)’
  • Dan Ward, Director, RAREC; Rutgers Agrivoltiacs Program.
    • ‘Update on the agrivoltaics research program at Rutgers’
  • Ann Nielsen, Extension Specialist in Entomology
    • Emma Waltman, PhD candidate, ‘Land-use around farms impacts stink bug biological control’
    • Amanda Furuya, Post-Doctoral Associate, ‘Tackling Spotted Lanternfly in South Jersey Vineyards’
    • Octavio Menocal Sandoval, Post-Doctoral Associate, ‘Updating Monitoring and Management for Codling Moth in Apple’
  • Thierry Besancon, Extension Weed Specialist for Specialty Crops.
    • ‘Update on new technologies for weed management in vegetable crops’
  • Ramandeep Kumar Sharma, Salem County Agricultural Agent.
    • ‘Optimizing Nitrogen Rate and Application Timing for Corn Yield and Quality’
    • ‘Evaluation of Sulfur Fertilizer Sources and Application Rates for Optimizing Soybean Growth and Yield in Southern New Jersey’
  • Maria Cramer, Senior Program Coordinator, Vegetable IPM,
    • ‘Thrips management in tomatoes’
  • Patrick McMullen, Atlantic County Agricultural Agent.
    • ‘Wilts of cucurbits: Identification and management’
  • Andy Wyenandt, Extension Specialist in Vegetable Pathology.
    • ‘Updates on vegetable disease control’

NJDEP pesticide recertification credits approved: CORE (1), PP2 (4), 1A (4), and Category 10 (4).

Filed Under: Agrivoltaics, Commercial Ag Updates, Disease Forecasting, Field, Forage & Livestock, Food Safety, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Nursery, pesticide credits, training, Tree Fruit, vegetable, Vegetable Crops, Wine Grape, work shop