USDA warns of fraudulent letters

WASHINGTON, March 16, 2012--USDA officials learned late Friday afternoon, March 16th, 2012, that fraudulent letters are being sent by FAX to individuals and businesses in at least four states. The letters purportedly come from a USDA procurement officer and seek personal information. These letters are false and in no case should a recipient respond with personal and financial information. The fraudulent letters bear USDA’s logo and seal and are signed by an individual identified as “Frank Rutenberg” using a title of “Senior Procurement Officer”. Letters have been received by FAX in Alabama, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, but may have also been sent to other states. USDA is investigating this matter through the Office of the Inspector General.

Do not respond and do not supply the requested information. Please notify your local USDA FSA office if you've received such a letter/fax.
--Rick VanVranken

Clean Water Act Pesticide Application Discharge Permit requirements for NJ

Long story short, there has been no legislative fix to a 2006 court ruling that determined that pesticide applications on or near water (including wetlands) require a special permit under the auspices of the Clean Water Act, despite already being fully regulated under the Federal Insecticide, Rodenticide and Fungicide Act. In order to be in compliance with this ruling as it currently stands, the NJDEP has developed a General Pesticide Application Discharge permit that affected applicators will need to file. This new permit will be discussed in detail at the March 21 NJ Ag Water Summit at RCE-Burlington (more info posted below).
-Rick VanVranken

Links to the permit application form and other details about this situation are available here:

Today is National Ag Day!

Our friend Gene McAvoy, Regional Vegetable Agent for southwestern Florida, passed this along today (more helpful tools are available at www.agday.org!):

Today, March 8th is National Ag Day, a time when producers, agricultural associations, corporations, universities, government agencies and countless others across America gather to recognize and celebrate the abundance provided by American agriculture.
-Rick VanVranken

Foliar Diseases of Asparagus and Impacts on Subsequent Production

Professor Emeritus Dr. Steve Garrison notes the 1970 growing season shared similar conditions to the 2011 year. Excessive moisture caused severe disease infection and a weakened crop the next spring. Harvesting beds for the traditional 8 to 10 week period the next growing season caused further stress on beds and many beds never recovered.

To avoid stressing asparagus beds it is important to monitor harvest very closely during the first week of cutting the spring following a season with severe foliar infection. If daily bed yields have dropped off from previous years, or spear diameter starts falling off quickly during early harvest, the harvest season needs to be shortened dramatically to protect the future investment life of the production field. The over cutting of beds will be detrimental to the long term future health of the field. Even if prices are high towards the end of harvest, one should think long term when considering cutting asparagus fields. A healthy and productive asparagus field is a long term investment.

-Michelle Infante-Casella & Andy Wyenandt

New Jersey Agricultural Water Summit - March 21, 2012

All New Jersey Farmers are invited to the Second Annual Agricultural Water Summit, developed to answer all questions regarding permitting, use of I maps, what constitutes good quality irrigation water, how nursery can reuse safely use run-off, proper pond management and much more.

March 21, 2012 - 9am to Noon

Location: Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Burlington County

2 Academy Drive

Westampton, New Jersey 08060

609-265-5050

No registration is required

-Ray Samulis, Burlington Co. Ag Agent

NY 2011 High Tunnel Pepper Variety Trial Results

From Cornell Unversity Cooperative Extension Regional Vegetable Programs' March 2012 VegEdge newsletter Vol. 8(3):  14. 

by Judson Reid, Kathryn Klotzbach and Nelson Hoover, Cornell Vegetable Program.

Alliance, Gordo, Sandpiper, Yellow Crest, and Vanguard (left to right).
Photo: Judson Reid, CCE Cornell Vegetable Program

Introduction - If you read last month’s VegEdge newsletter you know that tomatoes can give excellent yields in high tunnels. However peppers offer a viable option to tomatoes as they require less labor, and suffer from fewer insect pests and diseases. In 2011 the Cornell Vegetable Program completed its third year of high tunnel pepper trials.

-submitted by Rick VanVranken

Getting the most from the Fruit and Vegetable Market News Retail Report webinar

Patricia McAleer, Program Specialist with the USDA – National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Institute of Food Production & Sustainability sends this announcement:  Getting the most from the Fruit and Vegetable Market News Retail Report. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service invites you to an interactive webinar on USDA’s Fruit and Vegetable Market News, a Web-based resource that provides price and movement data for hundreds of agricultural commodities. The webinar will be held on March 28, from 2–3 p.m. Eastern Time. The webinar is free, but you must register to participate at http://bit.ly/y6w4jS
-Rick VanVranken