Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) of Cape May County received a $460,170 grant by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as part of a multi-million federal award to organizations to develop training and provide resources for beginning farmers and ranchers across the U.S… The three-year grant, awarded through the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program administered by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), will be used by RCE to educate new and beginning farmers in New Jersey on how to grow high value crops on small acreage… “We are so pleased that Rutgers Cooperative Extension’s continuing programs to educate new and beginning farmers in the Garden State has received this important investment from the USDA in food production systems,” said Larry Katz, director of Rutgers Cooperative Extension and senior associate director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, which RCE is a part of.
100 Years of Mosquito Control in Cape May County
Mosquitoes – the most studied insect in the world, known as a nuisance factor to us all. Between 1800 and 1900, there was no organized form of mosquito control in New Jersey, leaving huge mosquito hoards to attack the East Coast, especially Cape May County… The “patriarch” of the beginning of mosquito control in New Jersey is known as Dr. John B. Smith of Rutgers University. Smith was not a classically trained entomologist; he began his professional career in law, but he got tired of this quickly. His intense interest in all things entomological eventually led to his employment at Rutgers where he first tackled agricultural pest problems facing New Jersey’s farmers, creating his vision of mosquito control in New Jersey… The mosquito scourge in New Jersey was so vast in the late 1800s that most individuals at the time believed that controlling mosquitoes was preposterous. But Smith believed otherwise, and in 1900 he successfully secured a small sum of money from the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) for a preliminary investigation into the mosquito problem.
County 4-H Members Compete at State Horse Show
Congratulations to six 4-H horse club members who represented Cape May County at the New Jersey State 4-H Championship Horse Show, Aug. 21-23, at the Horse Park of New Jersey at Stone Tavern in Allentown… 2015 4-H Senior Equestrian of the Year Kelly Suter, of Lower Township represented Cape May County in the NJ State 4-H Equestrian of the Year Contest in Monmouth County Aug. 15. She was awarded a 3rd-Place Runner-Up ribbon at state horse show opening ceremonies Aug. 21… “The competing 4-H’ers are the best of the best from each county; they have earned the right to participate through county-level qualifying shows,” says Linda Horner, Acting 4-H Agent. She continued, “I am especially proud of our state competitors this year. It was their first trip to the championship show for all of them but Kelly Suter.”… The 4-H Youth Development Program is part of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station and the Rutgers Cooperative Extension.
Area Oyster Farming Among Topics Discussed at Environmental Summit
The Delaware Estuary Science and Environmental Summit was held at Cape May’s Grand Hotel Jan. 25-28, including two panel discussions about the growing aquaculture-farming industry in the region… A special session titled: ‘Shellfish C…