Over the course of several weeks in January and February, Rutgers Cooperative Extension held a new farm business management program focusing on greenhouse production, Annie’s Project New Jersey for Greenhouse Growers, which featured a combination of classroom instruction and webinars. A total of 35 greenhouse growers participated in the program, the first of its kind […]
Commercial Agriculture
Robbins: Climate change and state’s drought
My friends in Iowa are digging cars and mailboxes out from under yet another snowstorm, so I don’t get much sympathy when I report yet another dry day of sunshine and high 60s. But President Obama, recognizing the relationship of California’s agricultu…
South Jersey farmers fear harsh winter’s effects on crops
Temperatures will start to rise, and the long, cold winter will begin to recede – but for a lot of local farms, the damage already may have been done. The extreme lows reached this year could impact crops, timing and pricing for agricultural businesses throughout the region, experts said. “We haven’t had anything like this in 20, 25 years,” said Atlantic County Agricultural Agent Gary Pavlis…Mark Ehlenfeldt, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service and Rutgers University, spoke at the Blueberry Open House in Hammonton on Thursday, where growers heard from researchers on all aspects of growing the fruit. “People have been concerned about how much cold we have had, and have we had any damage?” Ehlenfeldt said. “Our research shows that if buds are unopened and tight, they are 50 percent hardy to at least (negative) 4 degrees. It varies by variety, but this is an average.”
100 Years of Cooperative Extension: Rutgers Dairy Specialist Enos J. Perry Made Agricultural History
At the dawn of Rutgers Cooperative Extension in the early 1900s, New Jersey farmers were facing an era that offered promise of new methods of farming that would solve problems, improve efficiency and bring a better return on their dollar. Extension specialists and agricultural agents implemented a variety of methods and practices to engage farmers. […]
New Study Abroad Opportunity for Rutgers Students to Help Turkish Women Farmers
Rutgers students can take advantage of a new, 3-credit study abroad program this summer in Antalya, Turkey. Empowering Turkish Women Farmers has been added to the growing list of summer International Service Learning programs through the Rutgers Center for Global Education. From May 16 to June 3 this year, students will live in the homes of […]
Environmentalist Lester R. Brown, originally from Stow Creek, shares personal history in new book
He’s been called “one of the world’s most influential thinkers” and “one of the great pioneer environmentalists,” of our time, yet on the phone, during a candid conversation with Lester R. Brown, talk shifts from the day’s weather – a nor’easter just swept through the area bringing snow and ice – taking walks to live longer, to ancestry.com…Today, as founder and president of the Earth Policy Institute, Brown is the author of 51 books, which have in turn been translated into 638 different languages, a feat Brown said is “just amazing for someone who didn’t aspire to be a writer…” At first, armed with agricultural degrees from Rutgers University, he became a successful tomato farmer, where he began getting closer to nature to try to better understand things.
Wes Kline Receives 2014 Distinguished Service to New Jersey Agriculture Award
Wesley Kline, agricultural and resource management agent with Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Cumberland County, received a 2014 Distinguished Service to New Jersey Agriculture award at the annual State Agricultural Convention on Feb. 5. The Distinguished Service Awards are presented each year during the convention banquet by the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture (SBOA) to […]
The Tipping Point: Alumnus Lester Brown
When he arrived as a freshman at Rutgers, alumnus Lester Brown (AG ’55) had planned to continue farming tomatoes in South Jersey. Instead his path led him to exposure to global issues that he was able to identify as potential environmental crises, and so began his fundamental role in the global environmental movement. Read more […]
Designer Seed Thought to Be Latest Target by Chinese
The case of the missing corn seeds first broke in May 2011 when a manager at a DuPont research farm in east-central Iowa noticed a man on his knees, digging up the field. …”These varieties that Pioneer has, have shown to be better than the best varieties they’ve got in China,” said Carl E. Pray, a professor of agriculture, food and resource economics at Rutgers.
Sustaining Farming on the Urban Fringe: Motivating Farmers to Attend Worthwhile Extension Programs
Profit is not the only thing that motivates farmers to engage in worthwhile Extension programs. As professionals working in agriculture, do we consider farmers’ personal motivations for learning when teaching improved practices or new technologies? Read more.
