Raymond J. “Ray” Samulis, 69, of Roebling, New Jersey, passed away on February 24. He served as agriculture and natural resource agent for Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Burlington County and retired in late 2017 after 41 years of service. His primary responsibilities were vegetable crops, especially sweet corn; cranberries; and farm safety. Samulis served for […]
Rutgers Cooperative Extension Presents 2020 Excellence Awards at Annual Conference
The Rutgers Cooperative Extension Annual Conference was held as a virtual meeting, January 12 – 14, 2021. The presentation of Excellence Awards was made on the 14th, presented by Rachel Lyons, chair, Department of 4-H Youth Development. Wilbur M. Runk Award Recipient: Graham “Geb” Bastian Mentor: Debra Palmer-Keenan, Associate Extension Specialist, Nutritional Sciences The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is an Extension program […]
Announcement: Leadership Changes at Rutgers Center for Turfgrass Science
Announcement by Laura J. Lawson, Interim Executive Dean of the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and Interim Executive Director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. Dear colleagues, I am pleased to announce that James (Jim) Murphy, extension specialist in turfgrass management, and Stacy Bonos, professor of turfgrass breeding, have been named director and […]
Start on Your Green New Year’s Resolutions with the 2021 Rutgers Environmental Stewards Program
Clare worked with the Borough of Middlesex Public Library to teach children about the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly and established a native plant garden that included milkweed and nectar plants. Tim created a Natural Resource Inventory for the Borough of Collingswood in order to guide any potential land use and environmental decisions and to serve as […]
Weed and Disease Control Guide Wins ‘Excellence in Extension’ Award
Matthew Elmore, assistant extension specialist in weed science in the Department of Plant Biology, helped to develop the publication, Weed, Insect and Disease Control for Turfgrass Producers, which won the Excellence in Extension Award from the American Society of Agronomy (ASA). Recognized in the long publications category by the ASA, the first edition of this […]
In Memoriam: Helen (Januszewski) Kupcho, Administrative Assistant, Rutgers Cooperative Extension
Helen (Januszewski) Kupcho, 86, passed away peacefully on October 9, 2020, after a long battle with kidney cancer. She served as the administrative assistant for Rutgers Cooperative Extension Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) for 17 years, 1980-1997. Helen was predeceased by her husband John (Jack) Kupcho, former chair of ANR who passed away earlier this year in May. Helen was born in Sayreville, NJ on March 29, 1934 […]
Rutgers On-Farm Food Safety Program Receives ESP National 2020 Distinguished Team Award
Rutgers Cooperative Extension faculty and staff from the Rutgers On-Farm Food Safety Program received national recognition for their efforts and are being awarded the Distinguished Team Award for 2020 for the Northeast Region from Epsilon Sigma Phi (ESP), the honorary fraternity for cooperative extension professionals. The team is led by Cumberland County agricultural agent Wesley Kline, […]
In Memoriam: John (Jack) Kupcho, Alum and Former Ag Agent and Department Chair
John (Jack) Kupcho, former Essex County agricultural agent and former chair of the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) within Rutgers Cooperative Extension passed away on May 11, 2020 at the age of 83. Born in Peckville, PA, he served in the U.S. Air Force and earned his undergraduate degree in ornamental horticulture from […]
Sourcing Local NJ Farm Products and Concerns of Food Insecurity
Where does food come from? Does the U.S. produce enough food to feed all Americans? Let’s stop right there for a minute and go back almost five decades. In the 1970s, gasoline and other energy prices soared—causing an American economic crisis. Our country was reliant on foreign oil sources. The U.S. economy struggled, unemployment rates […]
“Killer” Hornet NOT Found in the Northeastern U.S.
Although media reports have triggered panic over the Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia), there are no reports this pest is present anywhere else in North America besides the Pacific Northwest. Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) personnel in the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources have received inquiries to identify hornets found by the public. In New […]