By RICHARD SKELLY AFP Correspondent WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, Warren County — A diversified crowd of about a hundred livestock, hay and straw, dairy and vegetable-fruit farmers from around Warren County gathered at the Draught House here in January for the annual meeting of the county Board of Agriculture. Honorees included longtime, born-and-raised county farmers Erich and Anna Sodtalbers. Warren County Board […]
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Military vet transitions to farming in Morris Co.
By RICHARD McDONOUGH AFP Correspondent CHESTER — Ashley O’Keefe is a military veteran who served in the United States Navy for 15 years. She’s a 2009 graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. A number of her deployments were ten to eleven months in duration, with many in the Middle East Theater. Among ships O’Keefe served on […]
NOFA-NJ: Opportunities in value-added production
By RICHARD SKELLY AFP Correspondent NEW BRUNSWICK — A discussion moderated by Mercer County Rutgers Cooperative Extension Agent and Food Safety Specialist Meredith Melendez brought about interesting ideas smaller farmers can incorporate into their operations to boost profits through value-added goods and cottage food production. Speakers included Lindsay Napolitano of Fields Without Fences in Stockton, N.J. and Melanie and Stan […]
Maple syrup shows promise for South Jersey operations
By JANE PRIMERANO AFP Correspondent NEW BRUNSWICK — One doesn’t need to be in New Hampshire to tap maples. North Jersey has a few farms producing syrup from their maple trees, but South Jersey has potential too. Judith Vogel, a math professor at Stockton University in Galloway, taps trees with her husband on their hobby farm. She also advocates for […]
We need to learn from history (Editorial)
The January edition of the USDA’s biannual cattle inventory report shows the nation’s cattle herd at 87.2 million head, down about 2 percent from last year, making it the lowest herd size in 73 years. That’s going to result in a high beef market in the second half of this year, analysts say. If realized, the bullish outlook would create […]
Estate and succession planning (From the NJDA)
I lost my father on Jan. 8. He was 82 years old, but it was still unexpected. He had beaten five types of cancer and had been declared cancer-free for the past 10 years. He caught a cold after this past Christmas and, after all he had been through with cancer, that’s what eventually got the best of my Dad. […]
Lead a horse to water and get it to drink (Animal Science Update)
(Editor’s note: Dr. Carey Williams is a professor and equine Extension specialist for Rutgers University and the Equine Science Center.) Some horses may not like the way some water tastes, or may not like to drink when it is below or above a certain temperature. However if a horse suffers from chronic colic they need to drink more than the […]
County hosts ‘legislative farm visit’
From left, Burlington County farmers Bill Cutts, Roger Kumpel and Mike Haines attended the legislative farm visit at the Rutgers Marucci Center for Cranberry and Blueberry Research and tour of Haines cranberry farm. (Photo by Richard Skelly)CHATSWORTH — A healthy crowd of farmers from around Burlington and surrounding counties and key legislators came out on Oct. 19 to a […]