AGRICULTURAL DROUGHT RELIEF PROGRAM CLOSING OUT

Payments to eligible farmers under the agricultural drought relief program will be going out later this week. When all applications are finally reviewed, it is anticipated that more than 970 farmers will receive grants. The average grant size is expected to be just under $22,500. This is in addition to the 117 livestock/dairy farmers who shared almost $400,000 in reimbursement for hay that had to be purchased for feed due to drought impacts on hay and pasture crops they would normally have grown themselves.

TESTIMONY OFFERED AT FY2001 BUDGET HEARINGS

I offered testimony before the Legislature's budget committees on the Governor's proposed FY01 budget this month. In the Assembly, most of the post-testimony questions related to the Farmland Preservation Program and reflected the influence of the recent series of articles published in newspapers of the Gannett chain. Although other topics were included in questions from members of the Senate committee, the farmland preservation issue was the main topic of discussion there as well.

PANEL WILL REVIEW FARMLAND ASSESSMENT STUDY

At the Senate budget hearing, questions arose about the farmland assessment program and its minimum qualifications. A study of its basic provisions was recently completed by Cook College, on behalf of the department, after similar questions were raised two years ago. The study looked at how changing various minimum program requirements would affect agriculture, change land use, and impact taxation issues. To complete the overall study process, the next step is to evaluate the need for changes, and, if any are needed, to recommend such changes using the Cook College farmland assessment study data. To undertake this challenging and important task, I will appoint a broad-based committee.

WEST NILE VIRUS UPDATE

The department hosted a West Nile virus preparedness meeting in Trenton this month. The working group included representatives from a number of interest areas, including veterinarians and mosquito control professionals. The goal of the group is to establish guidelines that horse owners and equestrian facility managers can use to minimize the risk of infection of horses by West Nile virus and to minimize the national and international ramifications of another West Nile virus outbreak in the region. The strategic plans to protect NJ's equine population from the effects of West Nile virus in 2000 are being finalized. They will be presented to the USET and all interested parties during meetings scheduled later this spring.

LABORATORY PREPARES FOR PLUM POX VIRUS TESTING

As the department continues to plan for the plum pox survey of stone fruit growers in the state, NJDA laboratory staff is preparing to test samples of peach leaves submitted for diagnosis of the plum pox virus. The immunological test will enable plant extracts to react positively with reagents if the virus is present in the plants. The department is working with scientists in the laboratories of surrounding states and at USDA to discuss techniques and possible innovations.

PROCESS ESTABLISHED FOR THIRD-PARTY FOOD SAFETY INSPECTIONS

Many chain store buyers are following the Safeway chain's lead and requiring that fruits and vegetables be purchased only from farms that have been audited by a third party as recommended by the Good Agricultural Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices prepared by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the USDA. At my request, these agencies agreed to give New Jersey's fruit and vegetable industry more time to comply with the requirements in order to enable us to develop and implement the most economical inspection plan for our growers. NJDA staff worked with the staff at Rutgers Cooperative Extension to hold training sessions for farmers and our inspectors. Based on these training sessions and the federal guidance document, NJDA prepared and submitted to Safeway, Inc., a draft inspection plan. With some minor changes, Safeway has found it acceptable and the final plan for third party inspection services will be soon be completed. The program will be available to New Jersey growers under our fee-for-service inspection program.

WATER SUPPLY COUNCIL MEETING SET

NJDEP's New Jersey Water Supply Advisory Council held a public forum today concerning the management of water supplies during drought. The meeting was a forum for collection of comments and recommendations as to how water supplies might be better managed in the event of another drought. DEP presented a background of drought management in the state and their proposed changes. The U.S. Geological Survey gave a presentation on regional drought indicators and NJDA and other key agricultural organizations offered comments and recommendations as well. The department's presentation focused on drought management issues and the need for the state to further develop water resources for the future, including increased supplies for agriculture.

JERSEY FRESH 2000 CAMPAIGN UNDER WAY

The 2000 edition of the Jersey Fresh advertising and promotional program has begun with the spring television commercial appearing on stations throughout the tri-state region. Three new seasonal commercials will be filmed to replace the existing four-year-old ones. Once again Governor Whitman has agreed to participate in the filming.

GOVERNOR HOSTS INTERGENERATIONAL SCHOOL BREAKFAST EVENT

Governor Christie Whitman joined DHSS Commissioner Christine Grant and Secretary Art Brown at the Ferraina School in Long Branch to witness the operation of the highly successful Intergenerational School Breakfast Program there. Through the program, senior citizens volunteer to come into the school each morning and help teachers provide a nutritious school breakfast to the students. At the same time both children and volunteers enjoy the social interaction the pilot project creates, allowing the benefits of the program to expand far beyond the meal.

TRAINING PROGRAMS OFFERED ON NEW CONSERVATION STANDARDS

A comprehensive training program was conducted by State Soil Conservation Committee for all soil conservation district personnel concerning the revisions to the Standards for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control in New Jersey which are to be implemented May 1. The training provided a comprehensive review of the 42 vegetative, engineering and storm water runoff treatment standards applicable to virtually all construction- and mining-related land disturbance activities in the state as prescribed by the Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Act to secure project certification of proposed storm water runoff and non point pollution controls. In addition, a workshop on the new Standards was co-sponsored by the State Soil Conservation Committee and the Warren County Soil Conservation District for engineers, consultants and design professionals.

NURSERY, PLANT INSPECTIONS COMPLETED

The department has completed 50 winter inspections of nurseries and 179 inspections of plant material at dealer locations throughout the state. Post-entry screening inspections were performed at sites in Atlantic, Mercer and Burlington and Camden counties that are to receive roses imported from England. In addition, 52 state phytosanitary inspections were conducted on asparagus, ivy, gladiolus, magnolia, and juniper seedlings for shipment to Canada, California, Oregon and Washington. Another 15 federal phytosanitary inspections were conducted to facilitate international trade including asparagus crowns for Mexico, gladiolus to Great Britain, and assorted bulbs for re-export from the Netherlands to Canada.

GYPSY MOTH SPRAYING TO BEGIN ON MAY 10

Aerial treatments of B.t. to control gypsy moth are scheduled to start on May 10 in Carneys Point Township and Oldmans Township, Salem County, and Southampton Township, Burlington County. Training sessions were held this month for local municipal crews participating in the spray operations to clarify everyone's responsibilities and duties during the spray operation. Aerial treatments will be monitored by the department.

GOVERNOR'S CUP WINNERS SELECTED

The winners of the Governor's Cups for the best New Jersey grape and fruit wines produced in 1999 were a Traminette from Tomasello Winery in Hammonton and a Ciliegia Amabile (cherry wine) from Cream Ridge Winery. The winners were announced at the annual Grape Expectations event in New Brunswick.

NEW JERSEY SIRE STAKES UPDATE

The Sire Stakes Trustees completed the process of converting the Fair Racing Program to a new program called the Green Acres Series. The new series is expected with be valued at $750,000 in its first year, a 50% increase over the former Fair Program. The Green Acres Series will be contested at Freehold Raceway and Garden State Park from mid-August through early October. In addition to the normal horsemen's payments and other monies that are added by the Sire Stakes, the new program will also receive purse supplements from the tracks as well as the money that was formally used to administer the Fair Program.

Five of the top 10 pacers rated in the recently released Experimental Championship Rankings for 2000 are New Jersey sired. Overall, 14 of the 30 horses rated were by current New Jersey sires. Among the three year old trotters, six of the 30 were New Jersey.

NJ NETS HELP PROMOTE 5-A-DAY FOR BETTER HEALTH

"Produce Man," the mascot for the national 5-A-Day for Better Health campaign, DHSS Commissioner Christine Grant, a player from the New Jersey Nets and Secretary Art Brown took part in a photo shoot which will result in a promotional poster for the program. The poster will appear in the Nets traveling educational van this summer and be used elsewhere to promote greater consumption of fruits and vegetables.

OCEAN COUNTY CABINET ON THE ROAD WILL VISIT VO-TECH SCHOOL

Secretary Brown and other NJDA staff along with representatives from the Food Bank of Monmouth-Ocean Counties will visit Ocean County Vo-Tech's culinary arts and supermarket careers programs on May 3 as part of Governor Whitman's Cabinet on the Road tour of Ocean County. The Secretary will tour facilities related to the culinary arts program, lunch with senior citizens in the café and visit the supermarket careers classroom and mini-mart. The visit highlights education and the elderly, two of the Governor's focal points as outlined in her State of the State address. The culinary arts program transforms donated federal commodities from NJDA's food distribution program into high quality prepared foods for use by those community agencies that feed needy populations, including the elderly, even as the same commodities stretch the budget of the vocational school and expand the vocational training opportunities the students enjoy. In addition, the supermarket careers program trains students with special educational needs for jobs in the $40 billion wholesale/retail food industry, an industry strongly supported by both the Jersey Fresh marketing program and the Jersey Fresh Quality Grading Program.

USDA ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE STATISTICS MEETS

I will attend a meeting of USDA's Advisory Committee on Agriculture Statistics this month in Washington, DC. Among the expected topics of discussion include the census of agriculture content review, American Indian reservation census procedures, NASS data use policy and mandatory business reporting.