J Rabin

October 15, 2017 by J Rabin

Farm Calls: Deer Damage is Back with a Vengeance

This past week we heard from a New Jersey grower direct from the cab of his hi-tech combine as he was harvesting soybean.

The yield monitor in the cab was showing him huge yield differences in real-time between the headlands (edges) of the field adjacent to wooded areas and the rest of the 12-acre field. He considered possible causes but the differences were far too great to be shade, water stress, compaction, or competition from weeds. Nothing seemed to fit the pattern explaining the 45% yield loss seen in the first 2 passes compared with the 50 bushels/acre for the rest of the field.

Recalling a discussion we had some 15 years ago about deer being edge habitat species, he asked, “Could this be deer damage?”

It might well be. Grower reports are coming in from all over New Jersey suggesting that this will be a very bad year for deer damage. Rising intolerable crop losses are being experienced. NJ Farm Bureau President, Ryck Suydam, states, “The costs are just too high, something must be done” to better control deer damage. Contrary to popular opinion, crop damage from deer is the result of how effectively non-farm landowners (public and private) manage wildlife resources on their own properties. We have the knowledge to do a better job controlling deer populations; getting buy-in from all groups to work toward consistent application of effective methods is the hard part.

Myths about Deer Populations

Deer thrive in NJ but we can’t lay blame at the feet of local farms. Deer are unlike other species whose numbers dwindle in the face of urban sprawl. Landscape modifications carving up habitat – the edges of neighborhood yards, for example – actually support more deer at higher densities per square mile than undisturbed forests. Due to modern NJ settlement patterns, available deer habitat has increased while predation has decreased leading to populations that have outstripped deer carrying capacity for much of our state. When deer populations overwhelm an area, normal deer behaviors bring them into closer contact with humans, resulting in increased incidence of human disease (for example, Lyme disease), auto vs. deer accidents, and competition for suburban landscaping and agricultural crops. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, Farm Calls, Latest Post, Political Economy

April 8, 2015 by J Rabin

Cabbage Maggot & Pest Control Efficacy

Last month we met with a group of farmers who urged Rutgers to provide expanded information on organic pest control recommendations.

What are my organic treatment options and how well do they work? As an organic grower, I sometimes accept less control, and more costly treatment than conventional farmers, but the information on efficacy is unclear. If Rutgers isn’t doing efficacy trials, can you sift through the literature to tell me what others have found that definitely works?

Control of cabbage root maggot (CRM) is a timely example that illustrates the ‘struggle for relative efficacy’ in making organic recommendations when compared with conventional options. Forsythia in bloom–any day now–occurs at about the same time that farmers can expect CRM to damage their transplanted cole crops. Even light CRM infestations can kill small seedlings and transplants, delay crop development, and render root crops unsaleable. Higher populations can kill older plants or reduce yield.

This article discusses:

monitoring and control of CRM in cole crops.
the use of online weather station degree-day (DD) data to predict CRM activity and timing of treatment – instead of relying on phenology.
how the lack of field research capacity makes recommendations difficult for organic pest controls in comparison with conventional controls.
why talent scouting (sifting through the literature) is an adjunct to research capacity, not a replacement.

March 7, 2015 by J Rabin

Farm Market Products: Brussels Sprouts on the Stalk

While the draw of agritourism is the on-farm experience, it’s just as important to provide both the expected (sweet corn!) and unique quality produce. Unique experiences and products set your operation apart in the minds of your customers.

Sometimes unique means going back to the ways things used to be done – take Brussels sprouts. Growing up on the Infante family farm, we would top the plants and sell them “on the stalk”. Since the young leaves of Brussels sprouts taste similar to collards, we would market the topped leaf cluster separately as greens to be prepared like you would collards.

“What is the best time to top Brussels sprouts so that the ‘buttons’ size uniformly? What are the pros and cons of topping?”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Agritourism, Articles, Growing Crops

December 8, 2014 by J Rabin

Farm Calls: A Winter’s Tale of Two Fields

Last Friday night a leading Jersey vegetable grower asked, “What’s with all the recent media hype about cover crops? I’m getting ads, USDA NRCS promotions and trade magazine articles about something we already know all about.”

He’s not alone in holding this opinion – ag agents have come to similar conclusions. “We know about cover crops. Farmers know about cover crops. Cover crops have been researched, demonstrated, and their costs and benefits established for over a century. There’s nothing innovative for growers and nothing new to teach.”

The thing is, many growers haven’t adopted cover crops. For example, take the fields I came across while driving down to Friday’s meeting. Who can resist checking out other farmers’ fields while traveling, whether it’s your neighbor down the road or fields far from home? On this detour, there were hundreds of acres seeded with a cover crop mix of cereal rye and oilseed radish (AKA Tillage Radish). But, something caught my eye so I stopped to take a look.