title

New Jersey Farm Bureau News

Ag Matters Online

Leslie and John Wyckoff, right, of Wyckoff's Christmas Tree Farm in Warren County are greeted by first lady Michelle Obama, with daughters Malia and Sasha, today outside the White House in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo | SUSAN WALSH)

Leslie and John Wyckoff, right, of Wyckoff’s Christmas Tree Farm in Warren County are greeted by first lady Michelle Obama, with daughters Malia and Sasha, today outside the White House in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo | SUSAN WALSH)

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the White House. And the Obamas can thank Wyckoff’s Christmas Tree Farm outside Belvidere for that.

First lady Michelle Obama today accepted four trees from the White Township farm to be featured in the executive mansion, as well as an 18.5-foot Douglas fir from Crystal Spring Tree Farm in Lehighton, Pa., which will serve as the official White House tree for the Blue Room.

Congratulations to the Wyckoff family! Click here to read more from the Express-Times.

Among nearly 20,000 written comments to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on draft rules regarding produce and preventive controls are letters from lawmakers on Capitol Hill. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), which is trying to nudge FDA into doing a second draft of the rules, made sure the media would notice several of the recently filed letters with return postmarks from the Hill.

Click here to read more from the Food Safety News.

Open-space preservation remains a popular initiative among state voters, but state legislators and the Christie administration aren’t so enthusiastic.

Across New Jersey, seven out of 10 ballot questions dealing with raising funds to maintain parks and open space won approval from voters on Tuesday, which conservationists say again demonstrated public support for efforts to keep drinking water clean, as well as preserving parks and green spaces.

But will lawmakers follow through on voter’s wishes?Click here to read more from NJ Spotlight.