New Jersey Farm Bureau News

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Healthcare – Required Notice to Employees

20 Sep 2013, Posted by admin in National News

As mentioned in the 9-20-13 edition of This Week in Farm Bureau, the federal Affordable Care Act requires that all employers provide their employees with an “Exchange Notice” by October 1, 2013. AFBF has developed a fact sheet for farm employers that provides guidance on how to comply with this new and ongoing requirement. The fact sheet is accompanied by sample forms that farm employers can use.

To find links to these documents, visit our Information for Farmers page, under the Healthcare heading.

EPA can go forward with plan to limit pollution in the Chesapeake Bay

13 Sep 2013, Posted by admin in National News, Science and Environmental Issues

A federal judge on Friday upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s sweeping plan to limit pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, derailing the farm lobby’s attempt to stop one of the largest efforts to clean a waterway in the nation’s history.

Click here to read the full story from the Washington Post.

GMO Information Available

06 Sep 2013, Posted by admin in Science and Environmental Issues

As mentioned in the September 6, 2013 issue of This Week in Farm Bureau article titled “GMO LABELING” – NJFB will be posting links and reference to scientific and policy reports regarding Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) to help foster an informed dialogue between farmers and their consumers.

To find links to these reports, visit our Information for Farmers page.

Feinstein to ICE: Stop targeting farm workers

04 Sep 2013, Posted by admin in National News, News

Sen. Dianne Feinstein is calling on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to halt enforcement actions against illegal farm workers and their employers, saying continued prosecutions could cripple the agriculture sector.

Read the full article from The Hill.

Booming lobster population pinches profits for Maine’s fishery

30 Aug 2013, Posted by admin in Economics and Prices

Industry leaders are talking about expanded lobster processing, better cooperation in marketing and eliminating kinks in the supply chain to restore market prices.

To read the complete Bangor Daily News article referenced in the “FISHING ECONOMICS” story in the August 30, 2013 issue of This Week in Farm Bureau click here.

Despite reports, no firm plan for farm bill in the House

30 Aug 2013, Posted by admin in National News, News

Aides to House Republican leaders said Wednesday that they are still considering how to proceed with legislation establishing federal farm and food aid policy after news reports suggested that top leadership had settled on a strategy.

The current farm bill expires Sept. 30 and federal policy on food aid and farming would revert back to a 1940s-era law in January if Congress fails to act.

Click here to read the full story from the Washington Post

Just Peachy: farmers, Campbell Soup use bruised fruit to make salsa, benefit food bank

28 Aug 2013, Posted by admin in Local Farms and Food, News, State News

Representatives from the Food Bank of South Jersey and the Campbell Soup Company visited Eastern Propak fruit packing plant Tuesday to witness the sorting process of peaches to be used in Just Peachy salsa.

Click here to read the rest of the story from the South Jersey Times.

Squabbles mar N.J. forest plan

27 Aug 2013, Posted by admin in News, Science and Environmental Issues, State News

For 15 years, certified forester Bob Williams watched over 5,000 acres of woodlands and wetlands in Atlantic County’s Estell Manor. He thinned trees, conducted controlled burns, and planted and fenced seedlings of the increasingly threatened Atlantic white cedar.

When the Christie administration bought the land from Lenape Farms Inc. eight months ago, Williams and the landowners who hired him were lauded by state officials for encouraging forest regeneration, reducing wildfire hazards, and protecting wildlife.

Last week, the forester returned to the site to find sections of the $10,000 fencing down, deer prints in the mud, and many of the seedlings gone.

To read the rest of the story from the Philadelphia Inquirer, click here.

NJ Farmers, others advocate legal protection for locally grown moniker

19 Aug 2013, Posted by admin in Local Farms and Food, State News

Advocates of buying locally grown food tout a range of benefits, from getting the freshest produce possible and supporting one’s own community to reducing vehicle emissions that contribute to pollution and climate change.

Click here to read the full story from the Times of Trenton.

NJ Farm Bureau President Wants Definition for ‘Locally Grown’

05 Aug 2013, Posted by admin in Local Farms and Food, State News

The New Jersey State Board of Agriculture has proposed rules that would govern what farmers can label as “Locally Grown.” New Jersey Farm Bureau President Ryck Suydam told NJ Today Managing Editor Mike Schneider that having a specific definition will help customers trust their farmers more.

Click here to read more, and for a video from NJ Today.