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The Rutgers Gardens Student Farm continues to share resources and host community-building workshops for folks interested in organic vegetable production as well as farms that are seeking USDA organic certification. We have two upcoming workshops at the farm and an informational video about the record keeping needed for your Organic System Plan to become USDA certified. These educational offerings are presented with support from the USDA Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP).
Watch the Record Keeping video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDrbHWVcC3Q
Ecosystem Services Workshop
Monday, October 20th from 12pm to 2pm
Location: Rutgers Gardens Student Farm, 130 Log Cabin Road, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Guest speaker: Jean Epiphan
Organic produce farming is hard work, but well worth it to share access to nutrient-dense fresh fruits and vegetables that are grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. The benefits of going organic extend to the environment too! Farm ecosystem services resulting from organic growing practices can include higher levels of carbon sequestration, lowered greenhouse gas emissions, healthier water and improved soil quality, and increased biodiversity.
Join us as guest speaker Jean Epiphan, Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent with Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Morris County, highlights the ecosystem benefits of organic practices using the Student Farm’s growing methods as examples. This event will include a hands-on planting activity in the new perennial pollinator bed at the farm – bring work gloves if you like! Attendees will go home with perennial seed packets. Refreshments will be served after a Q&A session. Advance registration is required.
Guest speaker bio:
Jean Epiphan is an Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent and Assistant Professor as part of the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Morris County. Jean is a New Jersey Licensed Tree Expert, ISA Certified Arborist, and certified in wetland delineation, wetland construction, and ecological restoration. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry from the University of Vermont and has a graduate degree in Ecology from Rutgers University. Jean has spent over 20 years consulting and researching local vegetation, plant communities, and forest ecosystem health; she has led forest and terrestrial ecosystem surveys throughout the greater NJ-NY-CT tristate area, including multiple research studies in Morris County. Jean has worked in the landscape & tree care industry as a grounds manager, tree curator, landscape designer, and an arboricultural and ecological consultant. In her current role she focuses on improving environmental sustainability and ecological health in ornamental horticulture as well as landscape management and conservation practices.
What to Expect When You’re Being Inspected Workshop
Tuesday, October 28th from 12pm to 2pm
Location: Rutgers Gardens Student Farm, 130 Log Cabin Road, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Guest speaker: Alan Johnson
REGISTER HERE: https://rutgers.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cScEeY1XDSDJvTM
As a grower, planning for an organic certification inspection can be nerve-wracking. Whether you’ve created an Organic Systems Plan (OSP) for your farm and you’re ready to take that next step, or you’re still in the research phase and want to know “what to expect when you’re being inspected,” this workshop is ideal for current and prospective organic producers to be fully prepared for what happens during this important visit from an inspector representing a USDA-accredited certifying agency.
Join us as Alan Johnson, accredited inspector with the International Organic Inspectors Association and the Vice President of the NOFA-NJ Board of Directors, guides us through a mock organic certification inspection of the RGSF in New Brunswick, NJ. This workshop will include a field walk, a review of an OSP as well as the farm’s materials and inputs, a discussion of buffer zones, and time to ask questions and network with other producers in the community. Refreshments will be served after the Q&A session. Advance registration is required.
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