EQIP deadline

The Natural Resources Conservation Service has funds to help growers meet the cost of implementing conservation practices, including the installation of windbreaks and beneficial insect habitat plantings, updating an irrigation system, or for pest –management or nutrient management projects. The funds are offered through the federal Environmental Quality Incentives Program for projects beginning in 2010.

EQIP can provide both financial and technical support to growers and landowners who demonstrate need. The deadline for growers to apply is August 14. Funding is available on a competitive basis, with a certain portion of the total allotted for orchardists.

For more information or to apply, contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service or county Agriculture Service Center. The Washington State NRCS Web site can be found at www.wa.nrcs.usda.gov.

FAS seeks candidates

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency is seeking agricultural producers who would like to serve on county committees and help guide federal farm programs at the local level. Nominations of –candidates are due to FSA county offices by August 3. Information and nomination forms can be found online at www.fsa.usda.gov/wa.

Peach guide

The 2009 edition of the New Jersey Peach Promotion Council’s Peach Buyers Guide contains 70 pages of information for prospective wholesale buyers on where and how to buy and handle peaches and nectarines grown in New Jersey. It lists all council members, growers, and shippers in the state, together with their brands and what they ship. It also contains the names of all council members who sell retail.

In addition, the guide provides information on peach promotions and how to store and handle peaches.

Copies of the guide are available from Jerry Frecon at Rutgers Cooperative Extension at frecon@ aesop.rutgers.edu or from the New Jersey Peach Promotion Council at 1200 North Delsea Drive, Clayton, New Jersey 08312. Major portions of the guide can be found at the council’s Web site at www.jerseypeaches.com.