Atlantic County is the third largest fruit and vegetable production area in the Garden State harvesting crops worth over $60 million annually. Atlantic County farmers grow more than 100 varieties of vegetables on approximately 12,000 acres and The moderating effect of the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware Bay, which surround the well-drained, sandy coastal plane soils of southern New Jersey, allows our farmers to grow such a diversity of crops that something Jersey Fresh is being harvested at least 9 months of the year.

The mission of the RCREAC Vegetable Program is to enhance the viability of the commercial vegetable industry in the region. Creation and delivery of research-demonstration, educational, and economic development programs help achieve the goals of improving vegetable production and pest management technologies, developing and enhancing marketing opportunities, and keeping fresh produce safe throughout the food chain.

Annual Outreach Programs

• NJ Annual Vegetable Growers Meetings-Atlantic City, Jan. 14-16, 2003. Coordinated by the RCRE Vegetable Working Group, this annual conference and trade show is one of the biggest, and certainly the best, source of up-to-date technology for East Coast vegetable growers.
  
  
• Regional Integrated Vegetable Crop Management Twilight Meetings-Co-coordinated with Cumberland Ag Agent Wes Kline and Gloucester Ag Agent Michelle Infante-Casella, meetings are held on grower farms throughout the season to keep local farmers aware of current plant and pest problems observed in the field.

Special Projects

Vegetable Production and Pest Management
	World Crops Ethnic and Specialty Vegetable Production and Marketing Resource Development-Cooperating with Extension Specialists from Cornell and University of Massachusetts, Mr. VanVranken is leading this Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (http://www.uvm.edu/~nesare) funded project to create an online specialty vegetable production guide and to teach fellow extension workers how to determine market opportunities that are created by the growing ethnic diversity of the US population.
	Commercial Vegetable Production E-mail Discussion Group In 1984, Mr. VanVranken created the veg-prod internet discussion group to allow quick and convenient interaction among vegetable workers and growers around the country. Today more than 260 extension agents and specialists, researchers, industry representatives and farmers from more than 20 countries have easy access to each other to share news, reports, discuss questions, and usually receive responses within minutes.
Marketing
	Agri-culturehealth Food Systems Website The Mid-Atlantic Consortium (http://AESOP.RUTGERS.EDU/~mac/) funded the proposal developed by Mr. VanVranken to create a multi-institutional food systems website that illustrates the diverse elements that affect food production and marketing in the Mid-Atlantic Region. The Agri-Marketing section of this site was developed by Mr. VanVranken jointly with Univ. of Delaware Marketing Specialist Carl German. It is a how-to guide for farmers interested in building a retail market on their farm.
	Mid-Atlantic Direct Marketing Conference Mr. VanVranken co-coordinates this annual meeting with Extension Marketing Specialists from Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. In 2003, MACMC will be held in Timonium, MD (just north of Baltimore off I-83) and a search is underway for a site to host the 2004 conference in southern NJ.
	Annual Future of Our Food and Farms Summit Mr. VanVranken was invited to join the Philadelphia Food Trust's planning committee for this conference to develop a NESARE (http://www.uvm.edu/~nesare) professional training grant to educate extension workers and department of agriculture consultants about the opportunities and challenges of developing community farmers' tailgate markets.
Food Safety
	Food Safety Web Cooperators from the USDA's National Ag Library developed a comprehensive Food Safety resource on Mr. VanVranken's Agri-culturehealth Food Systems website.
	Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) Project is a national collaborative effort to reduce microbial risks in fruits and vegetables by developing comprehensive extension and education program for growers and packers. Mr. VanVranken is a member of the 'National GAPs Team' helping to create and deliver many educational materials promoting the use of good agricultural practices on the farm [http://www.gaps.cornell.edu/pubs/Farm_Boo.pdf Food Safety Begins on the Farm] This project is funded by CSREES-USDA and US-FDA, and is based at Cornell University.

Resources

Plant and Pest Advisory Newsletter-Statewide RCRE Newsletters providing timely pest management information for growers. Check the vegetable, organic, field crops and other editions.

Food Safety Begins on the Farm

Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Recent Publications

Marketing Ethnic Vegetables-Growers can develop new markets by targeting ethnic groups. Richard VanVranken. In Print. American Vegetable Grower. Meister Publishing, Willoughby, OH.

E-Business Applications of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Food Systems Web Site. Carl L. German, Richard VanVranken, and Kathleen Klotzbach Shimomura, University of Delaware/Rutgers University In The Webbook of IT Innovations in Extension!