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Somerset County Agriculture & Natural Resources 2025 Impact Report
Community Outreach:
- 75 educational events
- 1,608 people reached
- 233 Garden Helpline inquiries received
Volunteers:
- 9 Rutgers Environmental Stewards trained
- 98 total active Rutgers Master Gardener volunteers
- 7,155 hours of volunteer service
- $264,520.35 – value of volunteer contributions
Commercial Agriculture Spotlight:
Vegetable production in New Jersey comes with various challenges related to soil health. In 2025, Kate facilitated two research projects underway at the Rutgers Snyder Research Farm aimed at evaluating opportunities to increase cover crop utility in vegetable production:
- Spring-Seeded Cover Crops for Plasticulture Vegetable Systems:
As an alternative to cultivation/herbicides, seeding cover crops between vegetable rows may be a complimentary, yet underutilized practice with advantages for weed control, soil organic matter, erosion control, and conditions for pick-your-own visitors.
- Application of Drones for Aerial Seeding Cover Crops in a Standing Pumpkin Crop:
Overwintering cover crops offer soil health benefits such as erosion prevention, nutrient scavenging, support of soil microbiome, and winter annual weed suppression. Aerial seeding with drones can be completed earlier in fall, and unlike tractor-mounted implements, does not disturb a developing pumpkin crop.
Native Plants for Home Horticulture Spotlight:
Home gardeners are looking for alternatives to traditional landscape plants that can thrive in a changing environment, support local wildlife, and help slow flood waters and erosion. In 2025, we developed educational opportunities and resources on native plants to assist Somerset County residents with climate resilience in the home landscape:
- Offered a three-part Native Plant Propagation workshop series, which guided participants through seed collection, winter sowing of seeds, then transplanting seedlings.
- Hosted tours of demonstration gardens in the Teaching Garden to members of the Native Plant Society of New Jersey and participants in our Pollinator Garden and Native Seed Collection workshops.
- Those without gardens can still experience native plants with some resources developed for visitors to Somerset County Park Commission sites, including the Native Plant Brochure for Duke Island Park developed by our Rutgers Master Gardeners Native Plant Team.
- Distributed 750 native seed packets.