Through a virtual confirmation hearing, the Delaware Senate confirmed and appointed Mark Collins to lead the Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation Foundation Board of Trustees.

The Delaware Forest Service’s Volunteer Fire Assistance Grant Program has awarded more than $18,000 to six volunteer fire departments to help boost their capability and readiness to respond to wildfires.

The Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) received reports over the weekend from several Delawareans who received unsolicited packages of seeds in shipments from China. Based on information provided by constituents, the packages were sent by mail and may have Chinese writing on them. Anyone who has received such a package is asked to report the shipment to the Smuggling Interdiction and Trade Compliance Program (SITC) by calling the Smuggling Hotline at 1-800-877-3835. Recipients are asked to leave everything inside the package to help investigators trace the origin. No one should ever plant seeds they did not order because they could be an invasive species.

Over the past week, Delawareans continued to receive unsolicited packages of mysterious seeds appearing to originate in China. Due to the increased volume of people reporting the receipt of illegally shipped seeds, USDA has requested the assistance of the state departments of agriculture in collecting seeds from residents. The Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) has processed more than 40 packages of seeds to be tested by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

The Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation Foundation voted to extend district enrollment until December 31, 2020 to any agricultural landowners who want to preserve their farms. These landowners will have the opportunity to apply for Round 25 in 2021. Farms must be enrolled in a preservation district before the landowner can submit a bid to sell an easement.

The Delaware Forest Service is sending its wildfire crew to New Mexico as a steep increase in lightning-caused fires has pushed the National Preparedness Level to 5 on a 5-point scale, its highest level. Critical fire weather continues throughout the West. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, the majority of the fire activity remains in Arizona and California, where over 1.5 million acres have burned. So far this year, more than 38,767 fires have burned 3.7 million acres. Delaware has trained more than 600 firefighters since 1996 and battled wildfires in numerous states, including: Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, California, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, and Washington. http://de.gov/wildfire

Delaware's wildfire crew is returning to the First State after successfully battling blazes on a 14-day assignment in Arizona and California. Delaware's 21-person team mobilized at Blackbird State Forest in Smyrna on August 28. On August 30 they were assigned to the Griffin Fire, a 61,821-acre blaze in Arizona's Tonto National Forest in the U.S. Forest Service's Southwest Region. They subsequently took on the Rockhouse Fire, a 19,506-acre blaze on land managed by the San Carlos Agency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, located 22 miles southeast of San Carlos, AZ. On September 9, they were transferred to the Southern California Geographic Area and assigned to the Valley Fire, which has consumed 17,665 acres in the Cleveland National Forest and located 19 miles northeast of Chula Vista, CA. The crew is expected to arrive back at Blackbird State Forest in Smyrna, Delaware by Friday afternoon, September 18.

The Delaware Department of Agriculture is administering the program and will be accepting applications until December 1, 2020.

DOVER, Del. (October 29, 2020) – Effective October 30, the Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) will add Kent County in its entirety to the current spotted lanternfly quarantine of New Castle County. The expansion is due to established populations of spotted lanternfly found in Smyrna, Dover, and Harrington this past week. At this point in […]

Along with the Delaware Nutrient Management Program’s annual report mailing, Delaware farmers are being encouraged to complete an additional 16-question implementation questionnaire. The questionnaire aims to measure nutrient applications and environmental deeds, allowing Delaware to recognize farmers for their stewardship efforts in 2020.

The Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) is reminding hemp producers to register their growing sites using the annual Growing Site Registration form to register available online before February 1.

The Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) is offering extensions and COVID credit exemptions for individuals who have exhausted all options in earning their continuing education credits needed to maintain their nutrient management or pesticide certifications.

The Delaware Forest Service (DFS) is always looking for motivated recruits to join its wildland fire crew. There is no cost for training and no previous experience necessary. Candidates must be over 18 years, willing to learn, physically fit, and able to travel for at least two weeks at a time, usually in the summer months. In a typical year, the DFS would offer its in-person classes over several weekends in Dover. This year, all required courses for new firefighters will be offered online through the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) and Federal Emergency Management Agency websites. The complete list of courses and links to online training are at https://de.gov/firecrew

Delaware fruit and vegetable growers who receive a passing score on their third-party food safety audits and agricultural water tests are eligible to receive cost-share to help cover the expense through the Delaware Department of Agriculture.

The Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) is warning anyone who purchased turtles, specifically the red-eared slider turtle, between August 2020 and January 2021 to take extra precautions to prevent illness.

The Delaware Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service is the first state agency in the United States to make a pledge that supports the 1t.org global goal to conserve, restore, and grow one trillion trees by 2030.

The Delaware Department of Agriculture is now accepting proposals for anticipated funding through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. DDA anticipates more than $344,000 to be allocated to increase the competitiveness of Delaware-grown specialty crops. Applications will be accepted through April 20, 2021.

Visitors to Delaware state forests can now use a mobile phone to locate trails, hunting stands, or parking areas using the Avenza Maps® mobile app (available for iPhone or Android devices from the App Store or Google Play.) All state forest maps are free to download. The app uses the phone's built-in GPS to locate it on the map, even when the device is out of range of a network or Internet connection. Users can select a particular map of interest, which can be downloaded and stored on their phone. A blue dot follows users wherever they go so they always know where they are on the map. More info at de.gov/forestmaps

The Delaware Forest Service and its new "Tree Stewards" program led more than 50 volunteers and town officials to plant 160 trees in Milton, Sussex County on Saturday, April 24. The trees will enhance the town's hiking and biking trail near West Shore Drive, part of DelDOT's  "Rails to Trails" project in Sussex County. Delaware’s urban and community forestry program funded the cost of the trees and provided technical assistance. 

The Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) received an additional round of funding to enhance the competitiveness of Delaware-grown specialty crops through USDA’s Pandemic Assistance Program. USDA awarded each state department of agriculture an allocation based upon their most recent available value of specialty crop cash receipts and acreage of specialty crop production in the state. As a result, Delaware received an additional $465,433 under H.R. 133 – the Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 133 Stimulus Funding) to distribute through a competitive grant process.

Recently, Delaware Secretary of Agriculture Michael T. Scuse took a road trip down to Sussex County to make a surprise presentation to a family farm in Laurel. Scuse recognized the Vincent Family for their commitment to Delaware through agricultural production and equipment sales, for providing gainful employment to community members, and for continuing to alleviate hunger through their participation in the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program.

Delaware's Type 6 engine and three-man crew are part of 313 personnel currently fighting the Oil Springs Fire, located 20 miles south of Rangely, Colorado. The fire was started by lightning on June 18 and has grown to 12, 613 acres with only 18 percent containment. Delaware's crew is working on one of the fire's priority areas, Division D, which involves the continued protection of the Dragon Trail Compressor Site. The fire is spreading moderately in a mixture of  pinyon, juniper and sagebrush.  Delaware's crew is comprised of engine boss Samual Topper of Maryland, engine boss trainee Adam Keever of Newark, and FFT2 Bradley Melson of Milford. The crew mobilized from Blackbird State Forest last week and started work on Saturday, June 26.

The Delaware Department of Agriculture is warning all residents about two deadly species of hemlock recently found in Sussex County. Environmental scientists have confirmed the presence of poison hemlock (Conicum maculatum) and spotted water hemlock (Cicuta maculata). All parts of the plants – leaves, stems, flowers, and roots – are poisonous to humans and animals.

Delaware's three-person Type 6 engine crew is now fighting the 2,000-acre Dexter Fire in the Inyo National Forest of southern California. Reported on July 12, the lightning-caused blaze is actively burning in brush and timber with only 13 percent containment. Leading the crew is the Delaware Forest Service's southern regional forester and engine boss Erich Burkentine of Milton, along with engine boss trainee Nikki Testa of Newark, and firefighter Hunter Melson of Milford. The crew mobilized on July 13 and is scheduled for a 21-day assignment. Delaware's crew is facing high temperatures, low relative humidity, and gusty afternoon winds on the Dexter Fire as they are conducting initial attack, digging fire line, and felling trees.

Delaware announced its 25th consecutive round of easement selections by the Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation Foundation. With the preservation of 3,695 acres, Delaware has permanently preserved more than 143,000 acres of farmland for future generations.

Delaware's Type 2IA wildfire crew is headed to the Northern Rockies to join the national firefighting effort. The team of 20 firefighters departed Blackbird State Forest and is traveling by ground transportation to Montana for an eventual assignment in that region. This is the crew’s first assignment of 2021. Last year, Delaware sent a 20-person crew to fight blazes in Arizona and California. Delaware's team is a mix of veterans and rookies, drawn from both public agencies and the private sector, who completed their certification by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. After four days of travel, the crew will complete a planned 14-day assignment before returning to the First State.

Delaware's "Diamond State" Type 2IA crew is part of more than 200 personnel fighting the Harris Mountain Fire in Cascade County, Montana. Located in difficult and rugged terrain, the blaze was started by lightning on July 23 and is currently 19,103 acres in size. Managed by a Type 2 Incident Management Team (IMT), the fire is expanding in all directions and burning actively in deep drainages. Multiple crews, engines, dozers, water tenders and air resources are providing structure protection.  The Type 2IA crew from the First State is led by the Delaware Forest Service's Sam Topper and consists of 20 volunteer firefighters from the public and private sector. The group departed Blackbird State Forest on July 21 and will serve a 14-day assignment before returning to Delaware.

Delaware's wildfire crew continues to battle the Harris Mountain Fire in the steep, rocky and mountainous terrain south of Cascade, Montana. The 31,345-acre blaze is currently 20 percent contained, with almost 300 personnel under a Type 2 Incident Management Team from the Northern Rockies to bring it under control According to crew boss Sam Topper, Delaware's 20-person Type 2IA crew has been constructing hotline on a critical piece of Division Z and has been working to keep the fire out of the head of Novak Creek. The crew has only four more shifts remaining before returning to the First State next week. The group departed Blackbird State Forest on July 21 and is serving a 14-day assignment. Delaware also has a new Type 6 engine crew fighting the Cedar Creek Fire, currently 52,030 acres and 25% percent contained, located in Washington’s Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.  The team of three firefighters is led by the Delaware Forest Service’s Todd Gsell and includes Todd Shaffer of Maryland and Andy Ney of Felton.

Secretary of Agriculture Michael T. Scuse urges producers across Delaware to participate in USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) upcoming Agricultural Labor Survey scheduled for release in mid-October. The survey will collect information about hired labor from nearly 90 Delaware farmers.

A steady downward trend over the past five years in the landowner discounts of permanent agricultural conservation easements selected for purchase in Delaware shows it’s a great time for landowners to preserve their farms.

Public invited to enter trees they plant in new TEDI tracker NEW CASTLE, Del. – Governor John Carney on Tuesday launched a new program that aims to plant a tree for every Delawarean as part of the state’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This initiative was originally announced in Governor Carney’s 2020 State of […]

$2M in seed funding to stabilize and strengthen family farms and local food supply chain operations WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney, the Delaware Department of Agriculture, and the Delaware Council on Farm and Food Policy on Thursday announced a $2 million investment in seed funding to establish the First State Integrated Food System Program. This new […]

Today, the Delaware Department of Agriculture announced that Delaware farmers’ markets had nearly $3.16 million in sales in 2021. As the second-highest sales year on record for Delaware’s farmers’ markets, 2021 has proven demand for buying locally grown products is strong among residents and visitors to the state.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a proposed rule change on December 6, 2021, to amend the agricultural water requirements of the Produce Safety Rule. In response to the proposed change, the Delaware Department of Agriculture and University of Delaware Cooperative Extension will host two outreach sessions on January 21, 2022, to engage farmers and other stakeholders.

The Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) today issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the 2022 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. The federal Farm Bill is allotting approximately $320,000 through a competitive grant process to fund innovative projects supporting specialty crops and creating new and better markets for the Delaware specialty crop industry. DDA will accept applications through March 25, 2022.

DOVER, Del. (February 23, 2022) – Testing has confirmed a case of avian influenza on a Delaware poultry farm that showed increased mortality over the past few days. Following an investigation by the Delaware Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory has confirmed poultry from this farm have tested positive […]

Federal laboratory testing has confirmed two cases of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza (HPAI)—one in New Castle County, Delaware, and one in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland. These avian influenza findings follow previously announced cases on farms in New Castle County, Delaware, and Cecil County, Maryland.

Federal laboratory testing has confirmed a highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza (HPAI) case in a commercial broiler farm in Kent County, Delaware. Following an investigation by the Delaware Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed poultry from this farm tested positive for highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza (HPAI).

 Gov. John Carney joined Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary Shawn M. Garvin, Department of Agriculture Secretary Michael T. Scuse and volunteers April 11 to plant trees on farmland recently acquired by DNREC’s Division of Parks and Recreation for Killens Pond State Park. Pictured, from left to right, STRIVE program student Richard […]

To kick off Earth Week and National Volunteer Week, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) hosted its 2022 DNREC Volunteer Awards ceremony Monday in Brandywine Park, Wilmington, alongside a Tree for Every Delawarean Initiative (TEDI) planting by Jobs for Delaware Graduates (JDG) youth volunteers.

Beginning on April 29, 2022, the Delaware Council on Farm & Food Policy will accept grant applications through the First State Food System Program for projects to enable local entities to address challenges, stabilize, strengthen, and build resilience in our food system.

Governor Carney, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Nikko Brady, and state legislators honored four Delaware farm families for their commitment to keeping farmland within the family for 100 years.

Five years after the first confirmed spotted lanternfly was found in New Castle County in 2017, the spotted lanternfly has made its way to Sussex County, creating a statewide quarantine for this invasive pest.

West Nile Virus (WNV) has been detected in Delaware the first time for 2022 in a sentinel chicken, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced today.

During a stop at the Delaware Agriculture Education & Commodities Building at the Delaware State Fair, Governor John Carney announced an additional 3,827 acres on 54 farms are now permanently preserved for future generations.

The Delaware Forest Service mobilized a 19-person wildfire crew from Blackbird State Forest to northern California. The crew will travel cross-country to join other wildfire crews to battle blazes as the number of wildfires in the area continue to grow, sparked by hot, dry, and windy weather combined with an unstable atmosphere, creating lightning-caused fires.

Members of the Delaware Nutrient Management Commission approved an emergency order during their October 4 meeting to allow for a 180-day extension for properly staged poultry litter in Delaware Crop fields beginning on November 1.

Delaware has been experiencing a significant increase in potbellied pigs running at large in residential and rural areas, including on state lands. Running at large, these pigs pose a nuisance to landowners, increase the threat of establishing feral pig populations, damage natural resources, and risk carrying endemic diseases that can spread to both people and animals.

Delaware’s agricultural producers will return to the Delaware State Fairgrounds in Harrington from January 9-12, 2023, for an in-person Ag Week experience. The much-awaited return to an in-person event will allow attendees to explore the latest and most valuable innovations while networking with other producers, industry experts, and agricultural vendors and exhibitors.

The urban forestry grant program helps communities harness the numerous natural benefits of trees: cleaner air and water, energy savings, increased property values, civic pride, and reduced storm water runoff and flooding. Funding is provided by the U.S. Forest Service and state funds.