Business Briefs

Organic farm certification applications are now available from the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey (NOFA-NJ) through the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.

Application packages will be available at a cost of $25, which will be deductible from the certification fee. Application packets include:

A copy of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations for organic production and handling, 7 CFR Part 205, the National Organic Program; Final Rule; the current Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) Generic Materials List and Brand Name Products List; and all necessary forms for organic certification of production (farming) operations.

Any producer selling more than $5,000 worth of product and making an organic claim must be certified. Certification must come from an USDA Accredited Organic Certifier, such as NOFA-NJ.

To request an application packet, growers should send a $25 check or money order made out to NOFA-NJ to: Organic Certification Program, New Jersey Department of Agriculture, Division of Marketing and Development, P.O. Box 330, Trenton, NJ 08625, attention: Erich V. Bremer.

The certification and approval process can take three to six months to complete. If a grower intends to sell organic crops in spring of 2006, now is the best time to apply for certification.

NOFA-NJ is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion of organic agriculture. More information concerning NOFA-NJ can be found on their Web site at www.nofanj.org.

The N.J. Department of Agriculture is in the process of developing an organic certification program.

For additional information concerning organic certification, contact Erich Bremer, N.J. Department of Agriculture, (609) 984-2225 or erich.bremer@ag.state.nj.us.

New Jersey Center for Pain Management, 55 Schanck Road, Suite 8A, Freehold Township, has welcomed Sarajane (Shari) Stirling, M.D., to the practice. Stirling is board certified in internal medicine and emergency medicine and brings close to 20 years of experience to the center.

Stirling did her undergraduate work at the University of Pennsylvania and received her medical degree from the State University of New York Upstate College of Medicine. She completed her residency in internal medicine at the Graduate Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

After completing her residency, she practiced general internal medicine and later added the practice of emergency medicine. Eventually she served as the medical director of two departments and also implemented and coordinated an emergency medicine residency training program.

Stirling joins Dr. Michael O’Hara at New Jersey Center for Pain Management. Her husband, the late Dr. Greg Yolowitz, was one of the founding members of the center. For additional information or to schedule an appointment, call (732) 431-9544.