Impacts

Collaborating Between States- the Produce Safety Risk Assessment Tool

Michigan's Produce Safety Risk Assessment (PSRA) has been recognized as a powerful tool to drive voluntary compliance with State and Federal laws. A group of outreach professionals, the Innovative Small Farms Outreach Program (ISFOP) at Lincoln University, is adopting the PSRA as part of their outreach efforts. To better orient them to the tool, Michigan State University conducted a one-day training with ISFOP staff. It was well received.

The Missouri Food Safety Task Force Hosts an Annual Food Safety Conference

The majority of participants were food inspectors and they are very eager to learn more to provide help to their clients.  The audiences expressed their tremendous appreciation for this opportunity as they otherwise would not be able to attend these classes, and they stated that this will greatly improve their ability to help the clients they serve.  

Virtual Meetings Create Connections for State Employees

At the 2019 NCR FSMA annual conference, state regulators met as a group.  They decided it would be helpful to continue the conversation through monthly video calls.  A few months later, the state employees responsible for their states’ inventories decided meetings would be helpful for their roles as well.  The Missouri Department of Agriculture's Ben Marshall shared about the calls through a song parody.

New Farm Owners Invite Educators and Regulators to Their Farm

Drew McCulley and his wife Stephanie had both worked in agriculture in their hometown in Indiana.  The two of them had an opportunity to buy an existing farm, with all the ground, equipment, and even a home.  Along with Stephanie’s mother, Janie Shriver, they bought the whole operation and renamed it Valhalla Farms. 

Iowa State University staff collaborate to offer training that impacts people around the world

A unique partnership between Iowa State University’s CIRAS and the Extension and Outreach Iowa Grain Quality Initiative (IGQI) equips university staff to work with food and feed manufacturers from Iowa and across the world.

Purdue University Works with Military Veteran Farmers

Most military veteran farmers engage in small-scale farming. Like other small-scale farmers, they face challenges balancing making profits and complying with food safety regulatory requirements.

Designing a temporary pack shed structure

Many farmers have asked Iowa Valley RC&D for guidance on how to set up a low cost, food safe, GAP certifiable, and efficient space for washing and packing produce. With funds from the North Central Region Center for FSMA Training, Iowa Valley designed and constructed a temporary pack shed structure and created an instructional building guide to enable anyone to construct the pack shed on their own.

Food Safety Bites: A food safety-focused podcast series 

The topic of food safety can be daunting for many vegetable farmers.  To address this need, UW-Madison Extension and Outreach specialists Erin Silva and Harriet Behar, in partnership with Annalisa Hultberg (University of Minnesota), developed a series of 10 to 15-minute-long podcasts that create a platform for farmers to access this information in a consistent, accessible format.  

Nhia Xiong, a Hmong Farmer, works with Lincoln University Cooperative Extension's Innovative Small Farmers’ Outreach Program (ISFOP)

When Mr. Xiong asked for LUCE’s assistance, he was growing vegetables on a 0.25-acre plot and selling at one farmers’ market one day a week.  His goals were to expand his operation, sell vegetables on a year-round basis, and make a profit.

Water Quality and the FSMA PSR: Developing Risk Assessment and Educational Tools for Farmers and Laboratories in the Upper Midwest 

The University of Minnesota and Michigan State University, in partnership with the Produce Safety Alliance, are leading a 3-year USDA NIFA FSOP project to help water analysis laboratories and producers better understand the not-yet-finalized agricultural water requirements under FSMA PSR subpart E, and to reduce on-farm risk associated with agricultural water use.

Missouri growers benefits from University of Missouri Extension programming

Matthew Brubaker includes working with staff from University of Missouri Extension and the Missouri Department of Agriculture, and attending a PSA grower training as key elements of produce safety on his farm.

Pilot Hmong-language bi-lingual PSA grower training in Minnesota

The Produce Safety Alliance (PSA), University of Minnesota Extension, Minnesota Department of Agriculture Produce Safety Program, and the Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA) recently collaborated to offer the nation’s first alternate language training that met the regulatory requirement of § 112.22(c) for covered farms.

Cheney Lake Produce Benefits from a Team Approach to Grower Education

John Miller, his wife, Freida, and their five children have operated Cheney Lake Produce for 12 years.  They have worked with K-State Research and Extension and the Kansas Department of Agriculture to make decisions that help them provide high quality produce to their community.

NCR FSMA partners draw upon their network to move trainings to remote delivery during COVID-19 pandemic

Produce Safety Alliance Grower Trainings are some of the many events that the coronavirus pandemic has affected.  When it became clear that in-person trainings couldn’t safely be held for many weeks, the PSA staff decided to temporarily allow remote delivery of the grower training. 

Biological Soil Amendments of Animal Origin Conference

The FDA Produce Safety Network collaborated with the NCR FSMA Center and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach to develop a 1.5 day conference and tour in Iowa to discuss biological soil amendments of animal origin.

Farmer finds DATCP inspectors to be helpful partners in meeting FSMA requirements

Harmony Valley Farm (HVF) is a 120-acre farm in Wisconsin that sells certified organic vegetables. They recently hosted the Wisconsin Produce Safety Advisory Council.

Mennonite vegetable farmer serves as liaison between Plain community growers and state and federal agencies

LaVern Zeiset, who grows 25 acres of vegetables and has dairy cows, represents Wisconsin on a committee of Plain growers who help the FDA understand their community's unique concerns.

Produce Safety Alliance and NCR FSMA Collaborate on Produce Safety

The Produce Safety Alliance and the North Central Region FSMA Center (NCR FSMA) have a history of complementary efforts to help coordinate activities and strengthen produce safety outreach programs in each state.

Two States, One Mission

Dr. Londa Nwadike currently serves as the State Extension Food Safety Specialist for both Kansas State and the University of Missouri.  
Cal Jamerson is the state extension produce safety associate in Kansas.  He explained, “because Londa is the coordinator of produce safety Extension work in both states, this increases our operational knowledge of each other.  We have two state approaches trying to solve a problem, instead of just one.  When one state has good ideas, the other state hear about it.”

Collaboration in Indiana Serves Produce Growers

The Indiana Department of Agriculture, the Indiana State Department of Health, and Purdue Extension collaborate under the umbrella of Safe Produce Indiana.  As JoAnna Beck, a produce safety supervisor with the Department of Health said, this “gives growers a lot of resources and people they can trust and turn to when they have questions.”

Educating Plain Growers

Plain community growers are generally concentrated in small areas. Bringing trainings to their communities can generate large audiences for trainings if an educator has built a relationship with the community. 

Buske and Puffer

Farmers are learning that the new Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule is not a burden, as they expected. Mike Buske has been growing vegetables commercially for nearly 20 years. While he admits that the idea of the government regulations could take the fun out of farming, so far FSMA has not been a burden. “As long as they keep the rules reasonable, it shouldn’t cost much more than what we’re doing,” he said.

Farmers as Trainers

In the State of Minnesota, farmers are trainers for Produce Safety Alliance Growers Training. Some fruit and vegetable growers are required to take this course to comply with the Food Safety Modernization Act, but most of them are not required to take the course.

Brooks and Mai

Jamerson held a review at their farm, and a few other farmers attended as well. As a result, Brooks and Mai immediately made some changes to improve their food safety practices. “I stopped washing my greens,” says Brooks. Previously, they had washed salad greens and spinach in a bin of water and then spun them dry. During the on-farm review, they learned that washing their greens using the same tub of water can spread contamination. Jamerson suggested that they sell their greens unwashed, if possible, or rinse them over a grate. In this way, water washes through, so that if something is contaminated it does not contaminate the whole bin.  

Shephard's Farm

For some growers, the Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) Grower Training is their first introduction to the resources that are available to fruit and vegetable growers through Extension. The Food Safety Modernization Act, passed by congress and signed into law by President Obama in 2011, requires produce growers to attend an approved food safety course and the PSA Grower Training is the first approved course. Jim Shephard attended a training offered by the University of Missouri Extension.

Detroit Meeting

The first face-to-face gathering held for partners of the North Central Region Center for FSMA Training, Extension, and Technical Assistance (NCR FSMA) was a grassroots effort organized by two prominent partners: Phil Tocco (Michigan State University Extension) and Don Stoeckel (Produce Safety Alliance).  During the summer off-season, new information about the Produce Safety Rule was released, and teams had time to develop new classroom activities to do a better job of educating growers.