FOOD SAFETY - GOOD AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES (GAP) OUTREACH PROGRAM FOR SMALL FARMERS WITH COMMERCIAL MARKETS

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: TERMINATED
• Funding Source: OTHER GRANTS
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1007804
• Grant No.: 2015-38821-24335
• Project No.: ALX-Vaughan
• Proposal No.: 2015-06204
• Program Code: EWE
• Project Start Date: Sep 1, 2015
• Project End Date: Aug 31, 2019
• Grant Year: 2015

Project Director
Vaughan, B.

Recipient Organization
TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
TUSKEGEE,AL 36088

Performing Department
CAENS

Non Technical Summary
This project expands our outreach efforts to provide Food Safety - Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) training and technical assistance to small and limited resource farmers in support of an ongoing, multi-state, collaborative initiative to assist them to sell produce to commercial buyers (Wal-Mart and others.)The objective is to increase the food safety GAP outreach program, while providing experiential learning opportunities to undergraduate students and supporting research with small farms in areas such as water quality, pesticide residues, and record keeping.The activities undertaken will be: presentations and workshops / trainings; on-farm educational audits, and; pre-audit preparation and technical assistance. These activities will focus on extension efforts and leverage teaching and research resources and capabilities.The potential impact of this project is an increase in small and limited resource farmers who enhance their profitability through supplying produce to commercial buyers, and a greater employment of students from 1890 institutions as food safety certification auditors and consultants.

Animal Health Component

0%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

0%

Applied

100%

Developmental

0%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
711	1411	3020	25%
711	1420	3020	25%
711	1429	3020	25%
711	1430	3020	25%

Knowledge Area
711 - Ensure Food Products Free of Harmful Chemicals, Including Residues from Agricultural and Other Sources;

Subject Of Investigation
1430 - Greens and leafy vegetables; 1411 - Beans (fresh, fresh-processed); 1420 - Melons; 1429 - Cucurbits, other;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;

Keywords

gap

certification

food safety

outreach

small farmers

Goals / Objectives
This project will address the need to expand our outreach efforts to provide Food Safety - Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) training and technical assistance in support of an ongoing, multi-state, collaborative initiative to assist small and limited resource farmers to sell produce to commercial buyers (Wal-Mart and others.)The objectives are to:(1) Increase the number of personnel involved in the food safety GAP outreach program(2) Provide food safety GAP experiential learning opportunities to undergraduate students with the aim of constructing a "Food Safety GAP Administration" option(3) Develop baseline data to support further research with small farms in areas key to food safety GAP, e.g., water quality, pesticide residues, and operational record keepingThe activities undertaken will be: food safety GAP presentations and workshops / trainings; on-farm, food safety GAP educational audits, and; pre-audit preparation and technical assistance. These activities will focus on extension efforts within the discipline of Agriculture, and will also leverage teaching and research resources and capabilities through directed student involvement and linkage with current research programs.The potential impact of this project is an increase in small and limited resource farmers who enhance their profitability through supplying produce to commercial buyers and a greater employment of students from 1890 institutions as food safety certification auditors and consultants.

Project Methods
ActivitiesPresentationsWorkshop / TrainingEducational auditsPre-audit preparation and technical assistancePlans for management of the project to ensure its proper and efficient administration. To support these activities and satisfy the objectives, the proposed extension project has been integrated with supporting teaching and research components.The activities in the food safety GAP extension outreach effort have not changed; the means of achieving the outcomes have been enhanced through linking the effort to the teaching and research missions. The student involvement component will be managed by close coordination with academic faculty who will be assigned to select and monitor the students involved in the project. The linkage with the research mission will be managed by communication with the research faculty over the various projects (e.g., water quality) to insure proper data collection and handling, processing by students, and documentation.Metrics for evaluating successful project management. The metrics for evaluating successful project management, separate from the detailed evaluation plan, is the continued involvement of students and in the data collection aspect of the research programs. Though the evaluation plan assesses more quantitative information, this information would be more qualitative, and would be gathered during the progress of the project.Resources and personnel used to conduct the project. The food safety GAP extension outreach effort currently involves the PD (a faculty member) and a number of extension agents and farm management specialists (research-outreach), with assistance from and other outreach staff members and research specialists. The proposed project will provide the resources to involve additional staff, as well as meaningfully involve students in the effort.Roles and responsibilities for key project personnel. The proposed project constitutes a contribution of additional resources to an ongoing effort to provide food safety GAP training and technical assistance to small and limited resource farmers in support of an initiative to assist these farmers to supply produce to commercial markets. The project will increase the capacity of the institution to undertake this effort, not only in increasing the number of farmers that can be served, but also broadening the geographic range. This project enhances and leverages the personnel resources that are currently committed to this effort.The Project Director (PD), Barrett Vaughan, has for the past four years been tasked with leadership in this effort; this will continue. He will be responsible for planning, leading, and evaluating farmer presentations and workshops, directing outreach to farmers, and, in addition, assigning students for the project and coordinating data collection. For the past three years, extension/outreach staff has worked closely with the PD in helping the farmers to prepare for certification. Though this will continue, this project will provide the funding to financially justify the dedication additional staff effort through a release of their time for project coordination. The primary responsibility will be to schedule and support training, assist students, and insure the timely collection of data. There will be five students directly involved with the project, each for a two-year period; two will begin in the first year, three will begin in the second. These students will be responsible for: assisting with presentations, workshops, and on-farm technical assistance; conducting surveys at trainings, and; collecting and analyzing farm research data. Their feedback will be integral in developing a "Food Safety GAP Administration" option.Evaluation PlansEvaluation framework:What will be evaluated. Both the outputs and outcomes for the project will be evaluated. The outputs will be measured for each of the activities in terms of the number of events held, as well as the number of farmers involved. The outcomes will be measured for the activities in terms of change in knowledge, change in behavior, and interest in or progress in certification.There are also a set of outputs concerning the teaching and research components that will be measured. These measurements evaluate the level of integration of these components.Questions to be addressed. The primary question will be whether there was an increase in food safety GAP certifications as a result of the project. According to the USDA "National Outcomes and Indicators", the only reportable outcome for food safety GAP outreach is the number of farms that receive certification. All of the efforts in this project with staff and students support that singular goal. The other questions concerning the teaching and research components pertain to the progress in the development of a proposed "Food Safety GAP Administration" option and of baseline data to support further research with small farms in areas key to food safety. These questions address the importance of building a broad base of capacity for this integrated effort.Timeframe for conducting the evaluation. The outputs and outcomes will be measured continuously during the project. A review of the information will be conducted annually.Program implementation objectives:The program implementation objectives are: the selection of the project coordination staff each year; the selection of students and pairing with mentor scientists in the first and second years, and; the recruitment and selection of farms for the research studies in the first and second years.Program outcome objectives, performance measures and impact:The program outcome objectives, performance measures and impact are given. The major outcome objective is food safety GAP certification of farms. This is measured by successful audits completed, and the impacts are approvals for commercial produce supply.Managing and monitoring the evaluation and reporting:The PD, with assistance from the project personnel, will manage and monitor the evaluation and reporting. The information from the attendance sheets, plans, audit reports, pre-post tests, questionnaires, surveys, observations, and technical assistance reports will be stored and shared online with the project staff. The feedback from students and scientists will also be compiled.Outcome MeasurementDifferences in pre- and post-tests of food safety GAP knowledgeNumber indicating interest in post-testPhone/mail/visit questionnaire on progress in preparationsNumber indicating interest in questionnairePhone/mail/visit questionnaire of likelihood of adoption of recommended practicesObservation of auditCorrective actions needed (if any) from results of auditTeaching Evaluation MeasurementNumber of presentations with students involvedNumber of students involved with presentationsNumber of workshops with students involvedNumber of students presenting at workshopNumber of students assisting participantsNumber of audits with students involvedNumber of students involved with auditsNumber of preparations with students involvedNumber of students involved with preparationNumber of opportunities for student involvementIdentified needs for student enrichmentNumber of students involved in data collection and analysisResearch Evaluation MeasurementNumber of completed attendee pre- and post-tests on food safety GAP knowledgeNumber of completed assessments of participant readiness, or the extent of following of food safety GAP and record keeping practicesNumber of completed educational audits providing data on food safety GAP practicesNumber of completed preparations providing data from tests (soil, water quality, etc)Number of completed certification audits providing resultsNumber of opportunities for student data collection and analysisNumber of additional sources of dataIdentified need areas for data collection

Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19

Outputs
Target Audience:Farmers, farm workers, and undergraduate Agriculture students. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two (2) undergraduate students were involved in practicing food safety principles and practices at a privately-owned workingfarm in Shorter, AL in cultivation, harvesting, packing, transportation, and commercial and retail sales. Ten (10) farmers and farm workers were provided with the Produce Safety Alliance Grower Course. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results from the project have been presented at the Tuskegee University Farmers' Conference. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? (2) Provide food safety GAP experiential learning opportunities to undergraduate students with the aim of constructing a "Food Safety GAP Administration" option Two (2) undergraduate students were involved in practicing food safety principles and practices at a privately-owned working farm in Shorter, AL in cultivation, harvesting, packing, transportation, and commercial and retail sales during the summers of the project duration. (3) Develop baseline data to support further research with small farms in areas key to food safety GAP, e.g., water quality, pesticide residues, and operational record keeping Data was collected from participating farms in furtherance of the farms obtaining food safety certification.

Publications

Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/19

Outputs
Target Audience:Farmers, farm workers, and undergraduate Agriculture students. Changes/Problems:No-cost extension(s) were obtained to better utilize the available funds remaining that were allocated to the project to further carry on the proposed objectives. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Eleven (11) persons - four employees and seven farmers - were supported to attend Produce Safety Alliance Trainer Courses in Hernando, MS, Tallahassee, FL, or Huntsville, AL. Eight (8) undergraduate students were involved in practicing food safety principles and practices at a privately-owned working farm in Shorter, AL in cultivation, harvesting, packing, transportation, and commercial and retail sales during the summers of the project duration. Twenty (20) farmers and farm workers were provided with the Produce Safety Alliance Grower Course. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results from the project have been published and presented in four conferences. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? (1) Increase the number of personnel involved in the food safety GAP outreach program Eleven (11) persons - four employees and seven farmers -were supported to attend Produce Safety Alliance Trainer Courses in Hernando, MS, Tallahassee, FL, or Huntsville, AL. This complemented the five employees and one farmer who had completedthe course earlier. (2) Provide food safety GAP experiential learning opportunities to undergraduate students with the aim of constructing a "Food Safety GAP Administration" option Eight (8) undergraduate students were involved in practicing food safety principles and practices at a privately-owned working farm in Shorter, AL in cultivation, harvesting, packing, transportation, and commercial and retail sales during the summers of the project duration. (3) Develop baseline data to support further research with small farms in areas key to food safety GAP, e.g., water quality, pesticide residues, and operational record keeping Data was collected from participating farms in furtherance of the farms obtaining food safety certification. This data is still being collected for publication and reporting.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Vaughan, Barrett; Robinson, Miles D.; Zeigler, Audrey; Hunter, George X.; Wall, Gertrude; and Brown, John (2017) "The Small Farmer-Tuskegee University-Walmart Project: Observations of the Steps within Commercial Supply," Professional Agricultural Workers Journal: Vol. 4: No. 2, 5. Available at: https://tuspubs.tuskegee.edu/pawj/vol4/iss2/5

Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/18

Outputs
Target Audience:Farmers, farm workers, and undergraduate Agriculture students. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Three (3) persons - two employees and one farmer - were supported to attend Produce Safety Alliance Trainer Courses. Two (2) undergraduate students were involved in practicing food safety principles and practices at a privately-owned workingfarm in Shorter, AL in cultivation, harvesting, packing, transportation, and commercial and retail sales. Ten (10) farmers and farm workers were provided with the Produce Safety Alliance Grower Course. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results from the project have been presented at the Tuskegee University Farmers' Conference and other regional conferences. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Involve more students in the project Continue to gather data.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? (1) Increase the number of personnel involved in the food safety GAP outreach program Three (3) persons - two employees and one farmer - were supported to attend Produce Safety Alliance Trainer Courses in Huntsville, AL. This complemented the employees and farmers who had completed the course earlier. (2) Provide food safety GAP experiential learning opportunities to undergraduate students with the aim of constructing a "Food Safety GAP Administration" option Two (2) undergraduate students were involved in practicing food safety principles and practices at a privately-owned working farm in Shorter, AL in cultivation, harvesting, packing, transportation, and commercial and retail sales during the summers of the project duration. (3) Develop baseline data to support further research with small farms in areas key to food safety GAP, e.g., water quality, pesticide residues, and operational record keeping Data was collected from participating farms in furtherance of the farms obtaining food safety certification.

Publications

Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17

Outputs
Target Audience:Farmers, farm workers, and undergraduate Agriculture students. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Eight (8) persons - two employees and six farmers - were supported to attend Produce Safety Alliance Trainer Courses. Two (2) undergraduate students were involved in practicing food safety principles and practices at a privately-owned working farm in Shorter, AL in cultivation, harvesting, packing, transportation, and commercial and retail sales. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results from the project have been presented at the Tuskegee University Farmers' Conference. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Support farmers and employees to attend the PSA Train-the-Trainer course. Involve more students in the project Continue to gather data.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? (1) Increase the number of personnel involved in the food safety GAP outreach program Eight (8) persons - two employees and six farmers - were supported to attend Produce Safety Alliance Trainer Courses in Hernando, MS, Tallahassee, FL, This complemented the five employees and one farmer who had completed the course earlier. (2) Provide food safety GAP experiential learning opportunities to undergraduate students with the aim of constructing a"Food Safety GAP Administration" option Two (2) undergraduate students were involved in practicing food safety principles and practices at a privately-owned workingfarm in Shorter, AL in cultivation, harvesting, packing, transportation, and commercial and retail sales during the summers ofthe project duration. (3) Develop baseline data to support further research with small farms in areas key to food safety GAP, e.g., water quality, pesticide residues, and operational record keeping Data was collected from participating farms in furtherance of the farms obtaining food safety certification

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Vaughan, Barrett; Robinson, Miles D.; Zeigler, Audrey; Hunter, George X.; Wall, Gertrude; and Brown, John (2017) "TheSmall Farmer-Tuskegee University-Walmart Project: Observations of the Steps within Commercial Supply," ProfessionalAgricultural Workers Journal: Vol. 4: No. 2, 5.Available at: https://tuspubs.tuskegee.edu/pawj/vol4/iss2/5

Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/16

Outputs
Target Audience:Farmers, farm workers, and undergraduate Agriculture students. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two (2) undergraduate students were involved in practicing food safety principles and practices at a privately-owned working farm in Shorter, AL in cultivation, harvesting, packing, transportation, and commercial and retail sales during the summers of the project duration. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results from the project have been presented at the Tuskegee University Farmers' Conference. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Support farmers and employees to attend the PSA Train-the-Trainer course. Involve more students in the project Continue to gather data.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? (2) Provide food safety GAP experiential learning opportunities to undergraduate students with the aim of constructing a "Food Safety GAP Administration" option Two (2) undergraduate students were involved in practicing food safety principles and practices at a privately-owned working farm in Shorter, AL in cultivation, harvesting, packing, transportation, and commercial and retail sales during the summers of the project duration. (3) Develop baseline data to support further research with small farms in areas key to food safety GAP, e.g., water quality, pesticide residues, and operational record keeping Data was collected from participating farms in furtherance of the farms obtaining food safety certification.

Publications