Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:This third year project work reached small and medium scale farmers in both NY and VT (including growers from adjacent states at meetings), members of the plain community (both Amish and Mennonite in New York), and fruit and vegetable growers in both states. NOFA-NY and NOFA-VT hosted field days and workshops for small and medium growers, CCE provided PSA GTC and technical assistance to a range of growers, as well as hosting field day workshops, providing direct technical assistance, and OFRR and training trainers, and UVM provided workshop expertises, created resources and handouts, and provided extensive technical assistance reaching both small and medium operators across the region. Changes/Problems:The only major change that occurred came in year 3 when project partner NOFA-VT was unable to use all of their alloted funds. The remaining balance was transferred and split between project partners CCE and UVM. This transfer allowed Cornell Cooperative Extension: To organize and hold one Produce Safety School that focuses on supporting farmers as they implement FSMA on the ground. One school was held centrally in Geneva, NY in late winter, with additional schools replicated elsewhere in NY/VT as time and funding permits. Develop Produce Safety School curriculum (modeled on CCE crop school curriculum), which includes an in-depth, color photo manual for each attendee that provides resources for growers following the school, and gives extension staff an outreach tool for working with the Plain community and smaller growers to introduce them to practical applications of food safety. Focus will be on implementation suggestions and will be modified through feedback from inspectors as needed. Develop additional workshops including a Listeria Pack Shed Management Workshop and a farm worker food safety training program plan. Since FSMA demands so much from workers, this workshop will cover the fundamentals of food safety for managers/owners and workers. Training with include a copy of workshop materials to help guide trainers through orientation for new workers each season. Provide continuing technical assistance and support to growers. This includes supporting OFRRs this summer, which will also be an opportunity to follow up with the produce safety school attendees to better measure overall school and project impact. This transfer allowed University of Vermont Extension: To hold a regional (NY/New England) workshop on postharvest and washing and packing in August in the Capital District of NY. To support and collaborate on development and implementation of a practice-focused food safety school, including collaborating on curriculum and instruction. Providing farm-based resources for implementation by producing resources and case studies of farms that have improved their food safety practices. Continue focusing on technical assistance and outreach work, as well as integrating food safety practices into pre-cooling system development and reaching new groups of growers. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Over the course of project years one and two, three NOFA-NY educators (Andy Fellenz, Paul Loomis, and Maryellen Sheehan) became PSA trainers and one (Andy Fellenz) became a PSA Lead Trainer. NOFA-VT's Rachel Fussell and UVM Extension's Andrew Chamberlin also attended PSA Train the Trainer courses and became AFDO certified trainers. Cornell Cooperative Extension's Robert Hadad and Craig Kahlke became Lead Trainers and provided additional mentoring assistance to the other project participants. During project year three, two additional NOFA-NY staffers (Bethany Wallis and Emma Ertinger) attended PSA Train the Trainer classes in Rochester, NY in order to better support continuing food safety technical assistance needs from the small and medium scale organic farming community. Four NOFA-NY and NOFA-VT Certification staff also attended PSA Train the Trainer sessions to help facilitate record-keeping crossover between certified organic operations and food safety recordkeeping. In total, 13 project partners or coworkers have become trainers, lead trainers, or attended a PSA Train the Trainer session as a result of participating in this project. Year Two's professional development focus was on building capacity of educators, with significant cross-partner program support. UVM and CCE supported a number of NOFA-VT and NOFA-NY programs and field days, and assisted in project outreach for all partners. CCE worked extensively to support trainers to get experience to become lead trainers, providing direct and one on one training to Trainers and mentoring CCE educators by helping trainers teach and learn new PSA modules, providing feedback, and including CCE staff in farm visits for direct experience with food safety technical assistance help to farms. Year Three's training focus centered on CCE and UVM partners providing continuing technical support to other trainers as they worked directly with growers. Craig Kahlke attended the December 2018 public meeting in Albany as the FDA reviewed their draft guidance on the Produce Safety Rule, and answered questions from the audience. CCE partners Craig and Robert Hadad also worked extensively in 2019 helping with NY OFRR and training other extension educators to help with OFRR. During this time, NYS was starting On-Farm Readiness Reviews (OFRR's), an option for growers who want to gauge their readiness for a FSMA inspection. These free reviews have an FDA-trained regulator (NYS Ag & Mkts for NY) and a CCE Extension Educator meet with the farm representative in charge of overseeing FSMA compliance. Craig and Robert attended two OFRR's in a training capacity in order to be able to conduct their own OFRR's without any other CCE or extension educator present. Robert mentored Craig in the late March 2019 OFRR. Craig mentored Laura Acuna-Maldonado in the May 2019 OFRR. Robert and Craig were given feedback and the go-ahead to conduct OFRR's as the sole extension representatives, and both have been continuing to work with growers and other trainers in this capacity. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?In 2019, project results have been disseminated through direct technical assistance, web and online resources, new print resources, field days and workshops, and through tabling at a range of events across NY and VT. NOFA-VT disseminated the project work through their workshops and handouts, as well as by reaching the wider public at the summer social sessions. In the future, organic growers will have access to their comparison document to help growers streamline recordkeeping across food safety and organic needs. NOFA-NY disseminated the project through handouts and workshops both on and off the farm, as well as continued outreach planned based on this project's work for future years. CCE both created and disseminated a wide range of materials to growers, including two new produce wash equipment cleaning checklists, one for root barrel washers and one for brush wash/conveyer setups. Robert Hadad also developed SOPs for preparing food grade detergents and food grade sanitizers used for cleaning process. Robert Hadad also began creating a worker training program to aid growers in their FSMA required food safety educational training, and worked to develop a produce safety training school curriculum. UVM created and disseminated a wide range of materials, both online and in print, across a number of food safety topics most applicable to small and mid-size growers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Obj 1. Expand educational outreach to fresh produce farmers through dedicated and specific trainings on farm food safety as well as providing follow-up with growers to answer questions/overcome barriers to implementing safety practices on the farm. Farmer FSMA Trainings: During year three of the project, ten additional PSA Grower Training Courses were held by CCE project partners across NY state, reaching 156 farmers, with 59 additional Amish growers attending a modified food safety session. In addition, 63 growers attended the optional second day of the sessions during this project year, where they wrote their Farm Food Safety plan with CCE technical assistance. In total across the three years of the project, 21 PSA Grower Training Courses were held across NY and VT, reaching 496 growers across the two (and adjoining states), with an additional 164 growers exposed to a modified version of the food safety curriculum, and 70 growers attending one or more individual modules. Obj 2. Provide training and technical assistance to underserved small and mid-size farmers exempt from FSMA but who need to become immersed into FSMA practices to keep their products safe and open to new market opportunities. A wide range of workshops were held across the project partners to achieve this objective. Over the course of the project, five total trainings focused on Post-Harvest Wash Water were held, two in 2017 reaching 43 attendees, one in 2018 reaching 48 growers, and two in 2019 reaching over 40 growers. CCE, Robert Hadad, and the Produce Safety Alliance hosted a Produce Food Safety School Wash/Pack Facility Hygiene and Sanitation workshop on March 27 at Cornell AgriTech at Geneva, with additional project support from UVM and Chris Callahan. Twenty-seven growers attended the all day program focusing on facility design and operation, integrating farm food safety practices into the pack shed, equipment cleaning and sanitizing, and took home the full range of UVM and CCE food safety handout resources. "Controlling Listeria in Apple Packinghouses Workshop" in Western NY (Sodus & Wolcott) was held on July 11, based on a similar workshop in Western NY in June of 2017 and in Eastern NY in July of 2018, with an estimated 20 growers in attendance. 2019 NOFA-NY grower trainings on Pack Shed Design included a double workshop session and two in-season field days. The winter workshop was led by UVM partner Chris Callahan and involved four farms presenting their experience and advice on "Wash Lines to Storage Buildings: Post-Harvest Construction Projects" for over 45 attendees. Summer on-farm field days included one on Long Island covering packing house management, washing stations, and hand washing sink setup, and a July session in Rochester focused on setting up a lower budget safe wash and pack line. NOFA-VT worked with UVM project partners on two workshops on "Veggie Wash-Pack Getting You Down? Dial in Best Practices to Improve your Post-Harvest Efficiency, Profitability and Food Safety."These sessions dug into improving post-harvest efficiency, product quality, profitability, and food safety, Planning templates, prompts and expert support helped growers start working on their own farms' plans. NOFA-VT's intensive summer session on "Veggie Wash-Pack Getting You Down? Dial-in Best Practices to Improve your Postharvest Efficiency, Profitability & Food Safety" was with project partners at UVM Extension Produce Safety Team, Hans Estrin, Chris Callahan and Andrew Chamberlin, in August as a hands-on examination of one farm's newly completed wash-pack zone, highlighting improved infrastructure, equipment and tools of the post-harvest world. In total over the three years of the project, there were six workshops and six field days providing training on Pack and Wash Shed Design. In year three, three summer field days and one workshop addressed Farmstead Practices and Food Safety, reaching over 60 growers. The winter session occurred with NYSDAM and covered the "NYS Produce Safety Program," both providing outreach and clarifying grower questions. NOFA-NY field days included addressing "Food Safety in Stacked Enterprise Farming," with sessions by CCE partner Robert Hadad on how to integrate food safety in a mixed vegetable/livestock operation, and a second vegetable-focused field day examining the expectations even smaller operators need to follow when growing non-exempt produce. UVM's field day on "Improve Your Post Harvest Effiency, Profitability, and Food Safety" examined flow in wash-pack zones and highlighted infrastructure for post-harvest, alone with hands on planning time. NOFA-VT partnered with two organic vegetable farms and incorporated broad food safety tours into their summer Celebrate Your Farmer On-Farm Socials, reaching a wider group of attendees with examples and discussion of food safety in action. Over the three project years, ten field days and three workshops focused on broader farmstead practices in light of food safety. NOFA-NY and NOFA-VT created additional Farmers Marketing-focused trainings in 2019. NOFA-NY had one January 2019 workshop on "Supply Chain Management for Small and Mid-Size Farms" with an estimated 30 attendees that looked at food safety in light of food and distribution supply chains. NOFA-NY hosted a summer field day in Rochester at the Brighton market that covered the importance and practical application of food safety at the farmers market. NOFA-VT's Market Development Director set a curriculum up for a future VT Farmers Market Conference session on at-market food safety. Technical Assistance: In the final year of the project, CCE partners Robert Hadad and Craig Kahlke met in-depth with 63 growers working to improve produce safety, including: reviewing arm food safety plans and prepare for 3rd-party audits, advising growers with design of wash/pack facilities, SOPs, and record keeping logs, and assisted with SOP reviews. CCE had shorter technical discussions with 34 growers and NOFA-NY staff 8 farms. In total there were over 70 direct contacts for the year, and over 130 over the project. Obj 3. Develop and deliver trainings for fresh produce buyers. Providing educational programming for this audience will help them understand the issues and topics of farm food safety. They will be trained to understand what the farmer has to do to meet standards and/or regulations, what it costs, and what the buyers' responsibilities are once they receive the produce from the local farms. CCE designed with UVM support a Food Safety for Buyers webinar on "Farm Food Safety and Purchasing Locally Grown Produce--What's it all Mean?" This is occurring a bit late due to initially low registration despite interest from buyers, because they were concerned about being in the same room as their competitors, it's goal is to educate small to mid-level buyers about the hoops growers have to jump through to meet their (and federal) guidelines. Obj 4. Identify synergies between the Organic Production Plan required for organic certification with the GAPS and VT CAPS (Community Accreditation for Produce Safety) tool to avoid redundancy and provide efficiencies for farmers. In addition to earlier trainings on overlap between FSMA and the NOP, project partners held two field days on farms in 2019. One covered traceability in organic and food safety production in CNY, and the other was in northern NY and focused on addressing farm labor and how to most effectively train on food safety SOPs. At NOFA-VT, Laura Nunziata, VOF Quality Assurance Specialist worked with Tucker Diego, the VT Agency of Ag Produce Safety Specialist and Hans Estrin, UVM Extension and CAPS coordinator to create a comparison and analysis document of the three programs to help guide farmers as they develop organic and food safety plans, SOPs, and reporting documents.
Publications
|
Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:This second year project work reached small and medium scale farmers in both NY and VT, members of the plain community (both Amish and Mennonite in New York), and fruit and vegetable growers in both states. NOFA-NY and NOFA-VT hosted field days and workshops for small and medium growers, CCE provided PSA GTC and technical assistance to a range of growers, including members of two plain community produce auctions in WesternNY, and UVM resources and technical assistance reached both small and medium operators across the region. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The majority of project partners received training in year one of this project (seven partners gained either PSA Trainer and/or Lead Trainer status), often with assistance from other project partners. For year two, the training focus has been on building capacity of educators, with significant cross-partner program support. UVM and CCE have supported a number of NOFA-VT and NOFA-NY programs and field days, and assisted in project outreach for all partners.CCE is working extensively to support trainers to get experience to become lead trainers, providing direct and one on onetraining to Trainers and mentoring CCE educators by helping trainers teach and learn new PSA modules, providing feedback, and including CCE staff in farm visits for direct experience with food safety TA help to farms. Project partners, particularly CCE are helping with OFRR, including attending trainings on how to conduct an OFRR in Long Island (first in northeast in April 2018)and June 2018 in Geneva. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Key outcomes include supporting more farms to become FSMA compliant, raising the level ofawareness of food safety and FSMA for both buyers and farmers of all scales, and supporting organic growers with resources to incorporate FSMA records into their organic recordkeeping. To date in the project, results have been spread to growers through a range of workshops, technical assistance, and written outreach. 6PSA trainings were held in year two, with 171 farms completing the entire training, and 76 farmers getting exposure to some modules. 264 farmers attended11 workshops and on-farm field days in year two (with3 workshops and 3 on-farm field days on the deck forthe next twomonths and more in planning for 2019), with material covering a range of food safety topics. 1 on 1 technical assistance for growers,over 47 growers reached this project year through direct farmer technical assistance. Range of technical fact sheets from CCE and UVM shared widely in print and online forms (see Products list). Blogs and videos of workshops and field days posted online, with an average of 135 views/month each. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The project partners will continue and expand their outreach, including completing all (and more) of the intended trainings and workshops, continuing to provide direct technical assistance and supporting other food safety educators, and expanding their online and print technical assistance materials. Specific events that have already been scheduled or developed include the following: CCE Educators have held or scheduled four PSA grower training courses (some with optional second day of farm food safety plan writing) this winter. CCE has designed a Buyers' Webinar Course and will hold it in winter 2018--2019. NOFA-NY and UVM are holding an intensive session in January 2019 on Wash and Pack Shed Development and Improvements, as well as a session on Organic and Food Safety Supply Side Overlap. NOFA-VT and UVM are holding 2 workshops in February 2019 on Food Safety Practices, and NOFA-VT holding two additional field day sessions in Fall and Winter 2018. Each project partner is developing an annual work plan that in addition to the above workshops and trainings will include the following elements: NOFA-NY has workshops, field days, and indirect technical assistance in planning for Feb through July 2019 on: 3 on-farm Post Harvest Wash Water trainings in conjunction with CCE for late winter/spring 2019 2 Pack Shed Design trainings in conjunction with UVM for spring/summer 2019 3 field days or workshops on NOP and FSMA Overlap for spring/summer 2019 3 field days or workshops on Farmstead Practices for Food Safety for spring/summer 2019 1 Farmers Market training in conjunction with NOFA-VT and NYFMF on food safety at market for spring/summer 2019 Fact Sheets, website, and handouts on Food Safety in Farmstead Practices, Urban Farming Food Safety, Organic Production Systems, and managing Wash Water and Packing Sheds will be completed and disseminated. NOFA-VT has workshops, field days, and indirect technical assistance in planning for Feb through July 2019 on: Plan and deliver three additional food safety related workshops or field days on On-Farm Food Safety Plan and deliver two Farmers Market Trainings on food safety requirements for farmers selling at a farmers market. Continue coordination work on helping facilitate FSMA and NOP record keeping overlap in VT. In addition to planned FSMA trainings and farm food safety plan writing sessions, CCE plans to continue grower technical assistance and outreach, and: CCE partners are also helping mentor NOFA-NY and Extension staff to help them both work towards Lead Trainer status and better be able to help growers with FSMA and food safety technical assistance. CCE partners are helping with NYSDAM OFRR organization and outreach Collaborate with UVM on written outreach materials and NOFA-NY on workshops and trainings. UVM Extension will continue to research and write guidesheets and blogs on food safety, as well as support all partners in the project on workshops and field days, as well as: Provide Ag Engineering Technician support to a range of food safety issues and continue supporting UVM Ag Engineer and other UVM-ext staff on Food Safety issues. Continuing outreachto growersdirectly Continue working on Guidesheets in Progress, including: PackshedLayoutGuide (with CCE's Robert Hadad), WashlineGuidance (with CCE's Robert Hadad), and longer term developingPost Harvest Equipment Guide.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Obj 1. Expand educational outreach to fresh produce farmers through dedicated and specific trainings on farm food safety as well as providing follow-up with growers to answer questions/overcome barriers to implementing safety practices on the farm. Farmer FSMA Trainings--6required as part of the project, held11so far by 8/31/18, with 340 farmers trained, 76 exposed to concepts of the PSA training, and 6 more training planned to occur in project year 3 In Project Year 2, project partners held 6 trainings, reaching 171 farmers who completed a PSA GTC. An additional 70 farmers attended one or more PSA module, gaining exposure to a portion of the training, and 6 a separate NYSDAM-supported Farm Food Safety Plan Writingsession. Obj 2. Provide training and technical assistance to underserved small and mid-size farmers exempt from FSMA but who need to become immersed into FSMA practices to keep their products safe and open to new market opportunities. Trainings: This project includes a large number of inter-disciplinary workshops on food safety and related farm practices, including workshopson post-harvest wash water, pack shed improvements/design, farmstead practices, and farmers market training. One Post-Harvest Wash Water training focused on managing water in winter and extended season production was held in project year two, reaching 48 attendees, with three additional workshops currently in planning for winter 2019. (By the end of the project, we anticipate holding 6 workshops on this topic.) Three trainings in NY (two on-farm field days and one workshop) were held on Pack Shed Design in project year two reaching 94 attendees, with topics ranging from "Growing, Washing, and Packing High Tunnel Winter Greens: Doing it and Doing it Well"to "Wholesale Greens Rules"and "Quick and Clean: Planning for Efficient Harvest." In VT, there was one double session on "Post Harvest Design for Efficiency, Quality Improvement & Risk Reduction" and a workshop on "Lean Farming in Vermont" that reached 45 attendees in 2018, focusing on designing safe post harvest systems. 4 more workshops are in planning on this topic for year three across the two states. (By the end of the project, we anticipate holding 9 workshops on this topic.) Three workshops occurred in project year two on Farmstead Practices and Food Safety in NY, with 2 sessions planned for VT in fall 2018 on "Produce Safety: Best Practices from Field to Consumer." 63 attendees came to one of four sessions on "Building Success through Smart Farm Infrastructure," "Pre-Harvest Ag Water Safety," "Food Safety Expectations in Food Hubs," or "From Harvest to Plate: Intro to Food Safety on Urban Farms."Three workshops will occur in NY on Farmstead Practices in winter and spring 2019. (By the end of the project, we anticipate holding 12 workshops on this topic.) Technical Assistance--(48 contacts the goal, conservatively 59 1:1 tech assist sessions so far)In addition to on-farm and workshop based outreach efforts, this project includes one-on-one technical assistance and follow up for growers on food safety, as well as print and online outreach opportunities. Some of the completed technical assistance and written outreach for the second project yearincludes: CCE educators reaching 34 farms with pre-audit reviewing of food safety plans and helping prep farms for audits, assistance with writing farm food safety plans, assistance implementing food safety practices into their operations, and farm visits to help farms review food safety practices as they write their plans. Workshop Follow-Up Technical Assistance from CCE and NOFA-NY following field days and FSMA trainings. Written outreach materials in CCE Fruit and Vegetable Program newsletters, including food safety news articles and FSMA updates for growers. NOFA-NY provide one on one technical assistance to 13 growers in 2018, including connecting growers to food safety resources, GTC information, and help from CCE, as well as answering questions about FSMA, food safety plans, provided guidance on food safety, helped growers with food safety plan writing resources, and assisted growers to source NOP compliant sanitizers. UVM providedboth direct and indirect technical assistance, both directly working with growers on guidance on produce safety regulations, reviewing options for expanded greens washing and drying, pre-planning assistance for new construction of wash/pack barns, and review of farm food safety plans and preparation for audits. UVM Extension also provided on farm technical support to a number of farms in NY and in VT over the period on implementing food safety practices and for pre-inspection technical assistance, with additional farm visits scheduled. UVM Extension created a series of fact sheets on topics ranging from Smooth and Cleanable Surfaces, to Rodent Control and Cooler Sanitation, with six more guide sheets in the works. Obj 3. Develop and deliver trainings for fresh produce buyers. Providing educational programming for this audience will help them understand the issues and topics of farm food safety. They will be trained to understand what the farmer has to do to meet standards and/or regulations, what it costs, and what the buyers' responsibilities are once they receive the produce from the local farms. CCE designed with UVM support a Food Safety for Buyers webinar slated to occur in year three on "Farm Food Safety and Purchasing Locally Grown Produce--What'sit all Mean?"This is occurring a bit late due to initially low registration despite interest from buyers, because they were concerned about being in the same room as their competitors, it's goal is to educate small to mid-level buyers about the hoops growers have to jump through to meet their (and federal) guidelines Obj 4. Identify synergies between the Organic Production Plan required for organic certification with the GAPS and VT CAPS (Community Accreditation for Produce Safety) tool to avoid redundancy and provide efficiencies for farmers. NOFA-VT had an Organic Inspector training on FSMA and GAPS, where9inspectors and 7 staff had a 2-hour food safety trainingto gain a better knowledge of FSMA food safety practices and standards as well as providing a comparison of FSMA, CAPS, GAPS & RAPs program requirements for farmers.This fall the VT Agency of Ag and NOFA-VTwill be meeting to to discuss synergies between NOP, FSMA, GAPS and Vermont's Required Agricultural Practices (RAPs) to try to streamline the amount of paperwork producers are now required to provide. Analysis of Food Safety and Organic Certification Overlap is in progress, with NOFA-VT staff leading the work to identify synergies between CAPS/GAPS & FSMA, gather resources and researching FSMA/GAPS/CAPS programs and similarities to see if there can be any integration into organic certification. They have also researched and reached out to othersimilar efforts, compiled resources for growers, and met with organic farmers to determine where information needs are greatest. NOFA-NY held a 2018 workshop session "Intro to FSMA for Small and Organic Producers" reaching 14 attendees, a series of food safety trainings in partnership with NYSDAM that consisted of a session introducing exempt farmers to the rule and what they need to doto comply based on their scale. Two NOFA-NY certifiers attended PSA training in NY, and three workshops are in planning for 2019 looking at overlap between organic and FSMA.
Publications
|
Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:Members of the plain community, both Amish and Mennonite in New York; small farmers in both NY and Vermont; and fruit and vegetable growers in NY were all reached through the project in the first year. NOFA-NY met with members of two plain community produce auctions in Central NY as part of Cooperative Extension twilight meetings, NOFA-VT hosted two field days for small farms in Vermont and Cooperative Extension in NY offered several PSA FSMA trainings as well as hosting with NOFA-NY a field day for small growers. Changes/Problems:The % FTE in the Estimated Project FTEs submitted for the initial application were entered as a whole number instead of the fraction of the FTE. The Estimated FTE for the duration of the project should be Scientist 0%; Professional 0.6%; Technical 0.8%; Administrative 0.4% for a computed total of 1.8% FTE. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?NOFA-NY: Andy Fellenz and Paul Loomis Andy Fellenz attended the September 2016 PSA Train the Trainer class in Geneva NY and received his AFDO certification as a Trainer. He submitted an application for Lead trainer status and received his AFDO Lead Trainer status in June 2017. Paul Loomis attended the May 2017 PSA Train the Trainer class in Geneva NY and received his AFDO certification as a Trainer. UVM - Andrew Chamberlin Andrew Chamberlin attended the PSA Integrated Grower Training July 25-6, 2017 and was certified as a Trainer. NOFA-VT - Rachel Fussell Rachel Fussell attended the November 2016 PSA Train the Trainer class in Vermont and received her AFDO certification as a Trainer. Cornell - Robert Hadad & Craig Kahlke Robert Hadad has been certified as a PSA Lead Trainer Craig Kahlke is certified as a Trainer and has applied for Lead Trainer certification How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?NOFA-NY July 5 GAPS and Food Safety in the Plain Community Presented the basics of farm food safety, especially safe practices in the packshed and GAPS certification to the Seneca Produce Auction, (Romulus NY). More than 50 Amish farmers and many family members and several "english" farmers were in attendance. The auction has requested follow-up including a GAPS training including development of Farm Food Safety plans in the first quarter of 2018. July 21 Crop Walk - GAPS & Food Safety in Plain Community, Finger Lakes Produce Auction Presented the basics of farm food safety, especially safe practices in the packshed and GAPs certification to members of the Finger Lakes Produce Auction, (Penn Yan NY). More than 40 Mennonite farmers, "english" members of the auction and family members, who often work on the farm's produce business were in attendance. Cornell Farmer Training Food Safety Topics. Since the initiation of the project, one 2 day GAPs (day 1 GAPs, plus optional day 2 farm food safety plan writing workshop) was held in Binghamton, NY in December of 2016. In addition, 2 PSA GTCs were held in (both with 1 day curriculum that satisfies a portion on the FSMA Produce Safety Rule requirement plus the optional day 2 farm food safety plan writing workshop) Syracuse NY on Jan 16-17, 2017 and Batavia NY on April 5-6, 2017. Robert and Craig taught 1-4 modules of the curriculum at each workshop. At these 3 two-day workshops, there were 109 participants from 87 farms and agribusinesses. Comprehensive evaluation forms were collected that will be used in evaluating future impacts. March 21 Post Harvest Wash Water Workshop in Geneva NY. There were 11 participants from 8 farms. Distributed at the workshop was a handout that Robert authored on "Considerations on Wash/Pack Shed Design", which included emphasis on farm food safety practices". Four of those farms called Robert following the workshop to ask more questions, demonstrating they took what they learned and started implementing. Robert did two follow-up on-farm visits subsequently. August 8 Food Safety: Wash Water Sanitizing and Workflow in the Packshed (joint with NOFA-NY) Field day at the Hudson Valley Farm Hub, (Hurley NY). Topics covered included wash water sanitization, packshed operations and best practices for different types of produce, packshed layout and design. More than 25 farmers, primarily from the Hudson Valley attended the event. NOFA-VT August 7 Produce Safety: Best Practices From Field to Consumer Field day at Foggy Meadow Farm, (Benson VT). Hans Estrin, VT CAPS Coordinator delivered the program to 22 farmers. The focus was on achieving food safety through SOPs that also improved productivity and facilitated management review. August 30 Produce Safety: Best Practices From Field to Consumer Field day at Root 5 Farm (Fairlee VT).Hans Estrin, VT CAPS Coordinator delivered the program to 17 farmers. The focus was on achieving food safety through SOPs that also improved productivity and facilitated management review. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The project partners will continue and expand their outreach efforts, providing PSA and other food safety trainings, development of factsheets, and one on one technical assistance. Specific events that have already been scheduled include the following: Cornell will offer a Produce Buyers Food Safety Training Class in Geneva NY in October 2017. Cornell with support from NOFA-NY will offer an AFDO certified two day Grower Training Class in December 2017. NOFA-NY with support from NOFA-VT will offer a workshop on improving packshed food safety using Lean Engineering techniques at the NOFA-NY Winter Conference in Saratoga Springs NY in January 2018. NOFA-NY with support from Cornell will offer an AFDO certified PSA Grower Training Class at the NOFA-NY Winter Conference in January 2018. NOFA-NY with support from Cornell and NYS Ag&Markets will offer a one day hands on Farm Food Safety Plan writing workshop in Central NY in March 2018. Each project partner is developing an annual work plan that will include the following elements: NOFA-NY Offer one Growers Training Course using the PSA curriculum. Begin development and dissemination of factsheets and other materials related to packshed design. UVM-Extension will support some of this work 1 conference workshop and 1 field day event discussing packshed design and ensuring that food safety is adequately addressed in the packshed. 1 conference workshop and 1 field day event discussing the similarities and differences between FSMA, NOP and GAPS requirements to help farmers maintain compliance to multiple certifications and requirements without needlessly duplicating their administrative workload. 1 conference workshop and 1 field day event discussing farmstead food safety focusing on ensuring food safety through good growing and harvesting practices Cornell Continue to offer FSMA compliant trainings of Farm Food Safety Topics Provide Post Harvest Wash Water Workshops One on One Technical Assistance NOFA-VT Begin training NOP inspectors on VT VT CAPS program so that inspectors can provide dual certifications. Plan and deliver two food safety related workshops at the 2018 winter conference Plan and deliver two food safety related field days in 2018. Plan and deliver one Farmers Market Training on food safety requirements for farmers selling at a farmers market. UVM-Ext Provide Ag Engineering Technician support to a range of food safety issues and continue supporting UVM Ag Engineer and other UVM-ext staff on Food Safety issues.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Year 1 of the project was primarily devoted to staffing, training of staff and providing farmer training using existing PSA curricula. All partners in the project are now fully staffed and are developing work plans for years 2 & 3 of the program. Staff members in all partnered organizations have completed PSA training and are now recognized as either PSA Trainers or Lead Trainers. Outreach efforts included trainings by our Cornell partner across NY, two meetings with Plain Community Produce Auctions in Central NY by NOFA-NY, a wash water sanitizing and packshed food safety practices workshop by Cornell and NOFA-NY, and a summer program of field days by NOFA-VT. More than 200 farmers were reached through the different events. Expand educational outreach to fresh produce farmers through dedicated and specific trainings on farm food safety as well as providing follow-up with growers to answer questions and overcome barriers to implementing safety practices on the farm. The target audience is wide including larger farms that fall under FSMA in NY and VT and need immediate training. NY events NOFA NY provided introductory Food Safety training, especially regarding GAPS certification, to the Seneca Produce Auction and Finger Lakes Produce Auction as part of Cooperative Extension organized Twilight Crop Walks in July. More than 100 Amish and Mennonite farmers and family members (who often work on the farm) attended the two crop events. NOFA VT organized and hosted two on farm field days in Vermont on Produce Safety Best Practices: From Field to Consumer in August. UVM Extension supported programming at these field days. 39 farmers attended the two events. Cornell Cooperative Extension with assistance from NOFA-NY organized a field day, "Food Safety: Wash Water Sanitizing and Workflow in the Packshed" in August. 32 farmers attended this 1/2 day event. Cornell Cooperative Extension organized the following: Farmer Training Food Safety Topics. Since the initiation of the project, one 2 day GAPs (day 1 GAPs, plus optional day 2 farm food safety plan writing workshop) was held in Binghamton, NY in December of 2016. In addition, 2 PSA GTCs were held in (both with 1 day curriculum that satisfies a portion on the FSMA Produce Safety Rule requirement plus the optional day 2 farm food safety plan writing workshop) Syracuse NY on Jan 16-17, 2017 and Batavia NY on April 5-6, 2017. Robert and Craig taught 1-4 modules of the curriculum at each workshop. At these 3 two-day workshops, there were 109 participants from 87 farms and agribusinesses. Comprehensive evaluation forms were collected that will be used in evaluating future impacts. Post Harvest Wash Water Workshop. A workshop was held on March 21 in Geneva NY. There were 11 participants from 8 farms. Distributed at the workshop was a handout that Robert authored on "Considerations on Wash/Pack Shed Design", which included emphasis on farm food safety practices". Four of those farms called Robert following the workshop to ask more questions, demonstrating they took what they learned and started implementing. Robert did two follow-up on-farm visits subsequently. Pre-audit Technical Assistance. Robert met with 6 farms in April and May of 2017 to help review their farm food safety plans and prepare for 3rd-party audits.
Publications
|