Skip to main content

Logo for N.C. Cooperative Extension N.C. Cooperative Extension Homepage

This event has already ended.
en Español / em Português
Español

El inglés es el idioma de control de esta página. En la medida en que haya algún conflicto entre la traducción al inglés y la traducción, el inglés prevalece.

Al hacer clic en el enlace de traducción se activa un servicio de traducción gratuito para convertir la página al español. Al igual que con cualquier traducción por Internet, la conversión no es sensible al contexto y puede que no traduzca el texto en su significado original. NC State Extension no garantiza la exactitud del texto traducido. Por favor, tenga en cuenta que algunas aplicaciones y/o servicios pueden no funcionar como se espera cuando se traducen.


Português

Inglês é o idioma de controle desta página. Na medida que haja algum conflito entre o texto original em Inglês e a tradução, o Inglês prevalece.

Ao clicar no link de tradução, um serviço gratuito de tradução será ativado para converter a página para o Português. Como em qualquer tradução pela internet, a conversão não é sensivel ao contexto e pode não ocorrer a tradução para o significado orginal. O serviço de Extensão da Carolina do Norte (NC State Extension) não garante a exatidão do texto traduzido. Por favor, observe que algumas funções ou serviços podem não funcionar como esperado após a tradução.


English

English is the controlling language of this page. To the extent there is any conflict between the English text and the translation, English controls.

Clicking on the translation link activates a free translation service to convert the page to Spanish. As with any Internet translation, the conversion is not context-sensitive and may not translate the text to its original meaning. NC State Extension does not guarantee the accuracy of the translated text. Please note that some applications and/or services may not function as expected when translated.

Collapse ▲
OfflineEventAttendanceMode 2 years agoRegister with Eventbrite
June
SMTWHFS
1234
5star7891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
2627282930
Description:

Free Small Farm Fresh Produce Safety Workshops 5/25 and 6/6

The High Country’s small farms grow amazing fresh produce for local sales at regional farmers markets, for Community Supported Agriculture groups, the High Country Food Hub, and other retail markets. Small farms such as are common here generally do not need to pursue expensive GAP (Good Agricultural Practice) certification required by wholesale customers such as grocery store chains. Also, most regional small farms selling primarily to local retail customers are “Qualified Exempt” from many of the record-keeping and testing requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). This gives small farms the freedom to organize their own systems for harvests, washing, packing, and tracking their produce. In late May and early June, N.C. Cooperative Extension, Blue Ridge Women In Agriculture’s CRAFT program, and small-scale High Country vegetable producers team-up to offer two free Fresh Produce Safety Workshops for small farms and market gardeners.


N.C. Cooperative Extension has taught food safety in the classroom before, but the upcoming fresh produce food safety workshops of 5/25 and 6/6 will be on-farm and hands-on.

The first of the Fresh Produce Safety Workshops will be hosted by Mountainwise Farm, located in Zionville, NC on Wednesday, May 25, 2022 from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. EDT. This workshop will cover washing, sanitizing, and post-harvest handling best practices, beginning in the field, moving through Mountainwise’s wash/pack system, and ending in the distribution process. Casey and Tyler Jordan of Mountainwise Farm produce diversified vegetable crops via low/no till practices, following the standards to be Certified Naturally Grown. They employ organic practices to provide their community with high-quality and environmentally conscious food that nourishes the body, environment, and soul. Food safety is an integral part of providing high quality products their customers deserve.

N.C. Cooperative Extension Agents Elena Rogers and Richard Boylan will teach about food safety principles and offer straightforward strategies regarding farm compliance with food safety laws, with the goal of helping farmers protect operations, products, and customers via sound production, harvest, washing, and packing  practices.

The workshop will begin promptly at 5:30 p.m. and pre-registration is required. To register for the 5/25 free workshop, please visit:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/on-farm-food-safety-and-handling-mountainwise-farm-tickets-313661880127

The second of the free Small Farm Produce Safety workshops will be held on Monday, June 6, 2022 from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. EDT at the FIG Incubator Farm in Valle Crucis, NC. Participants will learn about washing, sanitizing, and post-harvest handling best practices, beginning in the field and ending in the distribution process. Elena Rogers and Richard Boylan of N.C. Cooperative Extension will be joined by Dave Walker of Daffodil Spring Farm to demonstrate the FIG Farm’s wash/pack setup and explain how products can safely move from the field to a customer’s plate, and discuss the importance of food safety from a health and customer satisfaction point of view. The workshop will begin promptly at 5:30 p.m. and pre-registration is required. To register for the 6/6 free workshop, please visit:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/on-farm-food-safety-and-handling-fig-farm-tickets-313551369587

The two workshops will cover the same principles of Produce Safety for small-scale farms, with the main difference being the state of the host farms’ wash / pack infrastructure. At Mountainwise, where the 5/25 workshop will be held, growers have converted a garage space into an integrated wash / pack / cool facility for their farm. On 6/6 at the FIG Farm, participants would see more of an outdoor wash / pack space, where cooling is handled inside the adjacent barn. However, workshop leaders will be happy to discuss any scale of infrastructure at either session. For more information, call Watauga Cooperative Extension at 828-264-3061.

Jun 6 2022