NOFA-NY, USDA Risk Management Agency, NYS Dept. of Ag and Markets, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and the National GAPs Program present:

GAPs for Small Farms: Dispelling Myths, Getting the Facts, and Designing a Food Safety Plan for Your Farm

Dates:   Wednesday, March 23^rd and Thursday, March 24^th

Times:   8:30am – 3:30pm both days

Loc.:       Geneva Experimental Station, Food Research Lab Room 251

630 W. North St., Geneva, NY 14456

Cost:      $80 (NOFA-NY members), $100 (non-NOFA-NY members). Price includes food, materials packet, and digital resources. $20 for one additional representative on Day 2 (see below for details).

Pre-registration is required, and the deadline to sign up is Sunday, March 20^th. To register for this workshop, visit the NOFA-NY website: www.nofany.org/events/field-days, or call our office at (585) 271-1979, ext. 509. Space is limited, so register today!

In recent years, produce related foodborne illnesses have hit the media and impacted fresh fruit and vegetable growers. One of the impacts is a new food safety law that will bring changes to the fresh produce industry and likely affect producers both large and small. Many producers are nervous about what this could mean for their farm business. Join NOFA-NY and Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Betsy Bihn, Robert Hadad, and Craig Kahlke for a 2-day intensive workshop that will help you understand food safety risks and implement food safety practices. This training will be good for any producer interested in taking a proactive approach to food safety, and especially useful for anyone who is interested in selling to large retailers, institutional markets, or other buyers who require GAPs certification. On Day 1, Betsy, Robert, and Craig will offer producers an in-depth look at GAPs, how and where microbial contamination can occur, and how to use the GAPs standards to write a farm produce safety plan. Also on Day 1, NYSDAM’s Wendy Ingersoll, Mike Farwell, and Mike Santoro will describe the GAPs audit and answer your questions about this procedure. On Day 2, we will break out the laptops and the extension educators will help you write your own farm produce safety plan. NYSDAM personnel will be back on Day 2 to field more questions about audits as you work through your plan. For Day 2, you will need to bring a laptop with Microsoft Word. If you do not have a laptop, there will be a limited number of laptops available for you to borrow- please let us know as soon as possible if you need to borrow one! If you would like to bring along a more computer-savvy employee of your farm on Day 2, the cost is only $20 for this additional person to cover the cost of food. Your registration includes lunch, snacks, and coffee, as well as a packet of food safety reference materials and digital files of food safety resources. An on-farm food safety consultation generally costs about $100/hour, so this is a great value!