Farmers Can Wash their Hands of Food Safety Fears

Nov 26, 2012

As winter approaches and produce growers begin to plan for the next crop, now is a good time to wash away any chance of food contamination in the farming operation, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service horticulturist.

“The issue of food safety on the farm is important,” said Dr. Joe Masabni, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialist at College Station. “We’re working to educate producers about the GAPs, or Good Agricultural Practices, and Good Handling Practices for all the issues from harvesting to packaging.

Producers have to continue to learn for any size operation. From the small farm to the big organic or inorganic 100,000-acre operation, you have to be aware of current issues and get educated and keep up with the trends of the business.”

Masabni presented the information recently at a turf and landscape field day at Texas A&M University in College Station. He and his AgriLife Extension colleagues Dr. Juan Anciso and Ashley Gregory, both of Weslaco, developed training materials about food safety training on the farm with grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Texas Department of Agriculture.

“It’s all about learning how employee health management practices can reduce the potential for contamination of the produce,” Masabni said. “We have been seeing more and more food contamination issues related to fresh fruit or vegetables. So the increase in these incidents of salmonella and E. coli contamination in fruits and vegetables is what got the government interested in addressing this problem.”

Source: Agrilife

Video: Why Invest in Canada’s Seed Future? | On The Brink: Episode 3

Darcy Unger just invested millions to build a brand-new seed plant on his farm in Stonewall, Manitoba so when it’s time for his sons to take over, they have the tools they need to succeed.

Right now, 95% of the genetics they’ll be growing come from Canadian plant breeders.

That number matters.

When fusarium hit Western Canada in the late 90s, it was Canadian breeders who responded, because they understood Canadian conditions. That ability to react quickly to what’s happening on Canadian farms is exactly what’s at risk when breeding programs lose funding.

For farmers like Darcy, who have made generational investments based on the assumption that better genetics will keep coming, the stakes are direct and personal.

We’re on the brink of decisions that will shape our agricultural future for not only our generation, but also the ones to come.

What direction will we choose?

On The Brink is a year-long video series traveling across Canada to meet the researchers, breeders, farmers, seed companies, and policymakers shaping the future of Canadian plant breeding. Each week, a new story. Each story, a piece of the bigger picture.

Episode 3 is above. Follow Seed World Canada to catch every episode, and tell us: Do you think the next generation will have the tools they need to success when they takeover? How is the future going to look?