Farm to Institution Summit at UMass Amherst: Farmer-focused workshops on April 8th

Session Presenters:

• Rachel Armstrong, Attorney at Farm Commons
• Elena Mihaly, Healthy Communities and Environmental Justice Legal Fellow at the Conservation Law Foundation

Final Session Description: Facilitated by an attorney from Farm Commons, attendees will receive a roadmap to the complicated maze of farm employment laws. The path begins with basic farm employment law obligations such as minimum wage and workers compensation. Our roads will diverge as agricultural employment laws give way to standard employment laws when farmers develop strong institutional sales. We will also make pit stops on the subjects of interns, volunteers, work-trade arrangements.  We won’t just talk about obligations; participants will learn from farmers who have found solutions for merging the rules with farm realities in their operations.  Finally, participants will learn about the Legal Services Food Hub, a resource where farmers can access free legal assistance with their employment contract needs.

Desired Time: 3:45pm – 5:00pm

Session Title: On Farm Food Safety: Regulations, Best Practices, Applied Research

Session Presenters:

• Amanda Kinchla, Extension Assistant Professor at UMass Amherst
• Rich Bonanno, PhD, Assoc. Professor at UMass Amherst
• Frank Mangan, PhD, Extension Associate Professor at UMass Amherst
• Michael Botelho, CQP Program Manager at MA Department of Agriculture

Final Session Description: There is a continued growing demand for improved food safety practices from farm-to-fork.  While proposed food regulations will require increased food safety practices, there is little available to meet these expectations. This session will share the most up-to-date Food Safety Modernization Act regulations relevant to the proposed produce rule, share strategies in utilizing food safety practices for enhance market access and learn up research efforts conducted at UMass specific to produce safety.

Proposed Symposium:

• Decoding On-farm Food Safety Regulation. Topics include:  Sharing the latest status on the proposed FSMA produce rule; Describe produce safety terms: FSMA vs. GAP certification vs good-agricultural practices vs. CPQ
• Food Safety as a channel for enhance market access.
• Lessons learned in implementing an on-farm food safety plan

• Applied research for improved produce safety practices: Wash water quality control tools; Commercially available sanitizers for improved produce washing; Bio-sensor technologies for on-farm microbial testing for agricultural water.