October 22, 2014 and

FSMA: Calculating Farm Sales for Compliance

Comments on the revisions made to the produce safety rule are due on December 15th. Regular posts will be made to the Plant and Pest Advisory focusing on the changes that have been made. Please consider commenting on the produce rule!

Changes to Calculating Farm Sales for FSMA Compliance

The previous version of the produce rule set compliance thresholds based on total food sales values for a farm operation. This included all human and animal foods sold at the farm. The revised rule states that compliance threshold values will be determined by “average annual monetary value of produce.” This change was made as a result of many comments on the subject and will reduce the number of farms in New Jersey that will be required to comply with FSMA.

Filed Under: Food Safety
October 9, 2014

New Jersey Soils and Copper Fungicide Use

During my field visits to Mercer County organic farms, growers often express concerns about negative soil health impacts from copper based fungicides. In an effort to evaluate soil copper use and the resulting soil copper levels, soil was sampled at fifteen farms throughout the state.

NJ Sampled Soils

Soils sampled for copper levels.

Both conventional and organic farms participated in this study which was funded by The Phillip Alampi Fund. Two composite samples were taken from each farm, one where copper fungicides had been applied and one where copper fungicides had never been used. Total and soluble copper levels were higher on copper applied soils compared to the non-copper applied soils. Even though copper levels were higher in these soils, the levels were not high enough to cause plant toxicity symptoms, reduce plant growth, nor were the soils showing signs of reduced microbial activity.

Best management practices developed for copper based fungicides use:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Organic Production
September 29, 2014 and

Comment Period Open for Revised Produce Rule

The revised produce rule is now available online and the FDA is accepting comments on the revisions.
To access the rule and comment visit the FDA FSMA Produce Rule webpage.  The comment period will remain open until December 15, 2014.

Filed Under: Food Safety
September 23, 2014

Retail Marketing Workshop

Annie’s Project New Jersey Presents:

Retail Marketing Conference 10 15 14Retail Marketing Conference for Farm Women
October 15, 2014 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Bridgeton
$75 includes materials, breakfast, lunch and bus tour to Rutgers Food Innovation Center

  • Agritourism
  • Social Media
  • Marketing Strategies
  • Value-Added Enterprises
  • How to Set Financial Goals
  • Writing Your Marketing Plan
  • Networking

Register here!

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates
September 19, 2014 and

Summary of Key Revisions: Four FSMA Rules

Today the FDA released key revisions for:

The comment period on the revised provisions will open on September 29th.

Filed Under: Food Safety
September 12, 2014

Farm Food Safety Webinar

Market

Food Safety Regulations that
Produce Growers Need To Know About

Friday, September 19th
12:00 noon to 1:00 pm

Join Annie’s Project NJ for a free one hour webinar focusing on:

  • Food Safety Modernization Act Update
  • NJ Department of Health regulations
  • Results of on-going NJ farm food safety related sampling
  • Evaluating food safety risks and developing standard operating procedures

Pre-registration is required online.  All pre-registrants will automatically receive a link to the recording afterwards.

Filed Under: Food Safety