On-Farm Food Safety Section

Keep up with the latest news on this dynamic topic that impacts growers on multiple levels. Developing a farm food safety plan is a good idea for all growers, and may be required as part of food safety audits if you sell to certain buyers.

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June 3, 2026 and

Farm Visitors Are Back: Are you required to let the public bring their animals onto your retail farm?

A spring reminder of what you can and cant do regarding the public wanting to bring animals to your direct market and/or agritourism farm:

An increasing number of customers are bringing animals with them when they visit farm markets, pick your own farms, or agritainment activities. Animals can pose a food safety risk to produce, introduce disease to farm animals, frighten or upset farm animals. Outside animals can also pose a risk to employees and other market customers and farm visitors. Farmers need to consider these occurrences when keeping in compliance with regulations and buyer requirements specific to food safety and biosecurity to protect their farm animals. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) governs what you are legally allowed to do in regards to customers with service animals visiting your market or on your farm. This fact sheet will cover the specifics of the ADA, animals that are not protected by the ADA regulations, and how to reduce potential risk on your farm from outside animals. States often have regulations that go beyond the federal ADA regulation, information represented in this fact sheet is specific to New Jersey. If you farm in another state please consult the state by state guide linked at the end of this article.Dog resting in the shade

What do the ADA regulations cover?
While many types of animals can provide comfort and emotional support to their owners, only service animals are protected by the ADA, specifically Title II and III. The ADA regulations define “service animal” as dogs, and less commonly miniature ponies, that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities such as guiding a blind person, alerting people who are deaf, assisting a person in a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with PostTraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or other duties. The work or task that a service animal has been trained to perform must be directly related to the persons disability. Some of these disabilities are obvious, others are not.

What questions can you legally ask?
When it is not obvious to you that an animal is a service animal you may ask just two questions to determine if the animal is a service animal.
1) Is the service animal required because of a disability?
2) What work or task has the service animal been trained to perform?
The service animal must have been trained to perform a specific task or work for a person with a disability in order to qualify for protection under the ADA regulations. Note that service animals do not always wear vests or harnesses, and there is no paperwork or ID Card carried by anyone with a service animal.

What questions are you legally prevented from asking?
1) You may not ask about the persons disability.
2) You may not ask for proof of the persons disability. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Food Safety, Fruit, Vegetable Crops
April 16, 2026

Farm Safety Needs Assessment Closing May 1

The Rutgers Farm Health and Safety Working Group is conducting a survey to evaluate the priority needs of New Jersey farmers for training and resource development related to safety and health.  As a New Jersey farmer, you are invited to complete this survey by Friday, May 1, 2026. Click here to access the survey and learn more.  [Read more…]

Filed Under: Agrivoltaics, Blueberry, Christmas Trees, Commercial Ag Updates, Cranberry, Disease Forecasting, Field, Forage & Livestock, Food Safety, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Nursery, Organic Production, Strawberry, Tree Fruit, Turf, Vegetable Crops, Wine Grape Tagged With: ,
March 23, 2026

Visit to Clover Valley Farm – April 11

Field trip to Clover Valley Farm

Saturday, April 11, 10am

Register at: https://go.rutgers.edu/stf3j6x6

Filed Under: Christmas Trees, Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Food Safety, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , , , ,
March 10, 2026

Networks to Reduce Risk Field Trip – April 11

Field trip to Clover Valley Farm

Saturday, April 11, 10am

Register at: https://go.rutgers.edu/stf3j6x6

Filed Under: Christmas Trees, Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Food Safety, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , , ,
February 19, 2026 , , and

Produce Safety Rule Training Part of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)

When: Tuesday, March 17, 2026, from 9:30-4:30 PM.

Where: Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Mercer County, 1440 Parkside Ave., Ewing, NJ 08638

Cost:  $100.00 (lunch included) as part of registration process you will ask to pay by card.  Online ticket Sales end on Friday, March 6, 2026. If paying after the deadline or in person payment must be by check made out to Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

 To sign up and information: https://rutgers.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2tP1FhE34sviJv0

Who Should Attend

  • Fruit Growers
  • Vegetable Growers
  • Growers who have farms that fall under the Produce Safety Rule
  • Growers who have farms that do not fall under the rule but will in the future.

 Benefits of Attending the Workshop

Individuals who participate in this course will gain a basic understanding of:

  • Requirements in the FSMA Produce Safety Rule and how to meet them.
  • Fulfills the requirement for at least one supervisor from a farm to complete food safety training at least equivalent to the standardized curriculum recognized by the FDA.
  • Microorganisms relevant to produce safety.
  • Where microorganisms may be found on the farm
  • How to identify microbial risks, practices that reduce risks and how to begin implementing produce safety practices on the farm.
  • Parts of a farm food safety plan and how to begin writing one
  • Cleaning and Sanitizing

Areas Covered Under the Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training:

  • Introduction to Produce Safety
  • Worker Health, Hygiene and Training
  • Soil Amendments
  • Wildlife, Domesticated Animals and Land Use
  • Agricultural Water (Part I: Pre Harvest Water; Part II: Postharvest Water)
  • Postharvest Handling and Sanitation
  • How to Develop a Farm Food Safety Plan

After attending the entire course and submitting the appropriate survey to their trainer at the end of the course, participants will be eligible to receive a certificate from the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) that verifies they have completed the training course. This course fulfills the FSMA Produce Safety Rule training requirement for at least one supervisor per farm is trained by an FDA-recognized Produce Safety Alliance curriculum.

Does your farm fall under the FSMA PSR? Find out at the link below.
https://rutgers.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4IagP1mbPyrp42N

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Food Safety, Fruit, vegetable, Vegetable Crops
February 18, 2026

North Jersey Commercial Vegetable Growers Meeting Program and Registration

NORTH JERSEY COMMERCIAL
VEGETABLE GROWERS MEETING

March 11, 2026
8:30 am – 3:00 pm

Harvest Hall, Alstede Farms
100 Route 24
Chester, NJ 07930

Program

 

Program Chair
Peter Nitzsche, Agriculture and Resource Management Agent
Cooperative Extension of Morris County

8:30 – Registration
Continental breakfast compliments of industry sponsors

9:00 – Welcome and Introductions

9:10 – Vegetable IPM Update
Amanda Quadrel, Senior Program Coordinator – Vegetable IPM, Cooperative Extension

9:40 – Developing a Targeted Worker Training Program for Produce Safety
Meredith Melendez, ANR Agent, Cooperative Extension of Mercer County

10:10 – Update on Farm Service Programs
Kristen Lake, County Executive Director, Farm Service Agency

10:20 – Jersey Fresh Marketing Update
Christine Fries, Coordinator of Agricultural Marketing, Division of Markets, NJ Dept. of Agriculture

10:30 – Strawberry Disease Management: How Environment Changes the Game
Nancy Sharma, Specialist in Fruit Pathology, Cooperative Extension

11:00 – Resistance Management and the Pesticide Label – What You Need to Know
Kate Brown, ANR Agent, Cooperative Extension of Somerset County

11:30 – What is New from Industry

11:40 – Next-Generation Weed Management Innovative Solutions for Specialty Crop Productions
Thierry Besancon is an Extension Specialist in Weed Science for Specialty Crops

12:10 – LUNCHEON (pre-registration required)

1:00 – Updates on Disease Control in Vegetable Crops
Andrew Wyenandt, Specialist in Vegetable Pathology, Cooperative Extension

1:30 – Update on Rutgers/NJAES Agrivoltaics Crops Research
Daniel Ward, Associate Research Professor, Dept. of Plant Biology, NJAES

2:00 – New and Emerging Vegetable Pests
Patricia Prade, Extension Entomologist, Penn State Extension

2:30- Specialty Winter Squash for NJ Growers
David Hlubik, ANR Agent, Cooperative Extension of Burlington County

3:00 – Pesticide Recertification Credits and Adjourn.  Attendees must be present for the entire program in order to apply for NJDEP credits

NJDEP PESTICIDE RECERTIFICATION CREDITS ARE ANTICIPATED

North Jersey Veg Meeting Registration 2026 then fax or email to:
Fax: (908) 806-4735
E-mail: kfrey@co.hunterdon.nj.us

PRE-REGISTRATION BY MARCH 4, 2026 REQUIRED FOR LUNCH

Directions:
Harvest Hall, Alstede Farms 100 Route 24, Chester, NJ 07930
Look for the Harvest Hall sign at the entrance to the driveway.
The entrance to the Harvest Hall driveway is directly across the street from Chubb Park ~¼ mile east of the farmstand.

If you have any question please call Kim Crommelin: (908)-788-1338

 

Filed Under: Agrivoltaics, Commercial Ag Updates, Food Safety, pesticide credits, vegetable, Vegetable Crops