Farm food safety begins with Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs): the basic environmental and operational conditions that are necessary for the production of safe fruits and vegetables.

Farmers need to take steps to minimize pathogen contamination during production and harvest of their fresh produce. They should avoid side-dressing with manure, exclude animals near fields, promote proper worker hygiene in the field, test irrigation water quality, select irrigation methods that minimize crop wetting or allows for leaves to dry quickly, clean and sanitize harvest bins, promote cleanliness at U-Pick, and keep produce cool.

As consumers demand safer food, a growing number of retailers are requiring farmers to have independent, 3rd-party inspections of farms, certifying that their fruits and vegetables are being grown, harvested and packaged using Good Agricultural Practices.



More Food Safety Content

Labor Road Show II (Peru, NY)

January 28, 2019
8:30am - 4:00pm
Peru, NY

Sharing on behalf of the Ag Labor Development Council: If you have employees, then you need to be at the New York Labor Road Show II. Experts from farms, private industry and the university will focus on critical topics that affect all farm employers including: employee housing, onboarding, sexual harassment prevention, employee engagement , safety, wage and hour laws, and worker care.

Labor Road Show II (Ballston Spa, NY)

January 29, 2019
8:30am - 4:00pm
Ballston Spa, NY

Sharing on behalf of the Ag Labor Development Council: If you have employees, then you need to be at the New York Labor Road Show II. Experts from farms, private industry and the university will focus on critical topics that affect all farm employers including: employee housing, onboarding, sexual harassment prevention, employee engagement , safety, wage and hour laws, and worker care.

High Tunnel Farmer to Farmer Meeting

February 4, 2019
9:00am to 4:30pm
Poughkeepsie, NY

Join us for a facilitated farmer to farmer style workshop focused on high tunnel production and management. Though the final meeting agenda will be developed on the day of the meeting with input from attendees, it is expected that topics covered will include season long soil fertility management, high tunnel model selection and construction considerations, biological pest and disease management, and more. 

ENYCHP Fruit and Vegetable Conference Feb 19-22

Join us for the 2nd Annual Eastern NY Fruit and Vegetable Conference! This year we will be expanding our conference to include a third day and many exciting new sessions. Speakers, topic details, and registration information will be available soon. Mark your calendars, and don't miss this great line-up!

Resources from CCE ENYCHP!

We are developing new ways to connect with the CCE ENYCHP team this year! We have a Youtube page located at this link. Check out videos on Table Grape Production, Pest Updates and the 20 Minute Ag Manager - in 4 Minutes series. 
The text alerts will be reserved for important crop alerts that could impact management decisions immediately. For instance, if there were an outbreak of Late Blight in the area, this would be transmitted to vegetable growers.

Farmers can choose the crop for which they wish to receive updates. Additionally they can request that Ag Business Alerts be sent to them. These alerts might include due dates for crop insurance deadlines, market opportunities etc.