July 7, 2022

In this Issue:

• Produce Safety Training
• Share Grounds Update
• Useful links
• Staying Clean at Home

Who should attend:

Anyone who grows, harvests, packs and handles fresh fruits and vegetables.

Why you should attend:

On-farm food safety practices are vital in the produce industry. Many farms are now required to comply with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule. This training will educate growers on the Produce Safety Rule.

What you receive:

Upon completion of this training, participants receive a certificate satisfying the requirement 112.22(c) in the Produce Safety Rule.

Share Grounds Update

Share Grounds is excited to partner with the Arkansas Department of Agriculture and Arkansas Brewers Guild to help develop an Arkansas-bred, grown, and brewed blackberry beer!

The blackberries were provided by Ritter Farms, an Arkansas farm established in 1886.

A special thank you to Theron Cash at Stone's Throw Brewery for showing us the beginning stages of the brewing process, as well as talking us through the remaining steps to make this beer a possibility.

Stone's Throw will be hosting a tasting for this batch on Friday, July 22, 2022, from 5:30 to 7:30 PM, at their MacPark Brewpub and Biergarten located at 402 E 9th St., Little Rock, AR 72202.

Useful Links

• Free soil testing is offered in every county in Arkansas!
• Test your water with Arkansas Water Resources Center!
• Stay in the know - get Ag Water updates from FDA
• Financial Assistance through USDA's Food Safety Certification for Specialty Crops Program (FSCSC)

Food Safety: At Home Edition

Clean THEN Sanitize: A One-Two Punch to Stop Foodborne Illness in the Kitchen

Food safety doesn't end on the farm or the grocery store shelves! Read through this short guide by the USDA on cleaning and sanitizing your home food contact surfaces.

Take a Few Simple Steps to Keep Your Garden Harvest Safe -

It's Easy!

Eli Snyder with North Carolina Cooperative Extension did an excellent job of putting together a short guide on safe harvesting practices for your home garden. Read through for information on safe planting and growing practices as well!