April 4, 2022

In this Issue:

• April 2020 Produce Safety Grower Training
• FSMA and the Water Rule - Made Simple
• Come work with us!
• USDA Survey for Small-Scale Food Processors - earn a $75 gift card!

Register for our last REMOTE training for 2022!

Dates: April 13th & April 14th

Times: 8:00 am to 12:30 pm (CST) both days

Registration closes at 11:59 pm on Wednesday, April 6th!

This training will be conducted over Zoom, and you must attend both days of the training. Additionally, you must have the following:

• Internet access
• Zoom video conferencing software
• Web camera
• Microphone



Training materials will be mailed to your residence. Registration closes seven days before the training to accommodate ordering materials and mailing them to you.

Participant attendance and engagement will be monitored. Participants are only eligible for a PSA/AFDO Certificate of Course Completion if they are present for all modules of the course and have the physical training manual with them for the training.

More information about our Produce Safety Grower Trainings



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.

Miss taking part in face to face trainings?

No worries!

We're returning to in-person trainings this summer!

We are planning trainings in Little Rock and Fayetteville - keep an eye on our events page for them!

FSMA and the Water Rule - Made Simple

Figuring out whether or not your farm is covered or exempt from the FSMA Produce Safety Rule can be confusing. In this episode, you'll hear from Emily Hale, a Produce Safety Technician covering the east side of Michigan, and Rich and Cindy Kern, co-owners of Cardinal Farms in South Lyon, Michigan.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a new user-friendly online Agricultural Water Assessment Builder to help farms understand the proposed requirements for an agricultural water assessment in the Agricultural Water Proposed Rule. Use of the tool is optional.

For more information on the FSMA Proposed Water Rule check out this resources page developed by the University of Minnesota Extension and Michigan State University Extension!

Come work with us!

The University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture is hiring an Administrative Specialist III!

The Administrative Specialist III will perform administrative duties for the Horticulture Department. Also, provides support for the State Master Gardener program. See posting for details of responsibilities.

This position is full-time and will be located in the Little Rock State Office.

USDA Survey for Small-Scale Food Processors

Researchers from Purdue working on a USDA Food Safety Outreach Project are conducting interviews with small-scale processors to better understand current practices around food safety training and regulation barriers at their farm/company.

The interview will be 30-45 minutes long and will contain a short survey at the end. Participants will be compensated with a $75 gift card. The data gathered will be used to help develop better training for small-scale food processors.

If you are a small-scale food processor and are interested in participating in this study, you can schedule an interview by clicking below.

For more information contact: Maeve Swinehart at mrswineh@purdue.edu