| Publication
Provides Common Sense Guidance for Farmers to Establish Food
Safety Plans
“FSP4U - A Food Safety Plan for You”
by Michele Schermann, RN MS, UMN Agricultural Safety and Health
Program Research Fellow, provides common sense guidance for
farmers to establish food safety plans. It is packed full
of useful record keeping templates, and will help fruit and
vegetable producers set up food safety systems to pass Good
Agricultural Practice (GAP) audits.
Available for $5.00 to cover postage (email
Safety
for details) or download pdf.
This project was funded by the Minnesota
Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association with a grant from
USDA-RMA.
Minnesota AgrAbility Project News
MAP awarded STAR Program Award for Excellence
The Minnesota AgrAbility Project was recognized
for its commitment to removing barriers to independence for
farmers with disabilities by the Minnesota STAR Program on
April 14 in the State Capitol Rotunda. AgrAbility project
coordinators Michele Schermann and Al Rasmussen were on hand
for the ceremony and to receive the Award for Excellence from
the State Commissioner of Administration.
Deen
Swart (center), our AgrAbility partner from Goodwill/ EasterSeals
of MN was nominated for and awarded the STAR Award for Excellence
in Assistive Technology. STAR awards are given to those individuals
who exemplify excellence in use, promotion, advocacy, support,
research and development, and other aspects of assistive technology
in Minnesota.
MAP staff L to R: Al
Rasmussen, UofMN, Deen Swart, GoodwillEasterSeals of MN, and
Michele Schermann, UofMN.
MAP Peer Conference
Minnesota
AgrAbility Project sponsored a peer conference in Hutchinson,
MN on March 12 & 13. Mike Rosmann (on
the left in photo) of AgriWellness,
the keynote speaker, spoke to the 20 participants about Agriculture
Behavioral Health and how it affects the lives of the farming
community. New skills and tips on understanding and managing
our own behavioral health were part of the presentations during
the 1-1/2 day workshop.
Emergency Response Planning Workbook
for Fruit and Vegetable Growers
In recent years, there has been growing interest in locally
produced fresh fruits, vegetables, and other food products.
Farmers’ markets have become a common feature of local
efforts to encourage community economic development by promoting
locally-grown products. Consumers have increased their intake
of fresh fruits and vegetables thanks to efforts to promote
good nutrition. Given the choice, many consumers prefer locally-grown
products, and are often very willing to support efforts to
bring fresh and wholesome products into their communities
via the hard work of local growers.
But, for several reasons, people producing
fruits and vegetables face a variety of risks and hazards.
This includes natural disasters (floods, tornadoes, etc.);
unintentional events such as injuries, fires, etc.; and the
potential for intentional events such as theft, vandalism,
product tampering, etc. Many of these events can lead to conditions
which are potentially damaging to the grower such as a power
outage or other “failure” that can affect people,
products, property, and customers.
This workbook and the presentations it supports
are designed to help fruit and vegetable growers to prepare
for and respond to many of these events. (Click on the picture
to get to the workbook)
Regional Agricultural Awareness
Workshops
University of Minnesota Extension, in conjunction
with the Minnesota Departments of Agriculture and Emergency
Management, held a series of workshops in March 2008 to help
the agricultural and emergency response communities as they
work to integrate agriculture into county-level emergency
response planning. See more about this on our Agriculture
and Food System Preparedness webpage.
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Bioproducts
and Biosystems Engineering
We integrate engineering and biology to help people
solve problems through exemplary education, innovative
research, and creative design.
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Agricultural
Safety and Health Presentations
Follow this link for presentations from conferences,
courses, and workshops given by the ASH team. Presentations
are powerpoint slides in pdf format.
Presentations
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Press
Releases and PSAs
Past press releases and public service announcements
from the UofMN Ag Safety and Health Team.
Press
and PSAs |
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