University of Arkansas Extension Service

By Rebekah Hall
U of A System Division of Agriculture

Fast Facts:

• Two-day workshop offered for fruit and vegetable growers

• Training will cover best practices, regulatory requirements, worker hygiene

• Registration closes April 6

• Register at uaex.uada.edu/producesafety

LITTLE ROCK — For produce growers, keeping their farms free of microbial contamination and reducing foodborne illness outbreaks is key to the success of their crop and business. To support these efforts, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture will offer a two-day, remote produce safety training workshop for fruit and vegetable growers, providing important information on best practices, risk management and regulatory requirements.

The training will take place over Zoom on Wednesday, April 13 and Thursday, April 14 from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. each day. Participants can register at uaex.uada.edu/producesafety. Participants must attend both days of the training, and will need internet access, Zoom video conferencing software and a web camera and microphone.

The cost is $20 for Arkansas residents and $100 for non-Arkansas residents. Space is available for 20 participants. Registration closes at 11:59 p.m. on April 6 to allow time for training materials to arrive via mail.

Rip Weaver, program technician for local, regional and safe foods for the Division of Agriculture, said participant attendance and engagement will be monitored at the training. He also said 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 training manual in-hand during the course.

“The Arkansas Produce Safety team is excited to offer one more remote Produce Safety Grower Training for Arkansas produce growers in 2022,” Weaver said. “While we plan to return to in-person trainings around the state later this year, we want to be sure that our trainings continue to be accessible to all Arkansans. We hope that by offering both virtual and face-to-face trainings going forward, we can provide this needed education in formats that work for everyone. We truly appreciate the flexibility of our state’s farmers over the past two years and look forward to seeing them again.”

Covered topics will include worker health, hygiene and training, soil amendments, postharvest handling and sanitation and developing a farm food safety plan.

The training, developed by the Produce Safety Alliance and presented by the Cooperative Extension Service’s Arkansas Produce Safety Team, teaches growers about regulatory requirements of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule. FSMA is the first federally regulated standard for growing, harvesting, packing and holding fresh produce.

For more information, contact Weaver at [email protected] or at 501-671-2388.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uark.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.

About the Division of Agriculture

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system. 

The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.  

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.