FamilyFarmed is seeking partners to join our grant application for funding of farmer training workshops.
FamilyFarmed is pleased to announce new Direct Market Success training and On-Farm Food Safety training resources to go with our acclaimed Wholesale Success training curriculum. These workshops are highly customized to focus on your areas of need and can be scheduled for 1 - 2 days. Core topics could include: - FSMA/on-farm food safety plans & risk management best practices
- Wholesale marketing and operations
- Direct marketing operations
- Proper pre- and post-harvest handling best practices
- Maintaining the cold chain, cleaning and drying, packing and grading
- Packing shed and farm site map design
- Developing relationships with buyers
- Worker health and hygiene, record keeping, traceability
- Contracts and wholesale sales agreements
Workshop activities may include: presentation, farmer and/or buyer panel, activities and small group work, group assessments and discussion, beginning food safety plans, making farm site maps, facility tours and site visits, reception/Meet the Buyers networking event.  Our trainings are led by Atina Diffley, author of the 2012 award-winning memoir, Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works. Atina is a pioneer in the organic farming community who will offer first-hand expertise, practical/scale-appropriate systems, step-by-step recommendations, group dialog and food safety plan assistance. Through this program, we will:- Conduct a customized workshop, based on Direct Market/Wholesale Success manuals and On-Farm Food Safety templates, that is presented by our seasoned farmer/trainer Atina Diffley
Who do we partner with to provide these trainings? - Wholesale/institutional buyers
- Food hubs and packinghouses
- Non-profit organizations
- Farmers markets
- University Extension offices
- Departments of Agriculture
- Farmer Cooperatives/Auctions
- Retailers
To bring farmer training to your farmer network or for more information about our workshops, including financing/grant options to cover all associated costs, please contact James Pirovano at [log in to unmask], 312.874.7360 no later than June 10. Sincerely,
Jim Slama, President FamilyFarmed |
Direct Market Success, Wholesale Success
and On-Farm Food Safety
 FamilyFarmed announces Direct Market Success for farmers selling direct to consumers (or restaurants) at farmers markets, farmsteads, through CSAs or online marketplaces. New and beginning farmers will find Direct Market Successuseful in setting a course to decide which markets make most sense for your operation, including sections on Starting Up and Scaling Up, Preparing Market Strategy, Organic and other certifications, Raising and Processing Livestock, Poultry and Dairy, Growing, Harvesting and Handling Grain, Food Safety, and over 100 crop profiles.
The fifth edition of Wholesale Success will include requirements of FDA's Food Safety Modernization Act so that as FSMA takes effect, growers participating in GAP know they are also meeting FSMA requirements. The manual also includes comprehensive sections on issues such as Building Relationships with Buyers, On-Farm Food Safety, Cooling and Curing Produce, Packing Shed Design, Proper Post-Harvest Handling and Calculating Return on Investment. It also includes over 100 crop profiles that give specific harvesting, cooling, storage, and packing information on most of the fruits and vegetables grown in the United States. In response to food safety issues in recent years,FamilyFarmed and a broad coalition of food safety leaders developed the On-Farm Food Safety Project, a comprehensive national program that offers farmers technical assistance to develop risk-based food safety programs for their operations. The On-Farm Food Safety website includes an easy-to-use online tool that generates customized on-farm food safety plans based on user input. The tool is based on Harmonized GAP standards developed by United Fresh and industry partners and is currently being updated to be compliant with new FSMA regulations. This tool has been specifically designed for small and mid-scale produce growers to provide them with a full set of record keeping tools to document their food safety program and to provide training to their employees. It is available in English and Spanish. |
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