Southwest Ag Summit Recap
Southwest Ag Summit Recap
Many thanks to all that contributed and worked towards creating our successful Yuma Safe Produce Council food safety representation at the 2024 Southwest Ag Summit!
Yuma Safe Produce Council Outreach Booth:
The YSPC outreach booth featured our collection of outreach materials used to communicate food safety issues and encourage our community to help keep our crops safe. Amanda Brooks, Val Sierra, Sam Padilla, Andrea Aguilar, Eddie Padilla, and Kelly Miller once again created a fun atmosphere at the booth with a prize drawing and recognition of our 15th anniversary.
In-the-Field Sample Collection & Testing for Food Safety Purposes:
We had over 40 people attend the In-the-Field Sample Collection and Testing for Food Safety Purposes roundtable of hands-on activities held during the Field Demonstrations Day on Wednesday, February 21, 2024. Special appreciation to the University of Arizona Rock Lab for providing supplies and equipment and for instructors Ban Saber, Taylor Janiec, Zoe Scott, Dalton Zingali, and Dr. Channah Rock. Thank you to Yuma Safe Produce Council members for providing supplies and teaching; Amanda Brooks, Lupe Camarena, Val Sierra, and Vicki Scott. We were fortunate to have a special guest instructor, Dr. Laurel Dunn, Assistant Professor & Extension Coordinator from the University of Georgia on-board for the workshop which featured chlorine and PAA residual testing, turbidity, pH, environmental swabbing, ATP, soil testing, and product sampling for pathogen testing.
Food Safety: A Look to the Future:
The Yuma Safe Produce Council food safety session held on Thursday, February 22, 2024, featured a respected cast of presenters including Tony Banegas, Bonduelle Americas; Sonia Salas, Western Growers; Vicki Scott, Scott resources; Teressa Lopez, AZDA/LGMA; and Trevor Suslow, UC Davis CE Specialist Emeritus. Moderated by Amanda Brooks, Harrison Farms, the speakers provided a glimpse into the future of food safety regarding potential challenges and opportunities around shipper expectations and requirements, use of data, audits, integrating food safety systems, and utilizing current science to update preventive food safety practices. YSPC is grateful for their participation in the session and for their insights on food safety.
Bridging the Gaps: Approaches for Treating Preharvest Agricultural Water On-Farm:
A shout out to Dr. Channah Rock, University of Arizona, and Dr. Laurel Dunn, University of Georgia, who coordinated efforts to bring this pre-ag summit workshop to Yuma. The workshop is a collaboration of efforts from several Land Grant University Extension offices including the Virginia State, New Mexico State, Universities of Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. The workshop features key concepts for understanding agriculture water treatment chemistry, types of treatment and equipment, and implementation practices on-farm.
