An Introduction to Compliance Issues for Small Farmers Webinar

Why Think About Compliance?

In our first webinar of the “Finding Your Markets” series, we discussed selling to grocery stores.

Farms accessing these and other large markets must follow many rules and regulations. Since we’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about what compliance issues farms need to consider, we decided to tack on one more webinar to this “Finding Your Markets” series.z

The Compliance Webinar will discuss what compliance issues apply to your farm, what you need to prepare, and how to think strategically about compliance.

Join us Friday, June 6th at 9:00 AM MST for this FREE webinar.

And check out this Live Sales display in the Fort Collins, CO Whole Foods Market below!

Compliance Requirements vary by market

Many markets, such as CSAs and Farmers’ Markets, do not need any official certifications for you to access. Regardless, it is important to follow Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). Dr. Nate Storey will discuss the components of GAP and standards, what your farm always needs to follow, and what your farm sometimes needs to follow based on market.

Official Inspections and Procedures

What does it mean when your farm is being inspected? Who conducts the inspections? What are they looking for, and how can you prepare?

Inspections can be daunting, but with the right preparation, your greenhouse will breeze through. We will talk about the inspection process, how to create good logs, and what to keep for inspectors.

For example, tracking your pesticides and treatments is essential. Your workers must abide by sanitary standards, so you need to have a plan for employee training, tracking, and illness reporting.

Think Strategically About Compliance

Minimizing your compliance cost requires you, the farmer, to think strategically. If harvesting cut greens requires a certified kitchen in your state, should you consider selling standard heads of lettuce instead? Dr. Storey will discuss what you should consider before entering the market and the benefits of using ZipGrow towers for live sales. For more information, visit http://verticalfoodblog.com/an-introduction-to-compliance-issues-for-small-farmers-webinar/