CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 07/02/02

Trainings ready growers, packers for GAPs audits

That's why the University of Georgia is offering a special training, "Passing the Georgia GAPs Food Safety Audit" July 23 in Moultrie, Ga., and Aug. 8 in Vidalia, Ga.

The Georgia GAPs (Good Agricultural Practices) certification and audit requires growers and packers to develop food safety plans similar to those used by food processors. GAPs focus on eight potential contamination or safety hazard points in growing and handling produce.

The one-day UGA program will give fresh-produce growers and packers hands-on training on designing and putting GAPs into place in their own operations. Participants will be eligible to get a third-party audit for a greatly reduced fee.

Once the audit certifies a farm is following food safety guidelines, the grower or packer will be certified by the Georgia Department of Agriculture and can put the certification seal on packaging.

Each program will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 3 p.m. The Moultrie workshop will be at the Colquitt County Agri-Complex on U.S. Highway 319. The Vidalia program will be at the Vidalia Community Center a block off U.S. Highway 280 on Old Airport Road.

Participants must preregister by July 18 for the Moultrie program or Aug. 5 for Vidalia. A $20 fee covers lunch and other costs.

To learn more or preregister, contact the nearest county office of the University of Georgia Extension Service. Or call GAPs field coordinator George Ponder at (229) 392-3846 or UGA food scientist Bill Hurst at (706) 542- 2574. Or go to the Web at www.ugatiftonconference.org/events.htm.

Dan Rahn is a news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Experts/Sources:
Fred Terasa
The holiday season can be a time of anticipation and joy, but balancing multiple commitments and personalities across families and friends can be a source of stress for hosts and visitors alike. Like preparing parts of the meal ahead of time to spend more of the holiday with guests, taking time ahead of the day to set expectations can go a long way to ensuring enjoyable gatherings, said Ted Futris, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialist and professor of human development and family science in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. CAES News
Manage holiday stress with kindness, boundaries 11/21/24 Maria M. Lameiras
The holiday season can be a time of anticipation and joy, but balancing multiple commitments and personalities across families and friends can be a source of stress for hosts and visitors alike. Much like preparing parts of the meal ahead of time allows you to spend more of the holiday with guests, setting expectations ahead of the celebration can go a long way to ensuring enjoyable gatherings, said Ted Futris, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialist and professor of human development and family science.
Conner Hall CAES News
CAES welcomes 2024 cohort of Rural Scholars 11/20/24 Maria M. Lameiras
The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences welcomed its fourth cohort of students chosen for the CAES Rural Scholars Program this fall just weeks after celebrating the program's first graduation. Georgia Orman, one of four inaugural Rural Scholars in CAES, graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education. The new scholars for 2024, all from Georgia, are Ela Ash of Ocilla, Lauren E. Coley of Cochran, Amelia Housley of Canon, and London O’Steen of Ambrose.
Women play a vital role in rural American farming, but much of that work is "invisible," like raising children or household chores, according to a new UGA study. (Getty Images) CAES News
The women and stress behind rural farming in America 11/19/24 Leigh Hataway
Recent research from the University of Georgia suggests the unique stresses from farm life may be taking a toll on one of the pillars of the families that make your dinners possible: the women who keep farming families running. “If we don’t control our food sources, we don’t control our health and safety,” said Anna Scheyett, lead author of the study and a professor in UGA’s School of Social Work. “It’s a matter of national security that farmers survive in the United States. And one of the big factors in helping farms survive is women.”
Mergoum at Creature Comforts CAES News
That's the spirit! 11/18/24 Maria M. Lameiras, Claire Sanders Kinnard
Wheat breeders spend years meticulously crossing varieties to coax the best traits out of each species, carefully propagating plant varieties that are healthier, heartier and better suited for the environments where they are grown. Professional brewmasters are equally painstaking when choosing the components that will give their beers a specific flavor profile.
Contest-winning concept becomes viable business for alumnus who developed solar-powered, self-propelled chicken coop as a student. CAES News
Poultry in motion 11/14/24 Sean Montgomery
Chris Ayers emerged from his orange and black rough-terrain vehicle with an ear-to-ear grin. “This is Chiktopia,” he said, sweeping his arm wide to indicate the back half of a 3,600-square-foot warehouse on his family’s farm in Ball Ground, Georgia. “This is where I manufacture and assemble the chicken coops. Everything is done entirely from over here.”
UGA Grand Farm Site Plan web CAES News
UGA Grand Farm wins stage two of 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund competition 11/13/24 Jordan Powers
Startups in the agricultural technology sector face significant barriers on the path to establishment, including access to training and capital. These barriers are heightened for underrepresented entrepreneurs seeking to start new companies. The University of Georgia Grand Farm, part of a historic partnership between the University of Georgia and Fargo, North Dakota-based Grand Farm, aims to change that.