Fruit and Vegetable News

Annalisa Hultberg, Extension Educator, food safety Food safety is a critical part of all produce farm operations to protect your customers from foodborne illness, and your farm from potentially being involved  in a foodborne illness outbreak. As a reminder, the Produce Safety Rule is a federal law and is part of the federal Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) that was passed in 2015. The rule sets, for the first time, science-based standards for growing fruits and vegetables for human consumption.  Fruit and vegetable farmers that grow, pack, harvest and/or hold produce and that do not qualify for an exemption or exclusion are required to comply with the Rule. While food safety is important for all farms, the FSMA Produce Safety Rule regulations only apply to some farms.  Your farm will fall into one of three categories under the Produce Safety Rule:  Not Covered  / Exempt from the rule If your farm’s adjusted average annual produce* sales during the previous ...

This summer, Lizbeth Salamanca, a visiting student from Oregon State University, trialed four different broccolini varieties on the Student Organic Farm (SOF) on the Saint Paul of the University of Minnesota. Broccolini is a cross of broccoli and gai lan choy, made by the Sakata Seed Company, and released in the early 1990s. We’re examining broccolini as an alternative to broccoli, which can only be harvested 1-3 times a season, and is susceptible to pests such as black rot and swede midge, a new insect pest of brassicas. The four broccolini varieties tested in Lizbeth’s trial were: BC1611 Happy Rich Melody Sweet Stem All seeds were sourced from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Lizbeth collected data on overall yield, earliness, bolting, and pest problems. All varieties were transplanted into slightly raised beds with drip tape and white plastic mulch on May 17, 2022. Lizbeth also calculated an enterprise budget to determine how much the SOF needed to charge buyers in order to make a profit....