2020 Upper Genesee Valley Produce Growers Meeting
Event Details
Date
February 14, 2020
Time
12:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Location
Genesee Valley Produce Auction house
8855 Co. Rd 3
Freedom, NY 14065
Cost
FREE!
Host
Cornell Vegetable ProgramElizabeth Buck
585-406-3419
email Elizabeth Buck

A bit of something for everyone! This meeting will feature experts from Cornell Cooperative Extension discussing food safety in auction lots and quality control, how to successfully lengthen the growing season, making the most of a small grain rotational crop, and common disease and pest info. Summer squash, cabbage and pepper production tips will be presented by Mark Zittel, an experienced produce and greenhouse grower for 20+ years. Participants will have the opportunity to join group discussion in breakout sessions of their choosing. And don't forget to stop by the Demo Table to see weeds and soil health exhibits.
AGENDA
12:30 PM Welcome, Housekeeping, Updates, Survey -- CCE Allegany & Cattaraugus Counties, GVPA Board
12:40 PM Food Safety in Auction Lots and Quality Control -- Lynn Bliven, CCE Allegany County
1:00 PM Diversifying Produce Offerings and Regional Marketing Lessons -- Elizabeth Buck, CCE Cornell Vegetable Program
1:15 PM Update from Harris Seeds
1:25 PM Demo Table (Weeds, Soil Health)
1:40 PM Lengthening the Growing Season -- Judson Reid, CCE Cornell Vegetable Program
2:00 PM Break
2:15 PM Production Nuts & Bolts: Summer Squash, Cabbage, Peppers -- Mark Zittel, produce and greenhouse grower of 20+ years
2:45 PM Making the Most of a Small Grain Rotational Crop -- CCE Southwest NY Dairy, Livestock, Field Crops Team
3:15 PM Breakout Group Discussions
- Season extension, greenhouses & plant nutrition - Judson Reid & Caitlin Vore
- Food safety, marketing, soils - Lynn Bliven
- Vegetable & bedding plant production - Elizabeth Buck & Mark Zittel
- Field Crops, Dairy, Livestock - SW NY Team
3:35 PM Common Disease and Pest Recap -- Caitlin Vore, CCE Cornell Vegetable Program
3:55 PM Wrap Up
FREE! Pre-registration requested by February 12. Register online or call Elizabeth Buck at 585-406-3419.


Upcoming Events
2025 New York State Potato School

February 11 - February 12, 2025
Waterloo, NY
This year's program will feature speakers covering critically important topics like disease management, updates in storage techniques, new varieties, and other production management practices. New for this year will be the Processor Panel where guests will have the chance to interact with some of the major chip processors in the northeast. Your participation will also earn you DEC and CCA points.
Remote Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) Training
February 12, 2025
Join Cornell Cooperative Extension of Orange and Oneida Counties, the Cornell Vegetable Program, Harvest NY, and the Eastern NY Horticulture Team on Feb. 12 for a remote Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) training. Good Agricultural Practices is a voluntary food safety audit program requiring minimum standards for the production, handling, packing, and storing of fresh fruits and vegetables, and is required by some buyers. Trainers will cover food safety best management practices related to worker training, preharvest assessments and wildlife management, water testing, postharvest handling, hygienic equipment design and efficient wash-pack setups, how to write a farm food safety plan, and more. The training will follow the USDA GAPs audit checklist so that farms will be prepared for an audit. A NYSDAM GAPs auditor will join us to discuss audit logistics and answer questions from participants. Following the course, we will offer a series of virtual office hours to follow up with course participants to assist them with writing their farm food safety plan, which is mandatory for the GAPs audit. Participants will receive a certificate of course completion after the training.
Food Safety Lunch and Learn Webinar Series
February 11, 2025 : Part One: What's Going on with Food Safety?
NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets FSMA inspectors are expected to step up farm visits this season. Why are they showing up on the farm asking about FSMA? Aren't we exempt? This noontime hour we will discuss the purpose of the farm visits and what produce farmers need to know.
February 18, 2025 : Part Two: What Counts as Food Processing?
In this session, we will discuss what counts as processing and what doesn't. Stories of inspectors coming to farmers markets and auctions telling some growers certain products can't be sold usually without much explanation. We will try to make some sense of things and clear up some misunderstandings so hopefully the upcoming season goes smoothly.
February 25, 2025 : Part Three: Traceability - Benefits for Food Safety and Beyond
Can having a traceback process for your produce (and other farm products) make good business sense regardless of FSMA regulations? We will (try to) make the case for farms to have some sort of traceability mechanism in place.