farming with food safety and conservation in mind · · 2015-12-09farming with food safety and...

Wild Farm Alliance 8/25/11

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Jo Ann Baumgartner Wild Farm Alliance

Dave Runsten, Community Alliance with Family Farmers

Farming with Food Safety and Conservation

in Mind

Goal

Assist farmers in becoming adept at sharing their rationale for

conservation management decisions, so they can more effectively advocate

for these practices with buyers and food safety auditors.


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Overview

•  How Did We Get Here? •  FSMA Calls for Co-management •  Relative Food Safety Risk of Wildlife •  General Advice for Animal Management •  Why Soil Microbial Diversity is Important •  Vegetation’s Filtering Capacity

How Did We Get Here?

Environmental Conflicts After 2006 E.coli 0157:H7 Spinach Contamination

Denuded vegetative buffers

Hunted and poisoned wildlife

Installed fences

•  Resource Conservation District (RCD). 2007. A Grower Survey: Reconciling Food Safety and Environmental Protection. Monterey County. •  RCD. 2009. Challenges to Co-Management for Food Safety and Environmental Protection: A Grower Survey. Monterey County. •  Stuart, D. 2009a. Constrained Choice and Ethical Dilemmas in Land Management: Environmental Quality and Food Safety in California. J of Ag and Environ. Ethics.

S. Earnshaw


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How Did We Get Here? Conflicts with Government Mandates

•  State and Federal Wildlife Agencies •  National Marine Fisheries Service •  Environmental Protection Agency •  State Water Agencies •  US Army Corps of Engineers •  USDA National Organic Program

R. Weisser and smokyphotos.com Bill Mitchell USFWS

Food Safety Modernization Act

- Take into consideration, consistent with ensuring enforceable public health protection, conservation policies established by Federal natural resource conservation, wildlife conservation, and environmental agencies; and in the case of production that is certified organic, not include any requirements that conflict with or duplicate the requirements of the national organic program established under the Organic Foods Production Act.


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Relative Food Safety Risk of Wildlife

Native wildlife species pose a low relative risk of carrying human pathogens such E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella (prevalence in wildlife generally <3%).

•  http://www.wildfarmalliance.org/Press Room/WFA_Relative_Risk_Animals.pdf

General Advice for Animal Management

Monitor crop fields for animal intrusion and designate a no-harvest zone if fecal matter is present, depending on the crop spacing and other features of the farm.

When there is unusually heavy wildlife activity in the field, use loud noises, sprinklers activated by motion sensors, scare balloons, food attractants placed in other areas, and fencing to discourage wildlife from entering the crop area.


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Why Soil Microbial Diversity is Important

Use of cover crops, compost, and other high-quality organic matter inputs encourage diverse soil microbial populations, which enhance suppression of soil-borne plant pathogens through competition and lower survival of E. coli pathogens in soil.

•  Franz, E. and A.H.C. van Bruggen. 20008. Ecology of E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica in the Primary Vegetable Production Chain. Critical Reviews in Microbiology, 34.

Vegetation’s Filtering Capacity

NRCS

Grasses, vegetated buffers, and wetlands can effectively decrease water-borne pathogens by intercepting them as they move off the landscape toward surface waters.

•  Knox, A. K., K. W. Tate, R. A. Dahlgren, and E. R. Atwill. 2007. Management reduces E. coli in irrigated pasture runoff. California Agriculture 61 (4). •  Tate, K., E. Atwill, J. W. Bartolome, and G. Naderd. 2006. Significant Escherichia coli attenuation by vegetative buffers on annual grasslands. Journal of Environmental Quality 35.


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Windbreaks Hedgerows

Grassed Waterways

Riparian Buffers

Wetlands

Cover crops Compost

Farm Conservation Practices That Support Public Health – Specifically Food Safety

Water Quality

Soil Microbes Outcompete

and Kill Human

Pathogens

Air Quality

Windbreaks Hedgerows

Grassed Waterways

Riparian Buffers Wetlands

Cover crops Compost

Farm Conservation Practices That Support Public Health – More Generally–

Food Quality & Environment

Reduction of Airborne Pesticide Drift

Pollination Services

Beneficial Insect and Raptor Pest Control

Nutrient and Pesticide Filtration

Soil and Riverbank Stabilization

Groundwater Recharge

Nutrient Cycling

Increase Water Holding Capacity


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For further information, download new brochure at http://www.wildfarmalliance.org

_______ PO Box 2570, Watsonville, CA 95077 831.761.8408 [email protected] www.wildfarmalliance.org

farming with food safety and conservation in mind · · 2015-12-09farming with food safety and...

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