I S ;£ HortiCountry 'W&tMi * V , TimElkner Wf *■* Lancaster County (h'\ «n 3 4 yV'"' B Horticulture Agent FOOD SAFETY STARTS ON YOUR FARM There has been an increase in the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables consumed by people in the U.S. since 1970. The average person ate 564 pounds of fresh produce in 1970 and, by 1996, the average person was eating 696 pounds, an increase of 23 percent. While this is good news for folks such as you who are growing fresh produce, there has also been another recent trend that is not good news. The number of outbreaks of foodbome illness related to produce has more than doubled from 1987 to 1998. The number of people affected by these out breaks has also more than doubled Contrary to what many peo ple believe, the cause of these outbreaks is not mostly from contaminated fruits and veget ables imported into this coun try. More than 75 percent of these foodbome illness out breaks were actually traced to Binkley & Hurst Bros. - Your Dealer For Precision Planting From Conventional Field Corn and Soybean Planting and Specialty Small Seed Planters - You Need A Monosem AfONOSENI When precision planting counts!... You take every step possible to ensure that your farming operation is a success. Binkley & Hurst, Inc is dedicated to bringing you the latest in planting technology, with unmatched accuracy and precision Enjoy the ease of machine operation, significantly higher yields, and dependability you can count on Visit Binkley & Hurst Bros soon to experience the advantages of precision vacuum planting with a Monosem NG Plus series vacuum planter NG PLUS SERIES METERING SYSTEM Patented Metering Box One Simple adjustment has two functions To set the height To proportion the air sin tion of the seed scraper to the weight of the seed OTHER PLANTING OPTIONS AVAILABLE • Large Pumpkin • Corn (1500 2500 • Spmach/Sugarbeet • Medium seed/lb) High (High Population) Squash/Watermelon Population • Cotton/Navy Bean • Large Squash • Cabbage/Caulitlower • Peas/Green Beans/ • Soybean Disc Double (Low Population) Soybeans (Medium/ Row (Hi Population) • Cucumber/Canteloupe • Sunflower (Standard) • Sweet Corn (2500- 5000 seed/lb) • Large Sweet Corn (under 2700 seed/lb) • Corn Seed Disc (Low Population produce grown here in the U.S. There was a wide variety of fruits and vegetables involved, including raspberries, straw berries, tomatoes, lettuce, cab bage, carrots, and sprouts. Two bacteria Salmonella and E.coli caused most of the outbreaks. Outbreaks of foodbome ill ness can result in major finan cial losses to producers of the crop causing with any outbreak as well as associated business interests. The outbreak of ill ness in 1996 first thought to be caused by strawberries from California resulted in an esti mated $5O million loss to the strawberry industry of that state. The outbreak was later traced to imported raspberries, but it was too late for the straw berry growers. A recent outbreak of illness caused by contaminated apple juice cost investors in the com pany an estimated $12.4 mil lion when stock values dropped. And lawsuits and attorney and court fees will surely cost the company addi tional money. • Sorghum/Milo (Low Large) Population Dry Land) •Turmp/Sesame/Kale • Cotton • Onion • Cabbage/Caulitlower (High Population) • Sorghum/Milo (High Population) • Sorghum/Milo (High Population Irrigated) • Hilldrop Cotton • Jumbo Peanut/Kidney Bean • Small Sugarbeet • Sugarbeel/Pickle • Peanuts (Small/Medium) • Large Bean • Small Spinach THE PRECISION VACUUM PLANTER • 2 to 12 Rows • 3 pt hitch on pull-type • Liquid or dry fertilizer • No till or conservation till It’s easy to change from crop to crop. The correct seed disc is selected based on the size and weight of the seed A bean seed disc, for example, can plant a variety of bean seeds When planting different crops, you need only adjust the metering box vacuum and change seed discs NG+ 2-row, variable width rowspacing, with dry fertilizer and Microsem granular applicator Shown planting sweet corn in Ohio Affordable high technology available for the farmer with smaller acreage or multiple crops, but who is still concerned with seed costs seed spacing, seed singulation, depth control and uniform germination Grower and Marketer, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 22, 2000—Page What would a case of food home illness traced to a Lan caster County farm cost the far mer? What would it cost our fresh produce industry? One of my major concerns for our produce industry has to do with the nature of agricul ture in the county. Dairy, beef, hog and poultry producers are found throughout Lancaster County. Unfortunately, many of the organisms that cause foodbome illness are asso ciated with animals and animal manure. This is not to say that animals are the only source of harmful organisms foodbor ne illness can also be caused by poor worker hygiene but growers with animal operations need to be especially careful. Following arc some ways to reduce the chances of produce contamination on the farm that I gathered at a recent workshop. Fortunately, many of these practices will not cause you to have to spend additional money in your operation and some of them can improve crop yields and quality. • First manage your man ure carefully, since it can be a primary source of harmful organisms. Ideally, only use manure on fields that will pro duce agronomic crops, not veg etable crops, the year of appli cation. Apply manure to veget able fields after the final harvest is complete and incor porate as soon as possible. Nev er sidedress fruits and veget ables with manure. Keep man fy. 133 Rothsville Station Rd. HSrHr MM i Ann 41 a 470*? ra Farm Pisn _ 47U5 ISO A Strvlctof FPCFinancial rax 717-626-0996 www.binkleyhurst.com ure storage areas and produce fields as far apart as you can. Whenever possible, actively compost manure (hot piles) before application to the field. Prevent any runoff from your barnyard and manure storage areas from entering produce fields. A rule of thumb is that you should not harvest veget ables or fruit crops from a field treated with manure for at least 120 days after application. If you must grow vegetables in a field where manure was applied, avoid growing root crops and leafy vegetables. • Second start with clean water. Avoid overhead irriga tion whenever possible, espe cially if your water source is a stream or pond. The use of trickle irrigation will both con serve water and reduce the chances of contamination since the edible portions of the crop are not wetted. If you must use overhead irrigation, then use water that is safe to drink. Well water is generally safe (if the wellhead is protected from manure runoff and the casing is intact) and you can have it tested to be sure. Streams and ponds are easily contaminated by runoff that could contain harmful organisms. Consider a drip irrigation system if you are using surface water. You may also want to consider periodic testing of your surface water source. • Third reduce the chances of contamination of produce by using good cultural * Heavy-duty frame with 7"x7" heavy wall steel tubing * Spring-loaded contact drive wheels eliminate mechanical clutches * Ideal for regular field crops PLUS specialty crops. practices. Start by using drink able water for spraying to reduce your chances of apply ing harmful organisms along with your chemicals. Grow crops on plastic mulch to reduce the chances of rains splashing harmful organisms onto the crop. This is in addi tion to the many other benefits of plastic mulch (weed control, water conservation, etc.). Grow crops above the soil where pos sible. For example, stake toma toes instead of letting them lay on the soil. Consider growing your crops in a no-dll field. The mulch cover on the soil will again reduce the chances of harmful organisms splashing onto your crop (in addition to the other benefits of no-till). You could also consider using mulch between the rows to accomplish the same thing. Try to minimize animal traffic in and near produce fields. This includes both domestic and wild animals. You should not graze livestock or allow poultry into fields during the year of harvest. • Fourth have field work ers practice good hygiene. Hands should be washed care fully and thoroughly with soap and water before handling the crop. Clothing and shoes should be changed after work ing in any animal operation before entering a produce field. Obviously ill employees should not be handling produce at any time. (Turn to Pag* 0) 181
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers