Tennessee Department of Agriculture Guides Farmers Step by Step
In partnership with: Tennessee Department of Agriculture
Founded in the early 1960s, Oren Wooden’s Apple House has been a labor of love for six generations. Located in Pikeville, the farm – including a market, restaurant and gift shop – is known for growing peaches and apples, as well as fall squashes. But even with decades of experience under its belt, there was still room for improvement. Working with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA), the orchard participated in a free On-Farm Readiness Review, in which produce safety inspectors visited the property and noted changes that could be made to help them pass any future inspections. No official report was filed, no photos were taken – it was an informal review meant to help better the orchard.
Embracing Feedback
“The biggest benefit would be the new packing shed,” says Mark Burnett, the orchard’s general partner. “Our old packing shed was outdated. We had a lot of wood in the structure and now everything is washable.”
VJ DeSantis and Baylee Burk, both produce safety inspectors with TDA, visited the orchard and noted that its packing house could use some upgrades, as well as some changes to its day-to-day procedures. While it was certainly an investment for the orchard, Burnett says they can now pressure-wash the packing house with the addition of metal materials. Also implemented were new cleaning and daily practices, such as placing items on pallets to ensure that everything is as clean as it can be.
“It’s a great thing to see the improvement when the grower is accepting of your feedback,” Burk says. “They were really receptive. I will visit again soon to see the final product.”
“It’s a great thing to see the improvement when the grower is accepting of your feedback.”
Baylee Burk, produce safety inspector with TDA
See more: Tennessee Inspectors Ensure Food Safety and Quality
Useful Resources
The On-Farm Readiness Reviews were made possible thanks to a 2016 grant from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Since the beginning of the grant, TDA has been able to conduct 12 On-Farm Readiness Reviews and 34 inspections. The grant is up for renewal in 2021.
“We love this program because we can just go and talk to people. There are no records that we take, there are no fines or anything like that for the farmer,” DeSantis says. “It’s simply an educational visit where we get to see the property, see the equipment and make recommendations.”
DeSantis says that at the end of the visit, they also provide the farmers with literature that outlines the practices every produce grower should consider, in accordance with the Produce Safety Rule.
The program is especially beneficial for smaller farms who foresee their business growing – meaning there will be produce safety concerns they’ll need to address, says Viktoria Einecker, a produce coordinator with TDA. “By taking advantage of training and free reviews, they’re already in compliance with the FDA when they reach the level of a larger farm,” she says. That includes mandatory Produce Safety Alliance training for farms that generate more than $25,000 per year.
TDA also encourages farms of all sizes to keep records so the farm is prepared for any voluntary audits they sign up for or any mandatory produce inspections in the future.
“Most farmers in this area do the right thing, but they don’t record it. This practice gets them into the habit of keeping good records.” DeSantis says. “This is for their protection also. They’ve done everything that they can do and they’re following the proper protocols to grow food.”
Next up at the orchard, Burnett says they’re working on converting all their wooden bins into plastic ones.
“It wasn’t like, ‘What can we see to get you in trouble?’ It was more like, ‘Let’s see what we can do to get you up to code and get things running,’” he says of the review. “We definitely needed a change; we needed to rebuild to be compliant with the code. It’s worked out for the better. We didn’t want to do it initially because of the cost [of the improvements], but now that we’ve got it done, we’re really pleased with it.”
To learn more about On-Farm Readiness Reviews, call Jenny Strasser at (615) 837-5536.