Postharvest handling of vegetables highlighted at July workshops

AMES, Iowa -- Good postharvest handling of vegetables can ensure a producer’s competitive edge at the market, additional profits for the farm and fewer food safety concerns. Two upcoming workshops will highlight postharvest handling of vegetables, wholesale sales and preparing produce for market.

Workshops will be held at Chris Blanchard’s Rock Spring Farm in Decorah on July 26 and at Norine and Duane Black’s Black’s Heritage Farm in Ames, on July 27. Both workshops will run from 1 to 5 p.m.

“We encourage producers interested in expanding vegetable crop acres or improving postharvest handling to attend one of these sessions to gain hands-on experience and to learn from these featured growers,” said Margaret Smith, who co-leads the Fruit and Vegetable Working Group of the Value Chain Partnerships project that is planning the two events.

Workshops will include an opportunity for participants to work on the processing line with several types of vegetables. Hosts will take participants through the steps of harvest, washing, grading, sorting and packaging. Participants will have the opportunity to see postharvest handling equipment and discuss what equipment works best for specific vegetable groups. Discussion will include the flow of postharvest handling operations, grading standards, packing, labeling and tracking methods for fresh vegetables. Sam Beattie, Iowa State University Extension food safety specialist, will be on hand to participate in the discussion of food safety issues related to this area of the production and marketing process.

The workshop will be followed by a field tour of the farms’ production and a light supper featuring vegetables from the host farms. Both producers are members of the Fruit and Vegetable Working Group formed in November 2007 to build the production, handling and marketing capacity for Iowa’s fruit and vegetable industries. Malcolm Robertson from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture co-leads the working group with Smith.

Co-sponsors of the July workshops include Rock Spring Farm, Black’s Heritage Farm and the Iowa Department of Agriculture Specialty Crops Grant Program. The Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Services, (MOSES) is a sponsor of the Decorah workshop.

A workshop flier is on the Value Chain Partnerships web site: www.valuechains.org/fvwg/FVWG_fielddays_0709.pdf . Rock Spring Farm is northeast of Decorah on Highlandville Road just south of the four-way stop at 380th Street. Black’s Heritage Farm is two miles south of Highway 30 on 530th Avenue (University Boulevard).

For more information about the working group, contact Margaret Smith, (515) 290-4456, mrgsmith@iastate.edu or Malcolm Robertson, (515) 294-1166, malcomr@iastate.edu.