Who Should Attend: Produce growers who want to expand their market, sell products to schools or businesses, or have an interest in GAP certification.  Farmers who want to reduce waste, improve value, and save time. While it is not required, we highly recommend that you have completed the Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training.

What to Expect: Learn how to document best production and handling practices and apply the principles of your produce safety training.  Receive an excellent decision-making tool. Work through a step-by-step process to develop a customized food safety manual for your farm using operation templates, record-keeping logs, and more. Additionally, you will learn how to design and apply a traceability program for your farm.

Benefits of Attending: In January, 2026, the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) began enforcing the “FSMA Final Rule on Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods (FTR).” The Final Rule applies to persons who manufacture, process, pack or hold foods that appear on the Food Traceability List (FTL) or foods that contain a listed food as an ingredient.  At the end of the day, you will be well on your way to having your own farm food safety plan and traceability strategy. Participants will receive a comprehensive notebook to avoid paperwork duplication, improve their ability to reduce risks associated with produce safety and meet FSMA recordkeeping requirements, and prep the farm for a successful third-party (GAP) audit.

The WV Produce Safety Training Team has established a Produce Safety Assistance Program to support growers in West Virginia with PSR and FTR compliance. The team will be offering virtual PSA Grower training courses in March and April of 2026. This program is a supplemental program to help apply the information gained from the PSA Grower Training and does not count as a required FSMA training.   This class runs from 8:00 AM-4:30 PM PST. Cost: $0 (WV RESIDENTS + neighboring counties)

We request that participants are present for all course modules and actively participate. Participants should have the capability to respond to the instructors in Zoom's chat function.  If you do not have access to internet that will support a video function or do not have a camera, please reach out to your local extension office or library for assistance.

Trainers will be various members of the WV Food Safety Training Team

Date of Course Offering: 
Wednesday, May 11, 2026 8:00 am - 4:30 pm EST - Registration deadline: Monday, April 27, 2026.