The Mobile Farm Innovation Project is a program that incorporates hands-on activities and modern technology to increase farm viability with food safety and conservation practices.

Targeting primarily fruit and vegetable producers, the project’s educational trailers reach hundreds of socially disadvantaged and limited resource farmers, helping them improve their bottom lines.

Food safety works within a whole farm system. This project takes a holistic view that focuses on farm financial sustainability. This project shows profitable and practical ways to improve conservation practices on the farm while lowering financial and food safety risks.

Mobile Activities

Traveling though Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, each trailer features interactive activities and demonstrations. Topics cover food safety, conservation, and computer literacy. During a Farm Innovation event, farmers learn how to

• construct a simple on-farm cooler for produce
• construct a simple on-farm handwashing sink with a touch free faucet design
• clean food contact surfaces effectively
• mix and manage sanitizer solutions
• create a Google Map of the farm
• prevent soil erosion and protect water quality through the implementation of vegetative buffers

Farmers will also receive information about accessing USDA programs that will help pay for the implementation of conservation practices.

Resources

The following resources are a part of the Mobile Farm Innovation Project’s educational outreach efforts:

Factsheets

• Water Sampling
• Rotational Grazing
• Field Mapping
• Cover Crops & Vegetative Buffers
• Cleaning & Sanitizing
• Cold Storage
• Building On-Farm Cold Storage Using a Coolbot^TM
• Building a Handwashing Station
• Sanitizing

Videos

For the MP4 files of these videos, contact Kristin Woods at 251-753-1164 or woodskl@aces.edu.

Creating a Farm Friendly to Biodiversity and Produce Safety Video

Drip Irrigation: Water Conservation and Produce Safety Video

Rotational Grazing on a Diversified Farm Video

Vegetative Buffer Strips: Water Quality and Soil Erosion Video

Resources for Educators

Alabama Extension and its partners are pleased to share the development process and materials with educators who would like to expand this work. Contact Kristin Woods at 251-753-1164 or woodskl@aces.edu for more information.

• A Guide to Hosting an Interactive Hands-On Produce Safety Training (LFSC)

Facilitator Guides

• Water Sampling
• Rotational Grazing
• Cover Crops & Vegetative Buffers
• Cleaning & Sanitizing
• Building On-Farm Cold Storage Using a Coolbot^TM
• Building a Handwashing Station
• Sanitizing

Impacts

• Food Safety at the Swamp

Partners

The Mobile Farm Innovation Project is a USDA funded partnership led by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System at Auburn University and a number of partners.

• Deep South Food Alliance
• Alabama A&M University Small Farms Research Center
• Fort Valley State University Extension
• Mississippi State University Extension

This work is supported by Food Safety Outreach Program [grant no. 2019-70020-30349] from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.