Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from the De Soto Farmers' Market. May your new year be filled with seed catalogs and good health!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Dates for 2011 Market Season

Yes, we've already set dates for the 2011 season! Get your seed catalogs ready and call your small engine repair guy about your tiller issues because I'm certain many of you are already scheming planning for next year.
Holidays when the market will be closed in 2011: May 28th, July 2nd, and September 3rd. The committee went over this fore a while. We know that many of you have family visiting for holidays, and you would love to show them our wonderful market. However, the market season is long, and in an effort to not overwork our vendors, we decided to continue with last year's policy of closing for Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day.
Opening Day: May 7th! It's the day before Mother's Day, so mark your calendars.
Closing Day: October 22nd!
Plant Sale: We know that many of our vendors have bedding plants, so this year we'll have special dates for plant sales in April. Right now, we're planning on April 23rd and April 30th. We'll get details about those in a couple of weeks, but we've had a lot of requests for opening in April. We were a little hesitant since our season is so long already, but we're looking to do something dfferent with these special days in April. There is a requirement to have 8 vendors committed for each of these dates, so if you have plants that you want to sell, be sure to talk to your network of other growers about selling at the market in April.
Roving Market Days: We will probably have a couple of dates when we set up the market somewhere else. We'd like to do this in cooperation with some of the festivals in DeSoto and work with the city and Chamber of Commerce. We're thinking that May 14th might be on Main St. and September 17th in Walther's Park, but we'll be sure to get more details as plans are finalized.

Merry Christmas!

Food Safety-from Field to Market

Food Safety – from Field to Market
1 to 4 pm on Thursday, March 10, 2011 at
Missouri State University
Fruit Experiment Station
Mtn. Grove, Mo
Faurot Hall 102

Topics to be covered:
  • Importance of Food Safety
  • State Regulations for Selling to the public
  • Food Safety Concerns in the Field: Field preparation & planting, manure usage & crop cultural guidelines
  • Irrigation Methods and Associated Issues
  • Harvest and Post Harvest Safety
  • Food Safety- Field to Market
  • GAP- Good Agriculture Practices
Presenters: Russell Lilly, Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services

John Avery, State Fruit Experiment Station Fruit Grower Advisor

Patrick Byers, horticulturist, University of Missouri Extension

  

Participants who complete the workshop will receive a certificate of completion and a laminated sign similar to the one at right for display at their market stand. 

 
Hosted by Missouri State University Fruit Experiment Station Mtn. Grove

 
There is no fee, but please call 417 547-7533 or e-mail PMayer@Missouristate.edu to register if possible. Walk-ins are welcome.

 
Directions: From Hwy 60, take second Mtn. Grove exit (Hwy 95). Turn north, go past Wal-Mart. Take next right (Red Spring Rd). 9740 Red Spring Rd. Mtn. Grove, Mo.

Acidified Food Workshop

Acidified food workshop set for Jan. 13-14 in Columbia

COLUMBIA, Mo. –A workshop to train producers to satisfy requirements for selling acidified foods will take place Jan. 13-14 on the University of Missouri campus in Columbia.
This workshop will help participants understand basic food safety principles and comply with federal Food and Drug Administration requirements, said Andrew Clarke, MU food science professor.
Any producers adding value to products that are considered acidified need to attend such a workshop before they can sell their products, he said. The FDA definition of acidified foods includes low-acid foods to which acids or acid foods are added. Examples include fresh-packed pickles, peppers and marinated vegetables.
At the end of the workshop there will be a walk-through of the paperwork needed to file an acidified food process with the FDA. Participants completing the workshop will receive a certificate that they may use to verify the training for FDA and Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services records.
Registration fee is $375 for the first person from a company and $300 for each additional person. Registration includes educational materials, lunches and a laboratory analysis of the pH and water activity for one product per participant. Registration is limited to 100. Deadline for registering is Dec. 30.
New or relatively inexperienced producers are welcome and reduced registration will be available for multiple representatives from a single company.
To register, send an e-mail to lewisj@missouri.edu with contact information or call 573-882-4113 for further information.

Grower's Workshops

The first workshop is Tuesday at 6:30 PM. We'll see you there.