Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) in Virginia
Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) in Virginia has been a major focus for Governor Glenn Youngkin, who was the keynote speaker at 2024's CEA Indoor Ag-Con conference hosted at IALR in Danville, VA, October 1-2, 2024. Food safety in CEA was a main topic during the break-out session: What is Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) and why [...]
Relaunch Welcome Blog!
Amber Vallotton is an Extension Specialist, acting as the Fresh Produce Safety Coordinator for Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE). She has been with Extension for close to 18 years, starting first as an agent in Rockingham County, VA, then her current role at Virginia Tech in 2014. She is the founder of the newly relaunched (2024) Virginia [...]
New Produce Safety Blog!
Starting July 2024 we will start adding regular posts pertaining to all things produce safety! Events Announcements Partnership and Producer Spotlights Capacity Building Projects On-Farm Projects Greenhouse & Hightunnel Projects Packinghouse Projects Marketplace Projects
Partnership Spotlight: Virginia Farm to School (F2S) Efforts
Some children participants at Families, Food, and Fun after-school program For many years, the whole farm to fork movement, and the increased demand for children to have access to more fresh fruits and vegetables, and healthier lifestyles, have propelled great strides in the National Farm to School movement. Collaborations between Virginia Cooperative Extension [...]
Partnerships Spotlight: Tricycle Urban Agriculture Fellowship Program
RVA's Urban Farm on Bainbridge St & W 9th St Tricycle Urban Agriculture has been working with Richmond communities since 2010, when it began Richmond's first Urban Farm. The work of Tricycle has not only grown literally in the size and number of its various farm and garden sites, but in its many [...]
Partnerships Spotlight: The Conservation Fund and FRESHFARM Market
To follow up on the August 16, 2018 post, I wanted to start with some work we have been doing with The Conservation Fund and FRESHFARM Markets since early 2016. The Conservation Fund (CF) and FRESHFARM Markets (FFM) obtained funding from the USDA to provide food safety training and assistance with the GAP certification process [...]