Author: Frances Champagne

Meat and Poultry HACCP Course

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HACCP for Meat and Poultry Processors

(Course approved by International HACCP Alliance)

This three-day International HACCP Alliance approved Meat and Poultry HACCP course will provide participants with the information they need to prepare a HACCP food safety program and plan for a plant under USDA/FSIS Grant of Inspection.

*See additional information below flyer; click flyer to enlarge.

*Course dates and times (must be present for entire course):

Wednesday, August 23rd 9:00-5:00 (registration opens at 8:30)Thursday, August 24th 8:30 am to 5:00 pmAND Friday, August 25th 8:30 am to 12:30 pm

Course location:Tolland Agricultural County Extension Center,

John Elliott Building

24 Hyde Avenue

Vernon, CT 06066

Registration:The cost of registration is $425 per person and covers program costs, continental breakfast, and lunch. You must pre-register. Space is limited. Registration materials must be received by August 10th. There will be no refunds after August 10.

For information regarding program and registration, please contact: Indu Upadhyaya at (860)-786-8191 or indu.upadhyaya@uconn.edu

To register online using a credit card please visit https://s.uconn.edu/haccptraining

To register by mail, complete and mail the form at the end of the above flyer.

Directions and parking:

  • From I-84 Eastbound, take Exit 67 for CT-31
    • Turn left onto CT-31 N and follow for ~0.4 mi
    • Turn right onto CT-30 N
      • Tolland Agricultural Center is about 0.10 mi on the right
  • From I-84 Westbound, take Exit 67 for CT-31
    • Turn right onto CT-31 N and follow for ~0.4 mi
    • Turn right onto CT-30 N
      • Tolland Agricultural Center is about 0.10 mi on the right

Accommodations: If you need overnight accommodations, you may wish to try:

Schedule (Subject to change.)

Wednesday, August 23

8:30 Registration, continental breakfast9:00 Introduction and Prerequisite Programs

  • Introduction, overview, regulations
  • Microbiological, Physical, Chemical Hazards

12:15 Lunch1:00 HACCP Prerequisite programs and Preliminary steps

  • Good Manufacturing Practices; Standard Sanitation Operating Procedures; Standard Operating Procedures; other prerequisite programs
  • Description of product, ingredient list, flow chart
  • Breakout session #1

5:00 Adjourn

Thursday, August 24

8:30 Breakfast on arrival, Q/A

  • Breakout session #1 reports HACCP Steps 1 & 2
  • Conducting a Hazard Analysis
  • Identifying Critical Control Points
  • Breakout session #2 and reports

12:00 Lunch12:45 HACCP Steps 3, 4, 5

  • Establishing Critical Limits, Monitoring Procedures, and Corrective Actions
  • Breakout session #3 and reports HACCP Steps 6 & 7
  • Record Keeping and Verification

5:00 Adjourn

Friday, August 25

Breakfast on arrival

8:30 HACCP Implementation and Management

  • Breakout session #4 and Reports
  • Implementing and maintaining a HACCP Plan
  • Evaluation and closing comments

12:30 Adjourn

An Equal opportunity program provider and employer

If you are an individual with a disability and need accommodations (including special dietary needs), please contact Indu Upadhyaya at indu.upadhyaya@uconn.edu or call her at (860)-786-8191 as early as possible prior to the event to help us ensure availability. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the University to arrange. A good faith effort will be made to provide accommodations up until the time of the workshop.

Upcoming Field Workshops on Improving Pasture Management for Sustainable Livestock Production

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REMINDER: Our Tri-State SARE Professional Development Project is pleased to announce two summer workshops for Improving Pasture Management for Sustainable Livestock Production. Click the flyer image above or the link below for more information on the workshops. Please email Rachel.Bespuda@uconn.edu with any questions. Additional information on the SARE program can be found at https://livestock.extension.uconn.edu/sare/

Workshop Schedule:

Wheel View Farm, Thursday, June 22 9am-12pm

In conjunction with American Farmland Trust, we invite you to join us in touring this pasture raised beef operation. We welcome Heather Darby with UVM Extension who will lead our discussion focusing on nutrient management.

Wheel View Farm, 212 Reynolds Rd
Shelburne Falls, MA 01370

Wild Harmony Farm, Thursday, July 6 9:30am-12pm

Join us as we tour this beef cattle and swine farm to get a first hand look at the nutrient management practices in place. Rich Meinert, extension specialist at UConn will be on hand to provide expertise and answer questions.

Wild Harmony Farm366 Victory Hwy C
Exeter, RI 02822

Click to view 2023 SARE field workshops

On-Farm Field Day

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June 1, 1-4pm

Join us at Cecarellis Harrison Hill Farm for an on-farm field day!

186 Old Post Rd Northford, CT 06472

Register at s.uconn.edu/fieldday

Focus will be on low-to no-till implements, a new strip-type plastic culture implemented to battle climate change, along with other customized implements that fit the need for small farms.

Implements include:

  • Zone Tiller
  • No-Till Drill
  • Roller Crimper
  • No-Till Corn planter
  • Low Till Corn planter
  • Speed Disc Tiller
  • Plastic Layer

This event will include live in-field demonstrations of these implements!

Free One-on-One Consultations for CT Farmers

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Hey Farmers! 

For those of you that are growing commercially, aka are a farm businesses, it’s time for you to sign up for a FREE consultations with some of the experts in the state surrounding a wide variety of topics!

Check it out here: https://newfarms.uconn.edu/consultations/

These are free one on one consultations for Connecticut Farmers, with specialists in certain fields of knowledge. These consultations are intended for those who have been farming for 10 years or less, but folks can apply if they have been farming for a longer period of time.

Sign up for an consultation with an expert on the topics of

  • Vegetable Production
  • Livestock (available in September)
  • Conservation and Land use
  • Urban Farming
  • Hemp production

The consultations will be awarded on a first come, first serve basis and are subject to the consultant’s availability. If all spots are filled, we will maintain a waiting list. Deadlines for sign ups are dependent on each consultant.

Here’s what some farmers had to say about how helpful the consultations are:

 “I appreciated that flexibility, being able to walk our fields with Joe who is full of both theoretical and practical knowledge, have him be able to notice things, comment on what he saw, that turned out to be really helpful for us. We changed our grazing plan for the rest of the season and it will impact the way we will graze this upcoming season as well.”

“We learned a lot about the history and how our land was formed. Particularly, we learned about the pingos (small ponds) we have in the woodland area. Also – taking a profile of the soil out and being able to touch/feel it and compare the colors was very memorable.”

“I like the one on one time that the farmer gets, especially for a newer farmer, who doesn’t have a mentor, having the time to pick someone’s brain was great.”

Please note: These consultations are intended for Commercial Farmers and Farm businesses. If you are homesteading, have a hobby farm, or simply love gardening, please access the UConn Home and Garden Education Center.

Again, sign up here: https://newfarms.uconn.edu/consultations/

Free Poultry Seminar with UConn Extension

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Improving Poultry Production Using Natural Interventions

Wednesday, April 26, 2023 10:00-2:00

Tolland County Extension Center

24 Hyde Avenue, Vernon, CT 06066

Join UConn Extension and a team of experts for an informative presentation and discussion on poultry health and disease, the use of various additives in poultry production, and related topics.

Click here to register!

Registration is required by April 23 for the complimentary lunch provided.

Topics Covered:

• Introduction to sustainable poultry
• Basics of poultry health and disease
• Application of various natural compounds in production
• CT Poultry Association update
• Beneficial bacteria for poultry
• Q+A with the speakers and CT Department of Agriculture

Contact Heather.Goodman@uconn.edu with any questions.

 

Water Webinar March 30, 2023

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Are you drowning with questions about agricultural water? Join us for our water webinar on March 30!

Topics include compliance dates, new assessment tools, and harvest/post-harvest water.

Speakers:

Indu Upadhyaya, Food Safety Extension Specialist

Diane Wright Hirsch, Emeritus Faculty Food Safety

Click/tap here or on the flyer above to register!

UConn Cannabis Symposium March 16-17, 2023

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UConn Cannabis Symposium

March 16–17, 2023UConn Student Union

The University of Connecticut has been a leader nationally in developing the first series of courses offered at a U.S. academic institution on cannabis production. Join us on March 16-17 as expert speakers cover topics related to cannabis such as: plant production, biochemistry and genetics, clinical impacts, law and policy, and the future of the industry. The UConn Cannabis Symposium will be a premiere event for students, scientists, educators, and members of the cannabis industry to network and share information in the emerging cannabis field. This is an event that you will not want to miss!

Getting to the Root Videos & Farmer Panels

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From UConn Solid Ground:

In 2022 we kicked off a new video series with the goal of raising the visibility of some of the many entrepreneurs among the new farmer community. Last year we learned about Cut Flower Farming at Eddy Farm and Niche Livestock Farming at BOTL farm. These videos as well as the farmer panels we recorded are available at: https://newfarms.uconn.edu/video-series/

In 2023, we are pleased to add two new videos. Join us in watching the release of our next two releases focused on:

1) Ethnic & Specialty Crops at Mahara Farm via zoom @ noon on 3/9

Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/getting-to-the-root-ethnic-and-specialty-crops-tickets-558917516337

 

2) Added Value Products with Park City Harvest (in person) @ 9:45 on 3/11

Register at https://ctnofa.org/winter-conference/2023-conference/ (must be a registrant at the CT NOFA conference).

 

We are extra grateful to Daniel Recinos for his professional videography work.

DIY Video Series

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We’ve been working away in the background at getting some great videos pulled together for you.
In our DIY Video Series, we visit farms all over the state and look at different projects they have tackled to make some of the costs a little easier on their wallets and more sustainable for their farms.  Each topic is capped off with a conversation with an expert about best practices if you want to conquer some of these DIY tasks yourself.
To see the videos you can visit a playlist we created here: https://kaltura.uconn.edu/playlist/dedicated/1_vbne4me9/  or you can see all of our Solid Ground videos here: https://newfarms.uconn.edu/video-series/
We have videos on Coolbots:
      Keney Park Sustainability Project
      Fox Meadow Farm
      Off Center Farm
      Four Root Farm
      UVM Extension
 
Season Extension Structures:
      Daigle Farm
      River Crest Farm
      Cloverleigh Farm
      CT Greenhouse Company
 
and Humane Animal Handling:
      Allard Family Farm
      Arbor Farm
      West View Farm
      Howling Flats Farm
      UConn Extension
 
If you are working on one of these projects, take a peak and find out how other farms in the state are putting their projects together and making their farms work!  If you’re not, take a look anyways, perhaps it will give you some new ideas for these slightly slower winter days.
 
Again, you can check all the DIY Videos out here: https://kaltura.uconn.edu/playlist/dedicated/1_vbne4me9/