Good Agricultural Practices

There's a lot to be said for good old common sense. Common sense is an asset in all walks of life and business enterprises; farming is no exception. For farmers the list of requirements to be met in order to do business providing fresh foods to schools and other institutions are generally practices that they already have in place. A sample listing of requirements that fall in part either under the mantle of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's Good Agricultural Practices or the USDA's GAP audit and certification program include assuring that farm workers wash their hands, wear clean work clothes, and adhere to general sanitation protocol, keeping crops and livestock production separate, using and maintaining clean harvesting and sorting equipment, proper chemical handling, and the protection of well or irrigation water from contamination. To the majority of farmers this list of "good agricultural practices" would already be the equivalent of the "who's who" in just plain old common sense farming, something that they have had in place from day one. Now all farmers need to do is toot their own horn and get it down on paper.