U.S. – Canada Grower Priority Database
Produce Marketing Association (PMA): The Produce Marketing Association is a leading global trade association serving the entire produce and floral supply chains by enhancing the marketing of produce, floral and related products and services worldwide.
United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association: United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association’s mission is to promote the growth and success of produce companies and their partners. Site includes industry news and applicable information.
Western Growers Association: Western Growers Association provides growers of fresh produce in California and Arizona with support programs. Site includes product price indices, industry news and more.
Florida Citrus Mutual: Florida Citrus Mutual publishes fruit prices, economic statistics and trend stories to help grower members run their businesses more efficiently and effectively. Site features canker updates, calendar of events and news clips.
Florida Tomato Committee: Everything you need to know about Florida tomatoes – even recipes.
Florida Strawberry Growers Association: The Florida Strawberry Growers Association has more than 100 grower members representing over 8,000 acres of strawberries in Florida, the majority of which are in the Plant City-Dover area.
Florida Gift Fruit Shippers Association: The association provides representation and educational assistance to members. Site offers a variety of information and an opportunity to order fruit via direct links to members.
National Potato Promotion Board: The National Potato Promotion USPB was one of the first commodity groups to promote its product “generically” and to develop a nutrition label approved by the USDA and FDA. Site features consumer and foodservice potato recipes, chef profiles and nutritional and historical information on the potato.
New Varieties Development and Management Corporation (NVDMC): NVDMC supports new variety development research in Florida to provide Florida citrus growers unique and high value varieties for fresh and processed uses. NVDMC also serves as the licensing agent for domestic and international public and private varieties, providing growers and nurseries access to proprietary fresh fruit varieties, while also introducing citrus varieties for commercial growers to trial through the FAST TRACK program with the University of Florida and early evaluation opportunities with selections developed by the USDA Agricultural Research Service.
CropLife America: ACPA promotes the environmentally sound use of crop protection products for the economical production of safe, high quality, abundant food, fiber and other crops. Site describes programs, issues and events.
Agricultural Communicators of Florida: The Agriculture Communicators of Florida combines the expertise of communications professionals representing Florida’s major agricultural organizations to provide a unified, credible information source for journalists and the public.
National Agri-Marketing Association: Provides agri-marketing professionals access to solutions and opportunities through contacts, knowledge, and skills in the agriculture, food, and fiber industry
Florida Ag in the Classroom: Florida Ag in the Classroom, Inc. is a non-profit organization working to develop agricultural curricula and materials, distribute materials and teach teachers to use these curricula and materials to educate Florida’s youth about agriculture.
Fruit & Veggies – More Matters: Fruits & Veggies—More Matters™ is the new health initiative that will help you do just that: practical tips on how to get more fruits and veggies in your family’s diet, recipes to make fruits and veggies everyone’s favorite, and nutrition information that teaches you how to keep a good balance.
Florida Specialty Crop Foundation: Florida Specialty Crop Foundation, a nonprofit subsidiary of FFVA, works to support research and educational activities that benefit Florida’s fruit and vegetable producers and farmworker families. The mission of the Florida Specialty Crop Foundation is to benefit the general public through initiatives that provide solutions to challenges facing specialty crop producers and their stakeholders.
Produce for Better Health: Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization whose mission is to achieve increased daily consumption of fruits and vegetables for better health by leveraging private industry and public sector resources, motivating key consumer influencers, and promoting fruits and vegetables directly to consumers.
Sunshine Sweet Corn Farmers of Florida: This site provides educational and promotional information regarding fresh Florida sweet corn.
The Alliance for Food & Farming: The mission of the Alliance for Food and Farming is to provide a voice for farmers to communicate their commitment to food safety and care for the land. The Alliance’s SafeFruitsandVeggies.com website also promotes ‘facts, not fears’ when it comes to education on food safety.
Growing Matters: Stories, facts and expert research outlining the key issues around crop production and plant protection – and easy ways for you to make your voice heard in support.
The Food Institute: The Food Institute is a non-profit organization that provides objective and balanced coverage of food trends, food policy and key issues in food, on a daily basis.
Florida Farm to School Program: Florida’s Farm to School initiative allows students to gain access to healthy, local foods as well as education opportunities such as school gardens, cooking lessons and farm field trips.
GMO Answers: GMO Answers is an initiative committed to responding to questions about how food is grown. Its goal is to make information about GMOs in food and agriculture easier to access and understand. GMO Answers is funded by the members of The Council for Biotechnology Information.
IGSA: They are a nonprofit, professional association of sprout growers and companies that supply products and services to the sprout industry. Their principle goal is to promote the sprout industry and to encourage the exchange of information among sprout growers and commercial suppliers.
Disaster information and satellite images
- National Hurricane Center – Tropical Prediction Center
- GOES Images (current satellite photos and loops)
- Resources for Food Producers in Flooded Areas
- Situational Awareness Maps – Maps and information from the Florida Division of Emergency Management and the Florida State Emergency Response Team on elements of information such as Open Shelters, Points of Distribution, Traffic, Weather, and much more.
Ag weather sites
- Florida Automated Weather Network (FAWN)
- Agricultural Weather Information Service
- FDACS Agricultural Emergency Report
Food safety resources
- New! Cyclospora Educational Webinar: FFVA hosted speakers from UF/IFAS and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on May 13, 2021 to provide information and background on misconceptions, potential sources of contamination, assessing risk on farming operations, knowledge gaps and resources, and current research from the Center for Produce Safety. Watch the recording or view the slide deck from the webinar.
- Produce Inspections for Regulators: Virtual Produce Tour: FDA put this video together for produce inspectors, regulators, growers, extension agents and others interested in produce inspections. The 38-minute video is put together in accordance with the Produce Safety Rule.
- Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA): Published Rules, Fact Sheets, FAQs
- Cornell University, National GAPS Program: Educational materials, decision trees, checklists
- Produce Safety Alliance: Farm food safety training materials, Farm risk assessment guides
- Food Safety Preventative Controls Alliance: Facility food safety training materials, facility risk assessment guides
- Bad Bug Book: FDA’s guide to foodborne pathogenic microorganisms
- CDC’s Food borne Outbreak Online Database (FOOD): A searchable database of outbreaks by commodity, state, microorganism
- Center for Produce Safety: A searchable database by commodity or pathogen on produce food safety research
- Penn State Extension: GAP reference materials, helpful food safety resources
- On Farm Food Safety Project: Create a food safety manual using online tools
- Mango Food Safety Training Kit: Training materials such as posters and forms to help train employees
- FDA Food Guidance Documents
Food recall resources
- South Florida Water Management District
- Southwest Florida Water Management District
- St. Johns River Water Management District
- Suwannee River Water Management District
- Northwest Florida Water Management DistrictAre you ready for a recall? (pdf)
- The food recall questionnaire (pdf)
- FDA Recalls: Federal Requirements and Expectations (video}
- Food Safety Recall Workshop: Why Are You Here (video)
- Are You Ready For A Recall? Supplier and Retail Expectations (video)
- The Food Recall Manual (2018 version)
Traceability
Have a question about food safety or sustainability? Contact Mike.Aerts@ffva.com.
Federal legislative and regulatory
- Library of Congress: Legislative information from the Library of Congress.
- Federal Register: Published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents.
- Govtrack.us: GovTrack.us is a tool by Civic Impulse, LLC to help the public research and track the activities in the U.S. Congress, promoting and innovating government transparency and civic education through novel uses of technology.
- 2018 Farm Bill: U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee.
State legislative and regulatory
- Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services: The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services supports and promotes Florida agriculture, protects the environment, safeguards consumers, and ensures the safety and wholesomeness of food. Our programs and activities are so varied and extensive, they touch the life of just about every Floridian.
- MyFlorida.gov: House and Senate pages
- Online Sunshine: Official website of the Florida Legislature
- House Bill Lookup
- Senate Bill Lookup
- Florida Administrative Weekly: Rules, Notices
Water and natural resources
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Southeast
- U.S Department of the Interior
- Florida Department of Environmental Protection
- FDACS Office of Agricultural Water Policy
- National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
- United States Environmental Protection Agency
Water Management Districts
Workforce
- Display Posters and Required Notices Department of Labor: Fair Labor Standards Act
- Department of Labor: H-2A Program Information
- Department of Labor: OSHA Standards for Agriculture
- DHS/ICE – I-9 information
- DHS/USCIS
- EPA Worker Protection Standard for Agricultural Pesticides How to Comply Manual
- Department of Labor: Migrant and Seasonal Worker Protection Act (MSPA)
Education
UF/IFAS: The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is a federal, state, and local government partnership dedicated to education, research and extension.
UF/IFAS Extension: UF/IFAS Extension encompasses thousands of extension faculty members, scientists, educators, administrative staff, and volunteers, all working to provide solutions for your life.
- Citrus REC
- Mid-Florida REC
- Everglades REC
- Fort Lauderdale REC
- Gulf Coast REC
- Indian River REC
- North Florida RECCrop protections/pesticide resources
- USDA Agricultural Research Service: The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific research agency. Its job is finding solutions to agricultural problems that affect Americans every day, from field to table
- USDA PLANTS Database: The PLANTS Database is a single source of standardized information about plants. This database focuses on vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories.
- Crisis declaration by Commissioner Adam Putnam allowing use of bactericides as foliar treatments in Florida citrus (3-4-2016)
- Citrus Research & Development Foundation website
- Whitepaper: The Use of Bactericides in Plant Agriculture with Reference to Use in Citrus to Mitigate HLB
- FDACS Citrus Insecticide Pollinator Protection Label Language – Interpretive Guidance
- U.S Environmental Protection Agency Pesticides home page
- EPA Agriculture home page
- Pesticide Container and Containment Regulations
- Citrus Health Response Plan (CHRP) Information
- EPA Worker Protection Standard for Agricultural Pesticides How to Comply Manual
- Hazardous Waste Management Guide for Agricultural Pesticide Users
Operation Cleansweep
Operation Cleansweep offers free statewide pesticide disposal up to 1,000 pounds. This annual pesticide collection program provides a safe way to dispose of canceled, suspended and unusable product and is available to farms, groves, greenhouses, nurseries, golf courses and pest control services. View the 2018 fiier for details on how to schedule a pickup and fill out the form.
Email cleansweep@freshfromflorida.com for questions and additional information.
Ag stats and facts