Safer food in every harvest
Featherstone Farm cultivates 150 acres of certified organic vegetables in the soils of the Root River watershed around Rushford. They sell their harvests to grocery stores, co-ops and 2,000 community supported agriculture (CSA) members. A young CSA customer at The Good Acre in St. Paul showed off her favorite Featherstone treat: cilantro. Customers assume the produce will not only taste delicious, but will also be safe to eat and free from pathogens that could cause a foodborne illness.
That’s where Annalisa Hultberg comes in. The Extension food safety educator delivers Good Agricultural Practices training and consultations to 3,500 people each year.
“With 55 employees at high season, half from Winona and Rushford and half coming from Mexico on the H-2A visa, training is critical,” said Nathan Manfull, Featherstone Farm’s general manager. “Whether it’s checking on a new humidification system for the root vegetables or translating a new rule in the Food Safety Modernization Act, Annalisa definitely keeps us up to speed.”
Highlights
- People don’t have to be mental health professionals to support friends, neighbors and colleagues in times of need. But they may not know how. Extension helped bridge this gap by providing in-person Changing Our Mental and Emotional Trajectory (COMET) training in Chatfield.
- U of M Farm Family of the Year: The Ruen family farm is home to Donnie, Nick and Trista and to 100 cow-calf pairs as well as custom-raised Holstein heifers. They also raise corn, soybeans and hay. The children are involved, especially with cattle work and 4-H dairy projects.
- RSDP impact: The Root River Current, a nonprofit e-magazine based in Preston, with RSDP support, is working with U of M journalism students to develop marketing plans, with the goal of building community through storytelling and combating a shortage of rural media.
- Minnesota Master Naturalist training: Big Rivers, Big Woods biome (Spring Valley)
- The Root River Rabbits 4-H Club learned that food donations decrease after the winter holidays, so they decided to “feed the love” and put bags together for families to celebrate Valentine’s Day and supplement their pantries for the month of February.
- Private Pesticide Applicator training was held in Wykoff. Pesticide safety education covers how to use pesticides responsibly for pest management while minimizing exposure and impacts to the environment.
Fillmore County office
Extension has 14 regional offices supporting all 87 counties in Minnesota.
Fillmore County partners with Extension to deliver practical education and research you can use at home, at work and in your community. More about Extension in our county.
About the Minnesota 87 project
Spend time in any Minnesota county, and you will almost certainly encounter University of Minnesota Extension. Our faculty and staff, volunteers, participants, alumni and partners are woven into the fabric of rural, urban and suburban Minnesota life. This project showcases Extension in action through photos, stories and a sampling of the many ways Extension has touched the lives of people in every county.