MILWAUKEE (AP) — Small and organic vegetable farmers whosay proposed federal food safety rules
could harm their businesses haveorganized dozens of events nationwide to inform people about theregulations
and encourage them to write to the Food and DrugAdministration.The FDA proposed the rules in response to the
2011Food Safety Modernization Act, a major update aimed at preventingfoodborne illness instead of reacting
to it. Among other measures, therules would require farmers to take precautions against
contamination,including ensuring that workers’ hands are washed, irrigation water isclean and animals stay
out of fields.While small farmers agreewith the law’s goal of creating a safer food supply, they say the
rulesshow a lack of understanding of agricultural practices and could becostly enough to force some out of
business. The National SustainableAgriculture Coaliton, National Young Farmers Coalition and other
groupshave started a campaign to encourage the public to write to the FDAbefore the comment period ends Nov.
15.It’s unclear whether the government shutdown will affect that timeline."Ithink the main thing is
that it’s really important for farmers andconsumers both to make comments to the FDA because these rules
will havea huge effect on local farms and their ability to provide," saidLindsey Shute, spokeswoman for
the National Young Farmers Coalition.Shuteand her husband have a community-supported agriculture, or CSA,
farm inClermont, N.Y., where they use manure from their chickens and aneighboring farm as fertilizer to grow
a variety of vegetables. Thechickens are rotated from field to field in an accepted organic method.Shute
said national organic standards allow them to harvest about fourmonths after the animals leave a field. The
new rules would stretch thatto nine months, which is far longer than the growing season.Shutesaid she’s also
concerned her farm would have to test water from itsirrigation ponds every week, costing an estimated $5,000
to $10,000 peryear and requiring regular hour-long, one-way drives to the nearest lab.Sheand her husband are
planning a letter that might say, "FDA, if yourequire me to test my water every week, I will go out of
business."InWisconsin, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute has organized threeletter-writing sessions
— Oct. 21 in Madison, Oct. 23 in Milwaukee andNov. 4 in Middleton. Margaret Krome, the nonprofit institute’s
publicpolicy director, said there’s a lot of confusion about the rules.Thelaw includes exemptions for
farmers whose sales are under a certainamount, but food activists are concerned those waivers won’t
alwaysapply.For example, a farmer who buys produce from another farmerand delivers it in a CSA box could be
classified as "facility" andsubject to regulations aimed at big food businesses, said Brian
Snyder,executive director of the Pennsylvania Association for SustainableAgriculture. In Pennsylvania,
Wisconsin and elsewhere, it’s not uncommonfor CSA farmers to buy from others in times of drought or heavy
rain tosatisfy customers who have paid in advance for weekly deliveries.Synder said that’s why it’s also
important for consumers to learn about the law and write to the FDA."Theyneed to know that the
exemptions that they might have heard about inthe law are problematic and that the way they’re applied is
going tomatter a lot to the local food vendors they are used to going to," hesaid.Krome also said the
risk with small farms is less than with big vegetable growers simply because they serve fewer
people."Everybodywants food safety," she said. "The only thing people want is that it
isproportionate to the risk and that it not be designed such that it putstheir businesses at
risk."___Online:Michael Fields Agriculture Institute: http://michaelfields.orgNational Sustainable
Agriculture Coaliton: http://sustainableagriculture.netNational
Young Farmers Coalition: http://www.youngfarmers.orgPennsylvania
Association for Sustainable Agriculture: http://www.pasafarming.orgCopyright 2013 The
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