Regulations

September is National Food Safety Education Month, a reminder of the importance of safe food production and handling from farm to table. This article highlights educational opportunities for both producers and consumers, including Produce Safety Rule and Good Agricultural Practices trainings, FDA food safety resources, and the University of Maryland Extension's free webinar series, Let's Make Every Bite Safe. The article also encourages ongoing worker training and the use of bilingual produce safety materials to reinforce safe practices throughout the growing season.

Getting Things Right is part of the Maryland Retail Products Producer Program. This section will provide information on supply, storage, purchasing, establishing prices, ordering and delivery schedules, invoicing and payment terms, and product promotions.

Other Resources is part of the Maryland Retail Products Producer Program. This section will provide information on other resources that will help your product to become ready for retail.

The Mid-Atlantic Meat Summit is a regional conference designed to strengthen local and regional meat value chains by bringing together everyone involved in producing, processing, marketing, and serving locally raised meat.

This webpage is the Marketing archives of the Women In Agriculture webinars.

Labeling and packaging

If you’re looking for something that is predictable and never varies from day to day, do not get involved with horses! When horses are involved, you will never have a “normal” day again.

Are you a small livestock farmer in Maryland wanting to capitalize on your urban location and strong demand for locally produced meats? If so, this web module, Farm to Table Marketing Model for Small Farm Meat Producers, was created specifically for you. This module delivers educational materials developed for several training sessions by educators and professionals who are highly knowledgeable and who are presently engaged in Farm-to-Table production and marketing.

Invertebrates can be an important component of urban agriculture. Composting using worms – vermicomposting – is popular both as a hobby and as a method of waste management for urban farms. And innovative entrepreneurs are exploring ways to produce edible insects for human and animal consumption. The “end”-product of both activities – earthworm castings and insect frass – can be a beneficial soil amendment. Selling these products successfully and legally requires testing, registration, and labeling.

While some farmers now market their valued-added products year round, for many, late spring signals the start of the new market season in earnest. With so many more value-added products showing up at markets now, it’s good to get the necessary paperwork and required licenses before opening day.