Produce to Get Good Agricultural Practices Certification
Excitement is building in the produce industry. From salad greens to roasted beets to fresh blueberries,
local food is showing up on grocery store shelves, as new features on restaurants menus and on our
kids’ school lunch plates. The increased demand for local food is creating more opportunities for
farmers, ranchers and producers. While exploring new ways to meet the demand, the produce industry
is also keeping an eye on the US Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act. To
help producers meet the requirements of FSMA, one service USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service
provides is its Good Agricultural Practices certification. The new certification program allows
smaller growers and producers to band together to become certified as a group. As this new
program takes effect, certified growers will know they are meeting the necessary requirements.
— usda.gov
MAXFACTS
GROWING TIPS, NEWS AND TRIVIA
IKEA Introduces New Hydroponic Planter
Calling all dorm room and apartment dwellers: IKEA is making it easier for you to indulge your green
thumb and eat healthy. This month, IKEA announced their debut of hydroponic planters, which fit
conveniently on your countertop or windowsill so you can grow your own lettuce and herbs. The Swedish
retailer explains: “Hydroponics simply means growing plants in water without soil. With added nutrients
and the right light, it allows you to garden in any small space all year-round.” Your personal kit comes with
seeds, starter plugs, container and a platform that is outfitted with a light. Here's how the whole thing
works: First, the starter plugs are moistened in water and inserted into the matching slots in the starter
container. Seeds are placed on the plugs and covered with a clear plastic lid to germinate in the sun.
They’re then replanted in larger baskets and transferred underneath the light to grow.
— teenvogue.com
Biopod Mimics Any Environment
Biopod is an app-controlled microhabitat that can replicate the ideal
environment for plants and animals. Biopod’s original purpose was to
mimic the habitat of a rainforest to help save endangered frogs from
extinction. Biopod is the world’s first Smart Microhabitat. Tap the environment
you want on the Biopod app and it will replicate any environment from a tropical rainforest to
an urban garden. With a team comprising of engineers, hobbyists and biologists, Biopod allows
everyone from urban gardeners to reptile owners access to the best possible environment for their
plants and pets. The company’s vision is to bring a community of plant and animal lovers together
in order to solve some of the Earth’s conservation and sustainability issues. Biopod’s technology
allows for a natural free flowing system that replicates how a real environment operates. This
system allows plants and animals to thrive while keeping the maintenance of a Biopod low.
— biopod.org
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Maximum Yield USA | June 2016