recordkeeping templates

A key piece of FSMA compliance is recordkeeping. Records for your farm and operation can be structured in any way that makes sense for you, but these free templates can be a great starting point. 

log templates

These free templates can help you log your worker training, agricultural water testing, and more. 

Farm food safety plans

A full Farm Food Safety Plan isn't required under the FSMA, but it can be a great risk management tool. These plans can be just as long as you need them to be. We've gathered some free examples to help start the planning process. 

What Story is Your Farm Telling on Food Safety?

fsma fact sheets & information

The FSMA is the most sweeping regulatory change to our country's food safety laws in decades. Click here for fact sheets and more detailed information about the FSMA and the Produce Safety Rule. 

Native Food Safety: Food Safety Supply Chain 101

Ag Plan

AgPlan is designed to provide customized assistance to different types of businesses.

• Ag – Commodity

• Ag – Value-Added

• Organic Transition

• Personal Plan

• Small Business

Each business type has an outline designed specifically for that particular type of business, tips or questions that help you develop each section of the plan, sample business plans, and links to additional resources for each section of the plan.

Center for farm financial management

The Center for Farm Financial Management (CFFM) provides educational programs and software tools that are practical, timely, and applicable to real-world farm situations.

Products and training focus on farm financial planning, financial analysis, commodity marketing, and ag credit analysis. CFFM products are widely used by farmers, agricultural lenders and educators across the United States. FINPACK, the Center’s flagship software product, provides a suite of tools that guide producers and ag professionals to sound financial decisions. Commodity marketing workshops provide a “hands-on” opportunity for producers to test their marketing skills and learn marketing strategies that will help improve their bottom line.

Web soil survey

Web Soil Survey (WSS) provides soil data and information produced by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. It is operated by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and provides access to the largest natural resource information system in the world. NRCS has soil maps and data available online for more than 95 percent of the nation’s counties and anticipates having 100 percent in the near future. The site is updated and maintained online as the single authoritative source of soil survey information.

Ag Risk & Farm Management library

The Ag Risk & Farm Management Library collects, categorizes and organizes thousands of Agriculture Risk and Farm Management documents, videos and presentations to help you find the information you need.

necafs clearinghouse

The Northeast Center to Advance Food Safety (NECAFS) clearinghouse is a curated source for materials on both the Produce Safety and Preventive Controls for Human Food rules!  This is a free resource that anyone can search and use to find resources on these rules. 

Bad bug book

The Bad Bug Book 2nd Edition (2012) discusses the major known agents that cause foodborne illness. Each chapter in this book focuses on a single pathogen—a bacterium, virus, or parasite—or toxin that can contaminate food and cause illness. The book also contains scientific and technical information about these major pathogens that contribute to foodborne illness.

codex alimentarius

The Codex Alimentarius is a uniform collection of internationally adopted food standards and related documents. The documents that make up the Codex aim to protect consumer health and ensure fair food trade practices. 

Food safety from fark to fork

In this comprehensive report, the Pew Charitable Trusts examines food safety control measures currently used on farms and feedlots or that might be employed in the future. Food Safety From Farm to Fork looks at pre-harvest mitigation strategies for reducing the level of three major foodborne pathogens—Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7—which cause a significant portion foodborne illnesses in humans. 

FDA Model food code

The FDA Model Food Code is not a law, but does provide a basis for the retail food safety laws of most states and several Tribes. The code is intended to provide a scientifically sound technical and legal basis for retail and food service regulators. FDA releases a new version every four years, with the 2017 version linked here the most recent release. 

United Fresh Tomato Guidelines

These guidelines provide recommended food safety practices that are intended to minimize the microbiological hazards associated with fresh and fresh-cut tomato products.