WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Local Food Safety Collaborative, a collaboration

between National Farmers Union Foundation (NFUF) and the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration (FDA), launched a nationwide food safety survey.

 

The results will help the organization address the needs of small producers and

processors with regards to food safety and compliance with applicable Food Safety

Modernization Act (FSMA) regulations. This survey is one component of an assessment

that the collaborative is conducting to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the

specific needs of small local producers and processors, food hubs, food aggregators

or packers, organic farmers and sustainable producers.

The survey can be accessed at www.localfoodsafety.org/survey and will be open

through early August. It is available in both English and Spanish. Participation is

voluntary and should take no more than 20 minutes. Participants may also elect to

be entered in a raffle to win one of twenty $100 gift cards.

WASHINGTON D.C. — U.S. Sens. Joe Donnelly and Todd Young are looking for

qualified individuals to fill Indiana state-level leadership positions with the USDA.

They will review applications and make a joint recommendation to President

Donald Trump, who will then select the nominees. Qualified applicants can email

their résumé and references by August 18 to nominations@young.senate.gov for the

following positions:

•State Director of the Farm Services Agency – The director is in charge of

administering the federal programs under the FSA. These are programs found in Title

I of the farm bill. The FSA director also administers purchase and operation loans as

well as some disaster programs.

•State Director of Rural Development – The director of Rural Development oversees

three areas: housing and community facilities programs, business programs and

utilities programs.

After a nominee is named by the White House, the respective directors can assume

their responsibilities.

 

BOSTON, Mass. — The deadline to

submit nominations for the Women

in Agribusiness Demeter Award of

Excellence, presented by HighQuest

Group, has been extended to August 16.

The Demeter Award, which is given in three categories, recognizes companies and individuals (men and women) whose achievements further the Women in Agribusiness mission of attracting and advancing women in the ag and food sectors, and that exemplify the belief that nurturing gender diversity is in a company’s and the industry’s best interests.

The annual presentation of these awards will be at the 2017 Women in Agribusiness Summit in Minneapolis, Minn., Sept. 26- 28. Companies and individuals are invited to submit nominations in: Leader of the Year, Innovator of the Year and Company/Organization of the Year.

Entry form and guidelines for submissions are available on the Women in Agribusiness website at www.womeninag. com under “Initiatives.” Award recipients will be notified prior to being recognized at the sixth annual Summit.

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Mahindra North America and RFD-TV are partnering on an essay contest launched to salute America’s first responders.

Police departments, firefighters and EMT groups based in the United States are eligible to be nominated by anyone 18 years and older through an essay submission. Winning essays will be selected by a panel of judges from RFDTV and Mahindra teams.

The winning first responder group could benefit from one of the world’s toughest utility vehicles, a Mahindra mPact XTV 750 S. Submissions require the name and contact of the nominating party and the name, type and location of the first responder group. Essays need to explain how the first responder group is making life better in your community and how they would benefit from receiving this utility vehicle.

Nominations and essays should be submitted online at www.rfdtv.com/story/35683215/your-local-first-responderscould-win-big and the sweepstakes ends at 12 p.m. ET on August 21.