Tagged With "produce rule"

Please help Cooperative Extension help producers tackle On-Farm Water Treatment. Led by a multi-state team from North Carolina State University, Virginia Tech, the University of Tennessee, Washington State University, and the University of Florida, Cooperative Extension is implementing a free curriculum to help produce growers address on-farm water treatment pertaining to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). We need your help to ensure execution of the best program possible. To inspire...

If we stopped to think about how many decisions we make each & every day it would be a daunting task. If we wrote them all down... Would we be satisfied with the outcomes? What would we learn about ourselves? How do they affect others? In today's world, it seems we have learned how to be distracted by all the wonderful technology available. Being bombarded by information can derail our effectiveness in making meaningful decisions that positively affect those we are trusted with leading.

How long do you work continuously? Do you just go until you actually start to feel fatigue? If you're like most, you just go without thinking much about stopping until the end of the workday. Without much thought, we're setting ourselves up for underperformance...imagine that! And...its become a well ingrained habit. Every 16 words on average we reach for a metaphor so let's use one now! Race cars are built to go fast for a long time but they take pit stops to go faster for longer. We're a...

Last week, we hosted three wonderful folks from the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). They took us “behind the label” to share background on the changes and provide an in-depth tour of the updated Nutrition Facts label. CFSAN staff also shared educational materials and resources on the updated Nutrition Facts label for both health professionals and consumers. If you didn't get a chance to catch this presentation - the recording is available here ! By popular demand,...

How many "rules" do you have where you work? How many of them help your daily work? Too many can be hard to remember & overwhelming. Let's unpack "rules" a bit... Rules or Procedures or Values Rules are guidelines. They carry more weight than suggestions & sometimes are even laws. For example, driving rules increase safety & can save lives. Don't throw gum on the sidewalk is also a good one. Procedures on the other hand guide behaviors systematically. You wouldn't want the Doctor...

“Only self-confidence makes freedom & dissent possible. An organization that brainwashes employees to think alike will only breed complacency & make itself unappealing to anyone who might inject some oxygen into it.” – Ricardo Semler Think about a time when you were offended by a complaint. Perhaps it was a question someone posed. Did it feel like it was directed at you in a meeting in front of others? Do you remember your response? Was it appropriate for the situation? Was it...

My Great Uncle gave me a small plaque when I was in Junior High with a powerful quote. It hung in every place I lived until passing it along years later. "The important thing is not to stop questioning!" -Albert Einstein What my Great Uncle encouraged was a healthy curiosity. His wisdom has been & remains valuable to me to this day. In this spirit, let's discover how one question has led to just the right "thing" when it was needed most! "What would have happened if we didn't do what we...

It's just another day in 2007. Stopped to take a few minutes to read a short article. It's my daily "leadership" lesson time. Only this time it really shook me up. Really challenged my thoughts on a concept I thought I had a handle on. Time management. Tony Schwartz & Catherine McCarthy had really made an impact on me! Manage your energy NOT your time ! What? Think about it...time is a finite resource. Energy is renewable. Want to see where you are with your energy? Here's their quiz!

My brother & I talk a lot and it has brought us closer, especially during our "philosophical" discussions. We like to dive deep into our passion areas, share what we've learned from books, articles, Ted Talks, work situations, parenting, etc. We just go with whatever is on our minds in a healthy banter. One thing keeps coming up regardless of topic is leadership & its close relationship with character . We agree on one point...leadership is situational but character isn't. Character...

During my short college coaching time, had the pleasure of attending a clinic where some successful coaches shared their X’s & O’s & overall philosophies. Knowing why, how & what gets these guys out of bed in the morning is powerful knowledge. One of the speakers was Marty Schottenheimer; his passion for coaching resonated with all of us. An awesome opportunity to hear from a great NFL coach & man. Here are some of his thoughts... He is perhaps most famous for his pre-game...

Starting any new venture can be scary. Deciding to tap into our creative entrepreneurial spirit can take a lot of courage, patience & a bit of ignoring our insecurities. "Why not go out on a limb? That's where the fruit is!" -Mark Twain Recently heard Tim Ferriss Podcast interview with Sir Richard Branson. One of the stories Branson told was of how he got into the airline business. He was trying to get home after a 3-week business trip when his flight was cancelled. He really wanted to...

Sport provides such fertile ground for life lessons. There is immediate feedback constantly. You made the shot or missed it. You completed the pass or it was incomplete. You won or lost. The scoreboard is just the start to all the statistics. AND... Since we can't participate and evaluate at the same time, there's always a coach. One of my favorite coaches is Glenn "Doc" Rivers in the NBA. In a Netflix series called " The Playbook " he and 4 other amazing coaches give us their take on " A...

Announcing 2022 GusNIP Nutrition Incentive Program and Produce Prescription Program RFAs

“Bridging the GAPS: Approaches to Treating Water on Farms” - a curriculum designed to help producers understand and address the regulatory requirements for ag water treatment in the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) - has been reissued in a flipping book format by the Extension Foundation. Preventing foodborne illness and protecting public health are critically important to producers. Sanitary irrigation water is also mandated by the USDA; producers are required to monitor, treat, and...

Below are five smart uses for tax refunds for Extension professionals: Debt Repayment- There is probably no better “investment” than repaying consumer debt (e.g., outstanding credit card bills). Paying off an 18% credit card is equivalent to earning a 20.5% return for taxpayers in the 12% tax bracket