One of the key decisions farmers make is about where to plant crops. This question becomes even more important if you plan to grow fresh fruits and vegetables that will likely be eaten without cooking. The field in which fresh fruits and vegetables are grown can greatly impact their safety, and the health of the people who will eat the fresh produce harvested from that field. Whether you are just starting your fresh produce farm or are looking to grow more fresh produce using land that you had not previously used for this purpose, it is important that you assess whether that piece of land is the one best suited for growing fresh produce, or whether you have a plan for how you will reduce food safety risks that are likely to be present. Here are some key questions to answer when assessing a field for growing fresh produce.

1. Do you have a written record of current and past land use?
2. Are crops grown on land that has a history of flooding or recently experienced a flood?
3. Is produce grown in fields that might receive runoff from neighboring fields, pastures, or barnyards?
4. Are produce fields located near municipal/commercial sewage treatment facilities or waste material landfills?
5. Are produce fields located within 30 feet of a tank or septic system leach field?
6. Are produce fields located within 1 mile of a large-scale animal operation or feedlot?
7. Are grazing lands and domesticated animals (including hobby farms and non-commercial livestock) located within 30 feet of produce fields?
8. Is raw untreated manure from livestock, manure containment structures, storage piles, or composting facilities located within 400 feet of produce fields?
9. Is raw untreated manure located within 200 feet of wellheads?
10. Is raw untreated manure located near surface water sources used during the production of fresh fruits and vegetables?
11. Are properly treated compost piles stored within 30 feet of produce fields and 80 feet of water sources?

You attempted to answer the questions, and that’s good. Now, let us learn more about how each of those questions relates to the safety of fresh produce that may be present in the field using Cornell University’s On-farm Decision Tree on Land use. The decision tree will additionally talk about best practices to reduce food safety risks related to your field of choice. 

References 

On-Farm Decision Tree Project: Land Use—v6 03/02/2021 E.A. Bihn, M.A. Schermann, A.L. Wszelaki, G.L. Wall, S.K. Amundson, and M.C. Humiston, 2021. Available at: https://cornell.app.box.com/s/44rp2x7p3s2t4kri69dnr43kws12kwhg accessed February 13, 2025