Lesson 5 – Birds on the Farm: Balancing Biodiversity and Food Safety
Presentation Recording
Presenters
Dr. Olivia Smith is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University in the Department of Horticulture and the Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program. Her research focuses on managing farms and surrounding areas to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks that birds and other biodiversity can provide to farms.
Annalisa Hultberg is a statewide Educator in Food Safety at the University of Minnesota Extension where she has coordinated the On-Farm GAPs Education Program since 2011. She leads Extension's educational efforts around the FSMA Produce Safety Rule and Good Agricultural Practices, working with small to large-scale fruit and vegetable farmers, farm to school programs, food hubs and others to help producers understand and implement food safety on the farm and improve the quality and safety of fresh produce in the state and region.
Learning Objectives
Upon successfully completing this lesson, participants will:
- Understand the likelihood that birds will contaminate crops.
- Understand factors that increase and decrease the likelihood that birds contaminate crops.
- Identify potential food safety risks from wildlife and avian species to fresh produce, including pathogens such as Salmonella and Campylobacter bacterium.
- Understand how to implement various on-farm practices to reduce potential for foodborne illnesses associated with bird species while supporting wildlife conservation.
Resources
- Evaluating Wildlife as a Potential Source of Salmonella serotype Newport Contamination for Tomatoes on the Eastern Shore of Virginia by K. Gruszynski et al.
- Co-Management of Food Safety and Sustainability UC Food Safety Resources Page
- A Farmer's Guide to Food Safety and Conservation Wild Farm Alliance Publication