Knowledge gained from good agricultural practices courses for Iowa growers

Abstract

Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) educational courses provide produce growers with the fundamental information for producing and processing safe produce. To determine the effectiveness of the current 7- hour GAP course provided in Iowa, growers were surveyed before and 7-14 days after the course to determine changes in knowledge and opinions. Results show that growers positively changed their knowledge and opinions on key food safety principles and regulations, which provides evidence that Extension programming is an effective method to educate small growers. Food safety educators should focus their training on practical methods for documentation, sanitation, and facilities.