S.A.F.E.R. Controlled Environment Agriculture Conference

Join us on April 13-14 for the SAFER Controlled Environment Agriculture conference! The Strategizing to Advance Future Extension and Research (SAFER) CEA conference aims to advance the science, knowledge and practice of food safety in the CEA produce industry. CEA industry stakeholders, regulatory partners and food safety research and extension professionals are invited to learn about past and ongoing CEA food safety projects and discuss research and extension priorities for the CEA produce industry. We want the SAFER CEA conference to enhance and encourage future collaborations between academia, industry and regulatory agencies.

The conference will take place at the Ohio Controlled Environment Agriculture Center’s CEA Research Complex in Columbus, OH. Conference registration is $50 and includes breakfast and lunch. The deadline to register is March 28, 2023.

Who Should Attend?

1. CEA Grower Industry: The target audience for the conference are leafy green, herbs, and microgreen growers who grow in indoor and greenhouse facilities.
2. Food Safety Researchers: This conference will benefit researchers who have conducted produce safety research in CEA systems. The conference will allow researchers to share their results, interact with the CEA industry and regulatory personnel, and develop actionable items to address identified knowledge and science gaps.
3. Food Safety Extension: This conference will benefit extension personnel who are serving the food safety needs of their state/region with a specific focus on fresh produce safety. The conference will facilitate active engagement with all CEA stakeholders and allow extension service providers to identify content experts and resources to aid the development of CEA-specific curricula for training and outreach efforts in the CEA grower industry.
4. Regulatory Bodies: This conference will benefit regulatory bodies that are working with or conducting local, state, and federal agencies inspections of the CEA grower industry.
   

All other types and sizes of CEA growers, researchers and extension personnel, and regulatory bodies are welcome to attend, but the emphasis of the conference will be on practical solutions for these CEA production methods for produce.

Attendance Cap:  85 Total: 25 CEA industry, 20 regulatory agents, 20 CEA food safety researchers, and 20 CEA food safety extension agents. A waitlist will be available for overage in each category.

To increase the diversity and inclusion of participants, we will offer ten-$1,000 travel fellowships (funds to be used for hotel and transportation) to underrepresented faculty from minority-serving institutions and very small and small CEA operations.  Please inquire from angela.shaw@ttu.edu for more details.

Outcomes

• Increase in knowledge and list of CEA food safety research and outreach needs
• Increase in the submission of federal and commodity proposals on CEA food safety topics
• An established communication system between industry, academia, and government on CEA food safety
• Easy access to food safety published journal articles and extension publications
• Enhanced relations between CEA industry, academia, and government

Register

Thank you for your interest in the S.A.F.E.R. CEA Conference. Registration is now closed.

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Calling all Controlled Environmental Agriculture and Produce Food Safety Specialists: We are requesting materials to highlight the work that researchers, extension, and industry personnel are conducting to make CEA-grown produce safer. We will be collecting these items before, during, and after the SAFER CEA Conference. Please see more information HERE.

Tentative Agenda