No description available.

Farmers’ markets have increasingly become a popular venue for purchase of fresh, locally-grown produce, with the number of farmers’ markets in Kentucky reaching an all-time high of 159 in 2016. Good Agriculture Practices (GAPs) is a program created by the USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service to function as a food safety audit for small-scale fresh produce growers, such as those who sell fresh produce at local farmers’ markets. However, under the provisions of the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011, small-scale farmers who sell an average of $25,000 in annual fresh produce sales across the span of three years are exempt from mandatory food safety certification. Many smallscale farmers in Kentucky fall below this threshold, and do not hold food safety certification. This study had two objectives: to investigate the practices, perceptions, and implementation of GAPs among small-scale Kentucky farmers who sell at farmers’ markets; and to create and evaluate the effectiveness of commodity-specific informational factsheets to disseminate food safety knowledge among small-scale Kentucky farmers. Data from the perceptions, practices, and implementation survey were analyzed from 160 completed surveys of small-scale fresh produce growers on-site at farmers’ markets in 21 counties across the state of Kentucky (see Appendix A). The results were mixed, with 90% of participants indicated familiarity with GAPs, but only 47% opting to practice water quality GAPs and 55% choosing to observe soil amendment GAPs. Participants did report slightly higher compliance with field sanitation (71%) and sanitary facilities (73%) GAPs, but indicated that cost (67%) and time (68%) were significant perceived barriers to completing a GAPs audit on their farm. Participants also failed to identify many sources of potential microbiological contamination, with soil only being identified as a source of pathogenic contamination by 41% of participants and irrigation water identified by 51% of participants. Even fewer participants believed that contamination could result from ice (26%) or refrigeration and cooling (28%). However, most respondents indicated a desire to undergo further GAPs education, and the factsheet evaluation data indicated that the factsheets were highly effective and had resulted in significant GAPs knowledge increases for participants.

Les sols des oliveraies subissent des pressions environnementales fortes telles que les contraintes pédoclimatiques méditerranéennes et des pratiques agronomiques intensives. Ils requièrent une grande attention face aux changements climatiques. En zone littorale, les stress osmotiques et thermiques s’intensifient. Dans un contexte d’exacerbations de pressions, les sols pourraient subir des modifications profondes de leur qualité, modifications qu’il serait possible d’atténuer en adoptant des pratiques agricoles "durables". Ce projet de thèse a pour objectif d’examiner, en tenant compte de la littoralité, l’impact de pratiques conventionnelles et de conservation sur les activités microbiennes des cycles du C et N et les caractéristiques chimiques du sol. Ont été évaluées dépendamment de la distance à la mer, I)les fonctions des communautés microbiennes de la phyllosphère et de la rhizosphère de l’olivier, II)l’incidence du labour, de co-culture de Fabaceae, d’un enherbement et d’un apport de margions au Liban et en France, III)les réponses microbiennes à des stress hydriques après différentes pratiques. Ce travail a porté plus précisément sur les activités enzymatiques et cataboliques microbiennes intervenant dans la transformation de la matière organique dont la qualité a été étudiée par RMN du solide13C. Ce travail a permis d’observer une littoralité des fonctionnements microbiens avec une atténuation probable des émissions de CO2 par l’utilisation des pratiques de conservation. Par conséquent il est nécessaire de développer en oléiculture intensive des pratiques garantissant la stabilité des fonctions écologiques supportées par les relations sols/microorganismes/plantes. / Olive grove soils are subjected to harsh environmental pressures such as Mediterranean constraints and intensive agriculture practices. They require a great attention in the context of climate change. In coastal areas, osmotic and thermal stresses are intensified. Under these conditions of intensified pressure, significant changes in soil quality may occur and these changes can be mitigated by ‘sustainable’ farming practices. Thus, this thesis project aimed at evaluating, under coastal constraints, the impact of conventional and conservation practices on microbial activities involved in C and N cycles, and soil chemical characteristics. Depending on the distance from the sea, we evaluated i) functions of microbial communities of olive rhizosphere and phyllosphere, ii) the effect of tillage, Fabaceae co-culture, natural grass, OMW in Lebanon and France, iii) microbial responses to water stress under different practices. This work focused on microbial activities involved in the transformation of organic matter, whose quality was studied by solid state NMR 13C. Therefore, this work reported a ‘coastal print’ on microbial functioning and a likely reduction of CO2 emissions through the application of conservation practices. Therefore, it is necessary to develop, under olive tree culture intensification, practices ensuring stability of ecological functions supported by soils / microorganisms / plants relationships.