Here is a link to a document that outlines the basics of FSMA compliance that I have put together with the help of other cheese guilds. It includes a simple timeline of how the FSMA will be implemented, what a Qualified Facility is, and a glossary of terms that you will run into as you explore our new federal food safety regulations. Enjoy!
Meeting: Feb 15th, 2016 in Farmington
Our meeting on Monday, February 15th was a little different than usual this year.
We’ve been invited to visit John and Penny Duncan at York Hill Farm to tour their facility. Unfortunately they don’t have room at the farm to also host our general meeting so we split the meeting up into a TOUR first followed by a business meeting in a separate location.
The business meeting began around noon in a classroom at the University of Maine Farmington. We covered topics that included ideas for upcoming workshops, the FDA’s review of raw milk, and splitting the cost of sending one Guild representative to the ACS Conference in 2016 into at least three grants to pay the full conference fee to attend for Guild members.
Thanks for the many members who made the trek out west to visit York Hill Farm and attend the business meeting.
Estate Planning & Generational Transfer Seminar
Thursday, February 4, 2016
9:00 AM – 3:30 PM
Augusta, Maine
This workshop will help farm and forest product families minimize business succession risk and make informed decisions about intergenerational transfer of farmland and farm businesses. The workshop will address details on transition planning, retirement and estate planning, legal approaches to protect assets from taxes, tools you can use to transfer farm assets, and determining your goals to address transfer planning and business transition.
Cost: $15 (includes handouts)
Location: Maine Forest Products Council Bldg (lower level), 535 Civic Center Drive, Augusta, Maine 04330