Cal Poly awarded a USDA grant for field equipment sanitation research

Cal Poly was awarded a Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This grant will be used for a project called, "Taming Agriculture's Elephant: Broadening the Conversation About Field Equipment Sanitation Practices for Specialty Crops."

The grant program supports projects that improve crops, manage pests and diseases, improve efficiency, profitability, and innovation, and address food safety. Cal Poly's planning grant will be used to address the complex issue of developing a framework for what field equipment sanitation means, how to validate it, and the economic effects of sanitation.

Dr. Matthew Grieshop, the Center's Director, is the primary investigator for this research project. This planning grant will allow him to develop a team of researchers, survey grower needs and practices, and develop a proposal for a framework regarding specialty crop equipment sanitation. This addresses SCRI's priorities of addressing threats from pests and diseases as well as preventing and controlling potential food safety hazards. It also addresses the USDA's goals of providing the country with safe and nutritious food.