1. The Ohio and Indiana Specialty Crop Food Safety Initiative, will help fruit and vegetable producers to improve the marketability and safety of the food they grow and sell by a) increasing the adoption of Good Agricultural Practices and b) achieving better third party food safety audit scores. Producers will benefit from food safety presentations, food safety technical articles, web resources, on-farm consultations (walk throughs, food safety plan development and mock audits) and good agricultural practices materials (posters, guides, self-assessments, brochures, guides, videos).

MAAHS will lead this food safety effort with cooperation from RMA, Ohio State University Extension (OSUE), Purdue Cooperative Extension Service (PCES), Center For Innovative Food Technology, Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation (OFBF), Indiana Farm Bureau (IFB), Ohio Fruit Growers Society (OFGS), Indiana Horticultural Society (IHS), Ohio Vegetable and Potato Growers Association (OVPGA), Indiana Vegetable Growers Association (IVGA), Southwest Indiana Melon and Vegetable Growers Association (SWIMVGA) and Fruit Growers Marketing Association (FGMA).

2. The 2006 Ohio Fruit and Vegetable Growers Congress Enhanced Education project will increase the marketing and human resource capabilities of producers of priority commodities through the expertise of well-respected presenters in the industry. This Congress is presented in combination with the Ohio Direct Marketing Conference and Mid American Ag and Hort Human Resource Conference.

OFGS and OVPGA will lead this effort with cooperation from OSUE, MAAHS and RMA.

3. The Human Resource Management component will help producers of priority commodities to manage legal and human resource risks through five programs:
1. Distribution of the Indiana Agricultural and Horticultural Employer Checklist
2. Human Resource compliance presentations (flexible according to topic)
3. New Supervisor Workshops (2-4 hours)
4. Using Orientation and Training for Ag and Hort Worker Safety Workshops (90 minutes)
5. Partnership Approach to Worker Safety Workshops (90 minutes)

MAAHS will lead the human resource effort with cooperation from RMA, Erven HR Services LLC, OSUE, PCES, Indiana Nursery & Landscape Association, OFBF, IFB, OFGS, IHS, OVPGA, IVGA, SWIMVGA and FGMA.

4. The Ohio Livestock Public Involvement and Media Relations Program will help livestock producers more effectively deal with the expansion of existing enterprises or the development of new enterprises. A handbook will be developed and distributed and presentations will be given to help producers understand how to use the information in the handbook.

MAAHS is a unique non-profit membership consortium of associations, organizations and employers organized to improve the working and earnings environment for Mid American employers. More information about the Ohio and Indiana Risk Management Initiative is available by contacting MAAHS at 419-724-2930 or maahsadmin@eisc.org.