WELLFLEET – Local oyster farmers were among the winners in a state grant program that targets agriculture production. Eleven oyster farmers and one cranberry farmer received the grant money to purchase equipment having to do with food safety.
The Cape Cod awardees were Barnstable Sea Farms of Barnstable, $3821 for an ice machine; Cape Cod Oyster Co. of Hyannis, $6,000 for an ice machine; Crowes Pasture Oyster Farm of East Dennis, $4,583 for an ice machine and insulated vats; Field Point Oyster of Wellfleet, $1,597 for an insulated vat; Gerstley Oysters of East Dennis, $4,600 for an ice machine and insulated vats; Indian Neck Sea Farms, Inc. of Wellfleet, $3,974 for a walk-in cooler; Johnson Oyster Farm of Wellfleet, $2,964 for an ice machine; LaPointe Oysters of Wellfleet, $2,968 for an ice machine; Monk’s Cove Oysters of Bourne, $3,133 for ice machine and insulated vats; PJ’s Cranberries of Sandwich, $3,220 for cleaning and sorting equipment and plastic bins; and Sandy Neck Oyster Company of Barnstable, $6,556 for ice machine and insulated vats.
The state awarded a total of $200,000 in grants to 30 Massachusetts produce and aquaculture sites in the second round of the state-funded Agricultural Food Safety Improvement Program. This competitive food safety grant is meant to allow agriculture operations to address food safety upgrades on their farms, enabling the operations to meet buyer demands, increase consumption of local food and protect public health by reducing food safety risks.
“Infrastructure improvements and food safety practices are critical for ensuring the success that our agricultural businesses have seen during the Patrick Administration,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Maeve Vallely Bartlett. “Our local agriculture industry benefits from fresh, quality products grown, harvested and processed in a safe, sustainable way in communities across the Commonwealth.”
In this round of funding, produce farms were awarded grants to help with food safety upgrades. These projects include food safe harvest bins, fencing to keep wildlife out of produce fields, new packing/washing lines and food safe walls and flooring.
Funding was also given to assist commercial oyster farmers meet the Department of Public Health Vibrio Control Program. Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a human pathogen know to cause food-borne illnesses from the consumption of raw oysters.
In an effort to address these illnesses, the Vp Control Plan requires strict harvesting controls for oysters. Future rounds of funding hope to concentrate on upgrading on-farm infrastructure and equipment.
By implementing upgrades, farms will be able to protect public health, meet buyer requirements and follow new regulations under the Federal Food Safety Modernization Act.
“It is important that we continue to provide both grant and technical assistance to our farms as they continue to modernize their operations to meet new requirements,” said DAR Commissioner Greg Watson. “This assistance will strengthen our local food security, improve access to fresh local produce and help ensure that our agricultural operations are prepared to meet new market and regulatory challenges in the future.”
The program is one of several grant programs with the Department’s Division of Agricultural Conservation and Technical Assistance with the mission to advance the conservation and utilization of agricultural resources through preservation, environmental stewardship, technology, technical assistance and education in order to enhance the viability of agricultural enterprises and safeguard natural resources.
