Balancing Soil Health and Food Safety For Organic Fresh Produce Production in Maryland

<p>1. Advance scientific basis for the wait time between application of raw (untreated) manure and crop harvest for three fresh produce types (tomato, spinach, radish) on USDA-National Organic Program certified farms using field and laboratory experimental approaches in microbiology. 2. With organic growers, conduct on-farm assessments for soil health and analyze response relative to the presence of fecal bacterial pathogens in raw manure, manure-amended soils, and crops grown on several and soil in the mid- produce-growing regions.</p>