PFAS: CURRENT KNOWLEDGE AND APPLICATION FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION

To provide a venue and opportunity for farmers and stakeholders affected by PFAS to learn about and to foster the exchange of scientific information on scientific discoveries and technological advancements in PFAS contamination in agricultural systems, transport into crops and livestock, remediation, policy, and most importantly the scientific exchange of ideas to address emerging issues relevant to PFAS contamination using scientific evidence, and to highlight potential solutions.To provide an opportunity for conference participants to learn about new skills and technologies that may have an immediate or future impact on the scientific direction, extension programs, farm management strategies, or on other supply chain sectors where PFAS may have an impact.To initiate development of a PFAS in Agriculture Network for farmers, scientists, stakeholders, and students. This network will be used to disseminate developed educational materials suitable for region specific concerns, as well as inform an overall synthesis paper of the state of the science that will inform and kick start follow up conferences (on an annual/biannual basis) on the status of PFAS in Agricultural Systems. We anticipate University of Maine will lead the next one, with other states following up in years to come; USDA-ARS will oversee a nationwide effort.Overall, this two part conference series will: 1) initiate collaborations and broaden engagement between PFAS research efforts in Maine, Michigan, nationally, and internationally; 2) promote on-farm research and demonstration projects between farmers and researchers; and 3) increase the flow of information between stakeholders ranging from researchers to farmers to regulators to establish a cross-sector network around PFAS contamination research, response, and policy.