As part of an Agricultural and Food Systems Fellowship (AFS) through URI’s Cooperative Extension, Hallie Grace Brown, an animal science major and biology minor, worked with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) Division of Agriculture. She consulted with farmers, visited and evaluated the operations of various farms, and worked on updating the produce safety enrollment registry. Hallie Grace’s work helped promote both public health and safe local farming operations.
Q. What did your fellowship work entail?
A. Updating the Produce Safety Registry for the State of Rhode Island as well as assisting in formulating an online hub of educational materials for farmers and public use to answer FAQs about adhering to USDA and FDA guidelines. My focus was emphasizing proper on-farm worker training and the online database includes so many helpful pieces of material that hopefully helps business owners save time and money when it comes to training their staff. Laws in agriculture tend to change a lot and having this information available at someone’s fingertips is very efficient and much more user friendly.
What was the most fulfilling part about doing the AFS Fellowing Program?
I really enjoyed meeting the other students in the AFS Fellowship with similar interests and learning about their projects as well. We met weekly during the summer for industry training events that consisted of a lot of outdoor education and team building activities. I think this eased our stress and helped us have an overall really rewarding experience, I walked away with a lot of new friends. It’s hard making friends with people your age in college when you really love farming.
How did this hands-on enrich your academic experience?
I have always been someone who prefers working hands-on or outside, but being able to comprehend and teach others about crucial food safety regulations broadened my skill set immensely and got me more comfortable with things like public speaking, negotiating, and applying the information I was learning to my nutrition focused classes, but also even when working on farms myself outside of school.
For folks who are not scientists but would benefit from understanding the work that you did for the Fellowship, what are some main “takeaways” you’d share with them?
The food safety standards that go into proper farm-to-table delivery can be very complicated and government explanations are not always the easiest to digest. Having educational organizations and government agencies that understand this allows for more positive relations between farmers and state regulatory services, they aren’t there to police, only to help!
What advice do you have for students who want to do a fellowship?
DO IT!!! I questioned my grades, my personality, and my skills going into the interview but the experience helped me learn a lot about myself, what I was truly passionate about, and what I was capable of. You’ll never know if you don’t try.
How do you think this experience will help you in the future?
I believe the AFS Fellowship helped my overall mindset of going into things with a “don’t knock it ‘till you try it” attitude when it comes to work. The team building activities really helped my confidence building and networking abilities with other people in the same industry.