Helping Small-Scale and Socially Disadvantaged Growers in Improving Microbial Quality of Irrigation Water in Kentucky
Avinash M. Tope (),
John Thomas and
Tyler London
Additional contact information
Avinash M. Tope: College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, Kentucky State University, Frankfort, KY 40601, USA
John Thomas: College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, Kentucky State University, Frankfort, KY 40601, USA
Tyler London: College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, Kentucky State University, Frankfort, KY 40601, USA
Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 11, 1-11
Abstract:
Water plays a critical role in the growth and management of fresh produce, being a vital resource and a potential vector for pathogens. To address these concerns, guidelines for the microbiological quality of treated wastewater, recreational, irrigation, and drinking water have been established worldwide. With multiple outbreaks linked to Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) contamination, monitoring and improving water quality standards have become essential, especially for small-scale and limited-resource farmers. The Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA, 2014) in the United States was introduced to regulate microbiological safety of produce, focusing on irrigation water. Approximately 77% of farmers in Kentucky are small farmers, of which, 4.2% supply directly to consumers through various avenues, accounting for approximately USD 24 million a year. This study examined the microbial quality of irrigation water used in Kentucky, focusing on the presence and number of coliform bacteria and E. coli . The report covers findings from a year-long program providing free microbial water quality testing to producers ( n = 90), analyzing groundwater and surface water samples ( n = 296). Results indicate surface water showing a significantly higher risk of exceeding FSMA thresholds. The findings emphasize the need for continued outreach, education, and accessible testing resources to support compliance with evolving Produce Safety Rule regulations, especially among small-scale producers.
Keywords: irrigation water quality; food safety modernization act; growers; fresh produce; coliform; Escherichia coli (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:
Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/11/1121/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/11/1121/ (text/html)
Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.
Export reference: BibTeX
RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan)
HTML/Text
Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:11:p:1121-:d:1662561
Access Statistics for this article
Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan
More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().