Up in Farms is a service-based food hub that provides fruit and vegetable farm services to improve crop production, food safety and natural resource conservation for Mississippi fruit and vegetable growers and makers. We maintain a Group GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) program that provides USDA Harmonized GAP food safety audit services to our Group Members. Up in Farms helps growers develop food safety plans, farm asset inventory systems, internal assessment and audit programs, employee training, and comprehensive record keeping systems. Our proprietary Farm QMS(R) (Quality Management System) software links all of this to production and sales records, providing complete trace back and recall capability for even the smallest commercial growers. Our Approved Supplier and Production Scheduling Systems reduce the time growers need to spend on record keeping each day and allow growers to buy and sell from each other (and wholesalers) with confidence that food safety and quality needs will be met. We link our production and food safety modules with USDA NRCS-based conservation practices allowing growers to easily build comprehensive sustainability efforts into everyday operations.

How does buying Genuine MS products make a difference here in Mississippi?

Mississippi has over 1,000,000 acres of unused crop land. We import more than 90% of our produce from other states and nations, but if you have ever eaten a Mississippi watermelon or tomato, or bitten into our great sweet corn, you know we can grow some darn good vegetables. Our berries, peaches and pecans are second to none, too, to say nothing of the jams and sauces we can make with Mississippi-grown products. We just don't have enough local growers and makers for most of these things. We encourage all who read this to seek out local produce and to support local farmers and value-added makers. Up in Farms will do our part to grow growers and help bring their great products to your table.