Rarely does someone start farming because they love record keeping, yet keeping a log of your activities makes a lot of sense from a business and a production standpoint. Next year, you’ll question what day you planted cucumbers or where you bought that compost … and was it 10 square yards or 15? Straightforward forms like these make record keeping easy—just write down what you did at the end of the day. And this information is vital to having a simple, sound food-safety plan.
The forms offered here are basic, but they’re not for every farm. If you have a method that works better for you—perhaps everything written on a paper calendar or kept in note form on your smartphone (regularly backed up, of course!)—you should go with that. What’s important is that you have relevant information recorded so if there’s ever a food-borne illness outbreak or a question about how your produce got from the field to the farmstand, you’ll have all of the details you need at your fingertips.
Click on each record below to download a PDF version that you can print.
1. Harvest Record
How much kale did you harvest last month, and who helped you pick it? That information is kept on the harvest record. This form is also helpful for you to keep track of what you plan to harvest while you’re in the field. The “field ID” column references which area of your garden the produce came from.
2. Packing And Distribution Record
The distribution record lets you keep track of when and to whom you sold produce, what amount was sold, and how it was delivered. The “code” column refers to your farm’s traceability code.
3. Equipment Cleaning Log
Use this form to record when and how you clean or sanitize your harvest tools and bins and the equipment for cleaning, processing and storing produce.
4. Amendment Record
You should be keeping track of your soil amendments, regardless of whether you want to keep a food-safety record. Each time you apply manure, compost or other amendments, write it down here.
