1 Project Summary The Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) proposes to explore and establish a produce safety program in the Commonwealth of Kentucky through the support of this U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) funding opportunity. The KDA will seek the authority to conduct on-farm inspections in Commonwealth of Kentucky on behalf of FDA and ensure that produce growers of the Commonwealth are made aware of, trained as needed, and inspected as required by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Final Rule on Produce Safety: Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption (Produce Safety Rule) effective January, 2018. This Kentucky produce safety program is intended to encourage the safe production of fresh fruits and vegetables, to promote the understanding of the Produce Safety Rule and to ensure compliance with the requirements of the Produce Safety Rule by covered Kentucky entities. This cooperative agreement is to establish and maintain a statewide program for farmer education, technical assistance, development of an inventory of covered farms, and farm inspections, after seeking authority under Kentucky law. With the funding made available through this grant, KDA and its partner organizations will conduct education, outreach, identification of covered farms and technical support, while KDA will solely conduct activities associated with on- farm inspections after KDA staff complete FDA-required training. Through this program, KDA will conduct a state self-assessment and policy changes to ensure a clear state regulatory foundation under Kentucky state law (Kentucky Revised Statutes, or KRS), that is well-understood by regulators, the regulated, and the produce community as a whole. KDA will pursue regulatory authority for KDA to act as the lead agency with FDA credentials for the implementation of the Produce Safety Rule. The education and outreach conducted by the three partner agencies associated with this project will enable the regulated community to better prepare for this federal regulation. The support of both Competition A and Competition B will be necessary to fully develop Kentucky’s plan for FSMA Produce Safety Rule implementation.