Organic food grade soybeans have sold for as high as $20 a bushel. But you won't get that price if you're careless with how you harvest and store your beans. Was your harvesting equipment improperly adjusted or poorly maintained? Were the beans poorly dried and stored too wet? Were they handled roughly--cracked and bruised? All of these factors and more are part of ensuring that you get the organic price premium you're hoping for.

The same care applies to produce and fruits--picking at the right time of day and storing and transporting at the right temperature. Below you'll find a wide variety of practical tips on proper harvest, storage and handling of organic fruits, grains and vegetables.

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Post Harvest Handling
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Postharvest Handling of Fruits and Vegetables Appropriate production practices, careful harvesting, and proper packaging, storage, and transport all contribute to good produce quality. This...
California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) Food Safety and Handling of Fresh Produce Conference Materials Conference Summary and PowerPoint presentations from the two day January '08 conference. Growers, industry and research professionals collaborated...
Grains: Smoothing the Path to a Profitable Harvest for Grain Growers Dozens of harvest tips to ensure that your good organic grain isn't transformed into the bad and ugly by poorly maintained equipment, improper...
Reflections at Harvest Time Mary-Howell Martens, who farms over 1300 acres organically with her husband Klaas, takes a moment to reflect on ensuring quality at harvest, crop...
Vegetables: Wash & Glow--The inspector's guide to post-harvest handling of organic produce Showcasing quality and guarding against contamination rank among the top priorities at this stage of certification.
CSA Harvest and Post-Harvest Handling This excellent lecture outline on postharvest handling for CSAs contains guidelines for postharvest handling of various vegetables, information on...
Making Organic Produce Stand Out in Retail Settings: An All Things Organic™ Conference Session With all the products on store shelves today, it is easy for consumers to overlook the organic produce available to them. This session, you'll...
Post-Harvest Technology Research and Information Center, University of California at Davis Through the postharvest research and extension programs of 13 Extension specialists, the Center strives to provide relevant information to...
Postharvest Handling & Cooling of Fresh Fruits, Vegetables and Flowers for Small Farms This guidebook from North Carolina State University covers the basics of postharvest handling for small farms. It discusses quality maintenance,...
Postharvest Handling Advice for Organic Producers Optimal-quality organic produce that achieves the desired textural properties, sensory shelf life, and nutritional content is the combined result...
Postharvest Handling Considerations for Organic Produce, a Slide Show from the University of California at Davis This slide show covers all the basics of what a grower needs to know about organic postharvest handling, including allowed substances and processes.
Apples: Commercial Postharvest Handling of Fresh Market Apples A brief overview of harvesting, packaging and storage of apples. Describes diseases picked apples are prone to. From University of Minnesota...
Asparagus: Commercial Postharvest Handling of Fresh Market Asparagus A brief overview of harvesting, packaging and storage of asparagus. Describes diseases picked asparagus is prone to. From University of Minnesota...
Blueberries: Post Harvest Handling of Blueberry In order to ensure the longest postharvest shelf life for both fresh and processed fruit, a detailed postharvest handling strategy plan should be...
Broccoli: Estimated Costs for Producing Organic Broccoli and Lettuce in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties of California, and 10 tips for Postharvest Handling This 2004 newsletter, the Central Coast Family Farm Report, provides very readable information on crop budgets for organic broccoli and lettuce,...
Flowers: Postharvest Handling of Field Cut Flowers This fact sheet from the University of Vermont, while not specifically for organic growers, does outline the keys to longer vase-life, covering...
Flowers: Postharvest Handling of Fresh Cut Flowers and Plant Material Whether you grow fresh flowers for the local farmers' market and retail florist or have a large operation that sells truckloads to the national...
Flowers: Postharvest Handling Tips for Some Spring Flowering Bulbs The postharvest life of many early spring bulb cut flowers is relatively short when compared to other species of cut flowers frequently used in the...
Flowers: Production & Postharvest information from University of Florida A comprehensive listing of information on cut flower production and postharvest handling, from the University of Florida. Provides links to dozens...
Grain Drying, Handling, & Storage A large collection of resources, from North Dakota State University, on the drying and storage of grains and beans. Includes a number of articles...
Grains: Identity Preservation (IP) of Grain Crops Some grain customers are willing to pay premium prices for grains that have special characteristics (for example, food-grade corn or soybeans, or...
Grains: Post Harvest Grain Quality & Stored Product Protection Program, from Purdue University This excellent web site from Purdue University pulls together post-harvest handling advice for grains and soybeans from around the country--drying,...
Grains: Post-Harvest Handling of Grain Crops, from the University of Minnesota While not directed at organic growers, and recommending pest management strategies that are not organic, this large collection of post-harvest...
Grains: Rodent-Proof Construction Rats and mice cause serious damage to homes, farm buildings and feed storage structures. One rat can eat about 30 pounds of grain per year and will...
Grains: Stored-product Insects and Biological Control Agents Stored grain is subject to insect infestation and deterioration from molds and bacteria. High grain temperatures and moisture, along with dockage...
Grains: The Inspector's Notebook--Protecting the Integrity of Organic Grains During Harvest Develop strict cleaning protocol for harvesting and handling equipment to keep grain clean, pure and uncontaminated, says organic inspector Jim...
Greens: Post-Harvest Handling of Delicate Leaf Lettuce and Arugula This discussion forum on the Georgia Organics web site features a lively exchange about postharvest handling of delicate greens.
Handling, Cooling and Sanitation Techniques for Maintaining Vegetables: Postharvest Quality in Vegetables This fact sheet from the University of Florida covers harvest timing, handling during harvest, packing and shipping, temperature control and more.
How to Keep Fresh Fruits & Vegetables Longer with Less Spoilage A Storage Guide From Farm to Table A handy reference booklet intended for the farmer, market gardener, food retailer, co-op manager or consumers. With tender love and care, even...
Making Sense of Rules Governing Chlorine Contact in Postharvest Handling of Organic Produce This publication, from the University of California at Davis, provides an overview of the debate about postharvest chlorination of organic produce,...
Organic Post Harvest Handling Specialist Trevor V Suslow, University of California at Davis organic vegetable crop specialist, has a specialization in organic post harvest handling and...
Organic Seed Processing and Storage Principles and practices of seed harvesting, processing, and storage: an organic seed production manual for seed growers in the Mid-Atlantic and...
Postharvest Cooling and Handling While this collection of resources from North Carolina State University isn't for organic only, it provides a set of guidelines for postharvest...
Postharvest handling advice from University of Florida's Small Farms Alternative Enterprises web site While not directed at organic farmers, this resource page provides a great deal of practical information on postharvest handling of vegetables in...
Postharvest Handling and Cooling of Fresh Fruits, Vegetables, and Flowers for Small Farms A quick overview of postharvest handling from Penn State University, addressing water loss, heat, chilling and temperature managment.
Postharvest Handling of Horticultural Products: Keeping Principles in Perspective For all fresh produce, variety selection, climatic conditions and growing practices will greatly affect the quality at harvest. Successful...
Postharvesting Resources from North Carolina Cooperative Extension's Growing Small Farms Web Site. This collection of articles and web sites on postharvest handling addresses, quality maintenance of fresh fruits and vegetables, cooling techniques...
Potatoes: Commercial Postharvest Handling of Potatoes A brief overview of harvesting, packaging and storage of potatoes. Describes diseases harvested potatoes are prone to. From University of Minnesota...
Produce Packing Guidelines Basics of quality packing, plus guidelines for specific products.
Simple and Successful Vegetable Farming: How to Pick, Store, and Sell the Vegetables You Grow A vegetable-by-vegetable guide to postharvest handling, from the University of Minnesota.
Storing Fresh Fruits and Vegetables This fact sheet covers harvest methods and post-harvest care and recommended handling for specific vegetables and fruits. From the University of...
Strawberries: Commercial Postharvest Handling of Strawberries A brief overview of harvesting, packaging and storage of strawberries. Describes diseases picked berries are prone to. From University of Minnesota...
The Fresh Product Grading and Quality Certification Program of the USDA The Fresh Products Branch develops U.S. grade standards and provides grading, inspection and certification services (including for good...
Vegetables. Ask the Specialist: Preventing Postharvest Water Loss in Organic Vegetables The Western Vegetable Newsletter from University of Arizona answers the question, "What techniques can be used for preventing water loss of organic...
Vegetables. Organic Farming Practices: Postharvest Handling, from University of California at Davis This article from the University of California's Vegetable Research and Information Center takes you through a process of looking at all the...
Vegetables: Commercial Vegetable Production Guides from Oregon State University These production guides, for several dozen vegetables, are not directed at organic growers, but they do have excellent basic information on...
Vegetables: Post Harvest Handling for Best Crop Quality, from the Wisconsin School for Beginning Market Gardeners An excellent overview of the basics of effective post-harvest handling for fruits and vegetables. It discusses the factors that lead to loss of...
Vegetables: Post-harvest Handling of Horticulture Crops - Frequently Asked Questions This series of questions and answers about post-harvest handling of vegetable crops, from the Alberta, Canada, covers the basics of when and how to...
Vegetables: Postharvest Handling Systems: Flower, Leafy and Stem Vegetables A handling guide for lettuce, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, Brussels sprouts, rhubarb, celery, spinach, chard, kale, endive, escarole, other leafy...