(INDIANAPOLIS ) — The Indiana State Department of Agriculture announced today the hiring of Tari Gary as Food Safety Outreach Coordinator for the Food Safety Modernization Act’s Produce Safety Rule and Annette Manusevich as Soil Health Program Manager.
“We’re proud to welcome Tari and Annette to the ISDA family,” said Bruce Kettler, Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director. “Their skills, knowledge and passion will help us serve our constituents and farmers more effectively.”
Growing up in Putnam County, Gary was a 10 year 4-H member and participated in FFA. She graduated from Purdue University in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Food Science. Prior to joining the department, she worked for Weston Foods as a Quality and Food Safety Manager, where she oversaw quality and food safety programs, and ensured regulatory compliance for a large cake manufacturing facility.
In her new role, Gary will be responsible for creating and managing the outreach and educational efforts for Safe Produce Indiana, a partnership fueled by the Food Safety Modernization Act’s Produce Safety Rule. Working with Purdue Extension and the Indiana State Department of Health, she will help educate producers on the rule’s requirements and will conduct On Farm Readiness Reviews to ensure compliance.
“I’m looking forward to meeting and educating farmers on FSMA and its regulations,” Gary said. “I want to ensure all farmers understand the produce rule and are prepared for inspection and regulation.”
Annette grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and became interested in agriculture by participating in her school’s horticulture program. In 2018, she graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a bachelor’s degree in Crop Science. Soon after, she was hired by Corteva Agriscience as a research associate, working on bacterial strain engineering. There, she completed DNA transformation procedures and helped contribute to the crop protection program.
At ISDA, she will serve as the department’s point of contact on soil health matters and will work with the agriculture industry to develop programs, such as INfield Advantage, that assist farmers in managing their soil and water resources. She will also oversee the Red Gold Conservation Stewardship Award, and will work with Indiana’s farmers and conservation partners to improve Indiana’s overall soil health strategy.
“I have a passion for improving the future of agriculture, and I’m excited to show farmers additional ways they can implement soil conservation on their farms,” Manusevich said. “I look forward to further developing our existing soil health programs as well as exploring the potential to add new ones.”
Visit www.isda.in.gov to learn more about the Indiana State Department of Agriculture.
