A new peer-reviewed article, Agricultural Water Use in U.S. Fresh Produce Growing Operations – Part III: Setting the Foundation for Practical Agricultural Water Testing, examines how produce growers can use water sampling and microbial testing to strengthen risk-based agricultural water management.

This article, third in a series, recaps current agricultural water quality guidelines and standards; examines studies investigating sampling strategies, including location, frequency, timing and sample volume; and provides an overview of commonly used microbial detection and quantification methods for assessing the microbial quality of agricultural water.

Although the FDA’s revised Produce Safety Rule shifted from mandatory preharvest water testing to systems-based agricultural water assessments, testing remains an important monitoring and verification tool.  It also emphasizes that water quality can vary significantly based on the source, conveyance system, season, weather, nearby activities and sampling and analytical methods used.

For growers, the findings reinforce the importance of developing strategies tailored to their commodities, regions, operations and water systems. Historical and site-specific data can help establish normal water-quality patterns, identify deviations and guide preventive or corrective actions. As the produce industry navigates increasing food safety expectations and emerging pathogens, collaboration among growers, regulators and researchers will be essential to advance water sampling and testing methodologies that balance safety, feasibility and economic viability.

This article is published in the September/October 2026 issue of Food Protection Trends. It was co-authored by members of the Western Growers Science team and other collaborators.

To access the full article, click here.