Bulletin #1064

Standard Operating Procedures

S
tandard Operating Procedures, or SOPs, not having to spend as much time training or
are documents that outline how to correcting mistakes.
complete a task. An SOP doesn’t need to
be complicated—in fact, it should be as concise Writing an SOP should start with either doing a
as possible and provide step-by-step task yourself, or watching somebody else do it,
instructions for a specific task. and writing down all of the steps that lead to
the completion of the task. Note which tools
While the thought of developing standard and materials are necessary for the job, and if
operating procedures (SOPs) for your farm may there are tricks that you use to make the job
seem daunting, or simply like a bureaucratic easier. Ask anyone who routinely performs the
waste of time, these standardized protocols are task to weigh in on whether you’ve captured
simply a way to capture routine farm processes the process accurately and included important
and ensure that they happen the same way each details or efficiencies – workers will be less
time. SOPs come up a lot when talking about likely to follow SOPs if they know a different
produce safety and complying with the way to complete a task that’s better for them
sanitation standards of the Food Safety and if they weren’t involved in the process of
Modernization Act (FSMA’s) Produce Rule or writing it.
3rd-party food safety audits, but their
usefulness goes well beyond jumping through What tasks should SOPs be created for?
food safety hoops. A well-written SOP can help A good rule of thumb is if a task needs to be
you save time, train workers, manage pests, done more than twice – whether twice a week
and put out a more consistent product. or twice a year—you should have an SOP for it.
SOPs are useful when it is important that a task
How to develop an SOP be completed in the same way every time, or
Accurately capturing all of the steps to even a for tasks that are complex or involve many
simple process does require an investment of steps that should be done in order.
time. These steps are often stored only in a They are useful where there is high worker
farmer’s head and might have evolved over a turnover and a frequent need for retraining, or
long period of time. You might not realize all of if different employees are responsible for
the steps that go into a certain task or the best conducting trainings at different times. It is
way to convey that information to someone confusing for a trainee to learn Mary’s way one
else. Investing time up front will be made up by day and Jim’s the next—processes and
standards of completion should be agreed upon • Materials—what specific items are needed
ahead of time and adhered to. SOPs, in to complete the task?
combination with recordkeeping, are also • Procedure—what are the steps to the task,
important for showing that you are meeting in order?
regulatory requirements. For example, FSMA • Verification/documentation—how will you
requires that covered farms avoid verify that the procedure was completed
contamination of produce from dripping correctly and what records will you keep?
condensation in coolers, which seems like a • Date
daunting requirement to prove that you’re • Name(s) of SOP Writer(s)
meeting. With an SOP regarding how to
effectively clean your cooler and how often to
do so, and a recordkeeping log, you can easily A template for writing an SOP online can be
show that any condensation forming in your found at at the end of this document.
cooler is unlikely to carry food-borne
pathogens.
Characteristics of good SOPs:
Examples of tasks that may warrant a written
SOP: • Easy and rapidly accessible to
employees. Keep SOPs posted at eye level
• Leafy greens washing, drying and packing in the relevant area. Laminating SOPs or
• Tote washing and sanitizing keeping them in plastic sheet covers is often
• Monitoring and changing sanitizers in wash helpful. Having SOPs readily accessible also
water makes it easier to revise them on the spot
• Moving animals when procedures change. Place hard copies
• Water sampling of SOPs in a notebook as a reference. In
• Greenhouse seeding addition, save electronic versions of each SOP.
• Mixing and applying pesticides • Able to be followed by anyone with basic
• Sprayer calibration knowledge. A good way to test this is to
• Monitoring irrigation equipment
watch someone who is unfamiliar with the
• Any task that you want done efficiently and
consistently task try to complete the task correctly using
• crop harvesting the SOP.
• animal feeding • Written using short, direct sentences and
• barn clean up simple words wherever possible. Bulleted
• calf care
or numbered lists are usually good.
• milking set
• milking • Use diagrams and pictures wherever
• post milking sanitation appropriate. For example, diagrams of
where tools/materials belong, or pictures of
A general format for an SOP might consist of how something should look at a certain step
the following parts:
in the process.
• Title • Separate general information from
• Objective/purpose—what task are you instructions.
accomplishing and why? • Don’t micromanage. Include any details
• Scope—where and to whom does the SOP that are essential and that must be
apply?
• Responsibility—who is responsible for completed in the same way by any worker.
making sure the task is completed? Leave out unessential details.
Some examples of SOPs can be found in the Resources
Resources section at the end of this fact sheet.
The Cornell GAPs program has good examples
It’s helpful to look at existing SOPs or even use of SOPs relevant to the major food safety risk
them as a starting point for your own, but areas: https://gaps.cornell.edu/educational-
remember to tailor them to your own farm so materials/decision-trees/log-sheets-sops.
that your final SOPs accurately reflect your
https://gaps.cornell.edu/educational-
actual processes.
materials/decision-trees/log-sheets-sops/
SOPs and Food Safety
The University of Idaho has SOPs for all of the
SOPs are particularly useful where there is a
field procedures at their research farm to
high risk for mistakes or contamination. This is
prevent the spread of a particularly noxious
why they feature so prominently in farm food
weed: http://ucanr.edu/sites/placernevadasm
safety plans. SOPs also provide a way to show
allfarms/files/140712.pdf
that you have procedures in place to avoid
produce contamination as required by FSMA.
North Carolina Extension Produce
The FMSA Produce Rule requires farms to
Safety: Standard Operating Procedures
avoid contamination of produce on many
fronts, but doesn’t always specify how a farm https://ncfreshproducesafety.ces.ncsu.edu/ncfres
should do so. With SOPs and recordkeeping, hproducesafety-gaps-standard-operating-
you can show that you’ve established procedures/
procedures to avoid produce contamination
and that you are following those procedures. Penn State Extension - Standard Operating
Procedures: A Writing Guide
SOPs can be especially helpful for food safety https://extension.psu.edu/standard-operating-
because while you can see an unorganized procedures-a-writing-guide
washroom or manure caked onto tractor tires,
you generally cannot see contamination itself. University of California Extension - Standard
An organized washroom and apparently clean Operating Procedures
tractor doesn’t necessarily mean that your https://ucanr.edu/sites/placernevadasmallfarms/
produce is safe from contamination. With a Farm_Business_Planning/FBP_Risk_Managem
good SOPs that address things like standing ent/Risk_Management/SOP/
water, cleaning and sanitizing food contact
surfaces, and keeping totes and tools off of the
floor and protected from pests, you can have
peace of mind that you’ve thought through
common routes of contamination and
established processes to avoid that – even if you
can’t see the contamination you’re trying to avoid.

Information in this publication is provided purely for educational purposes. No responsibility is assumed for any problems associated with the
use of products or services mentioned. No endorsement of products or companies is intended, nor is criticism of unnamed products or
companies implied.
© 2020
Call 800.287.0274 (in Maine), or 207.581.3188, for information on publications and program offerings from University of Maine
Cooperative Extension, or visit extension.umaine.edu

The University of Maine is an EEO/AA employer, and does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation,
transgender status, gender expression, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, genetic information or veteran’s status in
employment, education, and all other programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-
discrimination policies: of Equal Opportunity, 101 North Stevens Hall, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5754, 207.581.1226, TTY 711
(Maine Relay System).
 Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Template
Use this template to establish SOPs for specific farm tasks or chores. An SOP is a good idea for any task or
chore that is to be accomplished more than once. Consider that farm tasks may take place in the office, in a
processing facility, in the barn, in the field, or off the farm.

Name of specific task or chore.

Objective/purpose—Briefly describe why the task is accomplished (the purpose of the task).

Scope—Where and to whom does the SOP apply?

Responsibility—Who is responsible for making sure the task is completed? Proper names can be used for
this section. However, the worker’s title such a crew chief, foreman, or driver might be more useful. Consider
including the skill level necessary of the worker.

Materials—What specific items (tools, equipment, instruments, supplies, etc.) are needed to complete the task?
Procedure—What are the steps to the task, in order (from start to finish)? Include preparation steps. Use
short, direct sentences and simple words wherever possible. Bulleted or numbered lists are usually good.

Verification/documentation—How will you verify that the procedure was completed correctly and what
records will you keep?

Date

SOP Writer (name)

Adapted with permission from UMASS Amherst – “Standard Operating Procedures” By Lisa McKeag, UMass Extension Vegetable
Program, Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment and Genevieve Higgins, UMass Extension Vegetable Program, Center for
Agriculture, Food and the Environment

The University of Maine is an EEO/AA employer, and does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender
expression, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, genetic information or veteran’s status in employment, education, and all other programs and activities. The
following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Director of Equal Opportunity, 101 North Stevens Hall, University of Maine,
Orono, ME 04469-5754, 207.581.1226, TTY 711 (Maine Relay System).