Spotlight Stories

Joining Western Growers in its Washington, D.C., office is Dennis Nuxoll, newly appointed vice president of federal government affairs. A Capitol Hill veteran, Nuxoll will use his previous experience as senior director of federal policy at the American Farmland Trust and extensive knowledge of federal affairs to advocate on behalf of California and Arizona growers, shippers and handlers on issues that affect their profitability and well-being. He will begin work March 5.

U.S. and South Korean negotiators, following intense consultations over President’s Day weekend, agreed on March 15 as the start date for the U.S-Korea Free Trade Agreement. With the agreement, nearly two-thirds of U.S. exports of agricultural products to Korea will become duty free. Currently, cherries, asparagus, pistachios and almonds face tariffs of 24, 27, 30 and 8 percent respectively. Additionally, the agreement also eliminates tariffs on eggplant, celery, cucumbers, spinach and processed tomatoes, among others.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration and its Wage and Hour Division published a final rule on the H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker program. The rule, published in the Feb. 21 edition of the Federal Register, includes changes to several aspects of the program which will bring the program more in line with the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program.

Western Growers’ Greg Nelson will speak at the America Trades Produce Conference in Tubac, Ariz., at a March 23 session on insurance needs in an era of food safety recalls and multimillion dollar lawsuits. Join Nelson at the 1:30 p.m. session as he helps growers, packers and shippers determine how much insurance is enough to best protect businesses and bottom lines. Nelson will join speakers Will Steele of Frontera Produce, Dan Coogan of Coogan & Martin, P.C. and Robert Garza of the McAfee Agency for the session. The event is put on by the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas. Register online.

If you’ve ever wondered how social media can help your farm business, a series of face-to-face training sessions starting this month could help you. The KnowACaliforniaFarmer.com effort is working to help farmers and ranchers learn how to use social media to better communicate with consumers and other audiences. The effort was launched by the California Agricultural Communications Coalition, a group of more than 200 commodity organizations across California, including Western Growers.

Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources voted to pass the San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability Act (H.R. 1837), legislation introduced last May by Representatives Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Devin Nunes (R-CA) and Jeff Denham (R-CA).

Face-to-face workshops designed to help Western Growers members meet the requirements of the new Food Safety Modernization Act, prepare an adequate food safety program, conduct a food safety recall and more are coming to a town near you. Due to a scheduling conflict in Visalia, WG has changed the dates and times for the Visalia and Bakersfield events. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

The California Agricultural Labor Relations Board adopted proposed regulations relating to union elections for agricultural operations. The proposed regulations implement Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg-authored Senate Bill 126, a compromise farm worker bill penned after Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed card check legislation last June. If the regulations are approved in the administrative process as expected, they will go into effect in March. Western Growers and 21 other organizations submitted comments to the board during its deliberations.

The Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs” program will feature Western Growers’ member Gills Onions on its program tonight at 6 p.m. Pacific and 9 p.m. Eastern time. Host Mike Rowe joined Gills Onions to do everything from helping at the company’s onion waste-to-energy biodigestor and loading onions in a bin dumper to driving a forklift and working on the onion inspection line. Rowe even fried onion rings with co-owner Steve Gill, according to The Packer. Check out a sneak-peak of the episode online.

President Obama delivered his 2013 fiscal year budget proposal to Congress on Monday. The president’s budget proposal recommends $32 billion in cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture over the next decade in mandatory program spending primarily in the commodity program, crops insurance subsidies and conservation programs. The budget also recommends $23 billion in discretionary spending for USDA, down nearly 3 percent from the amount appropriated for the current fiscal year.