April 2020 - 31

INDUSTRY NEWS
International Strawberry
Symposium called off
The International Strawberry
Symposium 2020 that was scheduled
to take place in Rimini, Italy, on May6,
2020, has been postponed.
The following announcement
came from the event's organizers on
March 7:
" This is to inform that due to the
spread of COVID-19 in Italy and
other EU and non EU countries,
yesterday we took the dolorous
decision to postpone the ISS2020
symposium. Having it in May 2020
it would mean no people attending
and risk for the participants. Soon it
will be announced the new program
for May 2021. At that time hopefully
all should be OK and we will be able
to show as programmed the Italian
strawberry production industry. "
" All abstracts and registrations
will be maintained until then.
A reimbursement policy will
be announced for registered
people that prefer to cancel
the participation for next year
event. Thanks a lot for your
understanding and collaboration. "
California grower
fined for pesticides
The the California Department
of Pesticide Regulation (DPR)
announced March 4 it has fined a
Santa Barbara County strawberry
grower $15,000 after an illegal
pesticide was detected on his crop.
agricultural commissioner. State
and federal law prohibits the use
of this pesticide on strawberries.
The investigation led to Barrera's
7.5-acre strawberry field in Santa
Maria where methomyl was
detected. As a result, DPR ordered
the destruction of four tons of
tainted strawberries that could have
otherwise been sold to consumers,
and the Santa Barbara CAC ordered
that no more strawberries could be
harvested from this field.
Growers on a field adjacent to
Barrera's, MGA Farms, operated
by Armando Barragan and Martin
Barragan, were also fined a total
of $5,000 for pesticide violations.
DPR's investigation found that the
three growers unlawfully packed,
shipped and sold produce containing
pesticide residue in excess of the
permissible level.
Florida growers
talk Mexico trade
Florida growers of fresh fruits and
vegetables will tell U.S. trade officials
about the harm they have suffered
from Mexico's
unfair trade
practices over the
past two decades.
Representatives
from the Office
of the U.S. Trade
The grower, Santos Barrera, of
Santa Maria, was also prevented
from further harvesting his
strawberry crop for three months
while an investigation occurred.
The enforcement action comes
after DPR's Residue Monitoring
Program detected the pesticide
methomyl during a routine
inspection at a grocery store
in Fresno County in September
2019. Methomyl is a restricted
material that can only be used
on crops listed on the label and
with a permit issued by the county
Representative and the departments
of Agriculture and Commerce
will hold an April 7 hearing in
Plant City to hear firsthand from
growers and seek feedback on
how the administration can
remedy the harm.
Florida farmers will testify about
the consequences of cheap Mexican
produce pouring into the United
States during Florida's winter
growing season.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert
Lighthizer in January told Florida's
congressional delegation that his
office was " fully committed " to
addressing the issue.
Mike Joyner, president of
the Florida Fruit & Vegetable
Association, said, " We're grateful
that Ambassador Lighthizer
has made a strong personal
commitment to Florida's
delegation to pursue trade
recourse that will deliver effective,
timely relief for our industry. This
is a positive development in our
ongoing efforts to secure trade
relief. The administration clearly
has heard our concerns. Florida
growers are buried in volume and
crushed by price. "
The Florida Fruit & Vegetable
Association represents producers of
a broad range of crops: vegetables,
citrus, berries, tropical fruit, sod,
sugarcane, tree crops and more. It
has served Florida's specialty crop
industry for more than 75 years.
Conference a success
for Colorado growers
More than 300 growers, allied
industry companies, produce buyers
and other produce enthusiasts
gathered Feb. 25-26 in Denver for
the Colorado Fruit & Vegetable
Growers Association (CFVGA) sixth
Annual Conference.
safe and secure importation of
agricultural goods into the U.S. On a
typical day, inspectors process more
than 1 million passengers and 78,000
truck, rail and sea containers carrying
goods worth approximately $7.2
billion. According to CBP estimates,
there is a shortage of nearly 700
inspectors across the country.
The Protecting America's
Food & Agriculture Act of 2019
authorizes the annual hiring of 240
agricultural specialists a year until
the workforce shortage is filled,
and 200 agricultural technicians a
year to carry out administrative and
support functions.
Newly elected to the CFVGA
Board of Directors were David
Harold, Tuxedo Corn Co., Olathe;
and Dave Maynard, FreshPack (soon
to operate under the name What
Chefs Want), Denver. Re-elected
to the board were Bruce Talbott,
Talbott's Mountain Gold, Palisade;
and Grant Mattive, Worley Family
Farms, Monte Vista. Each was
elected to a three-year term.
Adrian B. Card, Colorado
State University Boulder County
Extension agent and CFVGA
founding board member, was
honored as the CFVGA Roberts
Sakata 2019 Member of the Year.
There was a full schedule of
workshops, including sessions on
agricultural labor, organic rule
changes, produce pricing strategies,
new market opportunities,
biological pest control, produce
safety and more.
" We were pleased to see a robust
representation of growers of all
scales and types of production
at conference, " said Marilyn Bay
Drake, CFVGA executive director.
The CFVGA is comprised of about
250 members, including produce
operations of all sizes and types of
production throughout the state,
as well as representatives of allied
industries.
Shortage of border
inspectors addressed
President Donald Trump has signed
into law bipartisan legislation to
address the shortage of agricultural
inspectors who protect the nation's
food supply and agricultural industry
at the border.
According to its supporters,
the Protecting America's Food &
Agriculture Act of 2019 ensures the
safe and secure trade of agricultural
goods across our nation's borders by
authorizing U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) to hire additional
inspectors, support staff and K-9
teams to fully staff America's airports,
seaports and land ports of entry.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture
and CBP work together to facilitate
The bill also authorizes the training
and assignment of 20 new K-9 teams
a year, which have proven valuable
in detecting illicit fruits, vegetables
and animal products that may have
otherwise been missed in initial
inspections. Finally, the bill authorizes
supplemental appropriations each
year to pay for the activities of the
agriculture specialists, technicians
and K-9 teams.
Farm workforce
legislation sought
Potato and apple industry leaders
and several members of the U.S
House of Representatives came
together outside the Capitol Building
Feb. 26 to implore the Senate to pass
an agriculture labor reform bill.
In December, the House passed
the Farm Workforce Modernization
Act by a 260-165 vote. The bill's
success in the House was credited
to the bipartisan efforts of Reps.
Zoe Lofgren, D-California, Dan
Newhouse, R-Washington and Mike
Simpson, R-Idaho.
Those three were joined by fellow
House members Doug LaMalfa,
R-California, Mario Diaz-Balart,
R-Florida, and Jimmy Panetta,
D-California, as well as the staff and
executive committee of the National
Potato Council (NPC), U.S. Apple
Association President & CEO Jim
Bair and National Council of Farmer
Cooperatives President Chuck Conner
at the press conference.
" It's time for the Senate to
perfect it and get it done, " said
Newhouse, who added that
inadequate labor is the biggest
issue facing U.S. farmers today.
Speaking on behalf of the potato
industry were NPC CEO Kam Quarles,
NPC President Britt Raybould and
NPC Vice President of Legislative and
Governmental Affairs R.J. Andrus.
VGN | APRIL 2020 | 31
April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2020
