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02/22/12Jenkins Hill II● A flurry of meetings will be held in Washington, D.C., the week of March 12. I will travel back then to attend gatherings of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance; the Government Relations Council of the United Fresh Produce Association; the Minor Crop Farmer Alliance; and, finally, the Crop Protection Coalition. This heaped-up pile of meetings is the result of coordination among the various chairmen of these groups, including me, who seek to avoid duplicate travel and attendant expenses of the involved people, many of whom routinely fly to the Capital for such meetings from sites ranging from Florida to the Pacific coast. ●This week, I received word from the federal government that I have been approved for a “secret" security clearance, such being necessary for... Posted at 08:25 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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02/02/12Jenkins Hill● After two trips to Washington, D.C., in January, I am even more convinced that between a tight political calendar, partisan political acrimony, and financial chaos, almost nothing of serious policy substance will be accomplished by Congress prior to this fall’s general election. ● Suzanne Bonamici (Democrat) became the latest member of the Pacific Northwest’s congressional delegation by decisively beating her Republican challenger in a special election held on Tuesday in Oregon’s 1st District. Ms. Bonamici, an attorney and state senator, will replace David Wu (Democrat), who retired from the House of Representatives last August under a dark cloud of personal misconduct. ● The Washington State Society will hold a Congressional Reception on... Posted at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
01/10/12The Capital● Yesterday, Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “Blueprint for Stronger Service.” The core of this cost-cutting effort is the closure of some 259 domestic offices, laboratories, and other facilities, as well as seven foreign offices. The total cost savings are estimated by USDA to be $150 million annually. A quick scan of the closures discloses no significant adverse impacts for our tree fruit industry. Only two Foreign Agricultural Service offices are slated to shut their doors: Stockholm, Sweden, and Damascus, Syria. ● USDA is taking longer and longer to name members to its many citizen advisory committees. At bottom, these delays are usually cases—not of dropping... |
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01/06/12Senator Cantwell● Yesterday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (Democrat, Washington) visited Yakima, with one of her stops being at the Yakima Valley SunDome for the 2012 Ag Expo. That afternoon, I joined a few invited local farmers and agricultural association representatives and met with the senator in the midst of this sparsely attended trade show. With the senator, those of us from the fruit industry stressed the need for federal help with harvest labor, irrigation water, and export markets. For the latter, we highlighted (1) the economic value of U.S. Department of Agriculture's Market Access Program, and (2) our thanks to her for votes in favor of Free Trade Agreements with Korea, Colombia, and Panama. ● Senator Cantwell, in her second full term of office, is the only senator in... |
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01/03/12New Districts● Reapportionment for federal elections based on the 2010 census will have its greatest impact in the Pacific Northwest within Washington State. Neither Idaho nor Oregon picked up a new congressional seat due to population growth, while Washington did. A new 10th District requires its own territory, which forces the existing nine districts in Washington into new political configurations. A final plan for the 2012 election boundaries was voted on New Year’s Day by the Washington State Redistricting Commission: this plan now goes to the legislature in Olympia, which is expected to accept it. What does this mean for the tree fruit industry? Currently almost all tree fruit production is concentrated in the 4th and 5th Districts, now held respectively by Representatives... |
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12/20/11Apple Pie● The Food Safety Modernization Act calls for the Food and Drug Administration to issue a fresh produce safety rule by January 4, 2012. We are now gearing up to provide a thoughtful industry response to what is likely to be a lengthy and complicated document.● Tom Stenzel, president of the United Fresh Produce Association, has informed us that FDA Deputy Commissioner Mike Taylor plans to be in San Diego on January 25 to brief participants at United’s winter leadership meetings on the proposed produce safety regulation. Debbie Carter, the Northwest Horticultural Council’s technical issues manager, and I plan to be in San Diego in late January for United’s meetings: she is a member of United’s Food Safety & Technology Council, while I serve on its... |
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12/13/11FDA● Last week, I spent time in Wenatchee with Dr. Jim Gorny and Bob Keeney, both from Washington, D.C., and speakers at the annual meeting of the Washington State Horticultural Association. Mr. Keeney directs fruit and vegetable programs at USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, while Dr. Gorny is a key member of the produce food safety team at FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Coincidently, earlier in their careers, but at separate times, both worked on the staff of the United Fresh Produce Association, where I first became friends with each of them. ● The Food and Drug Administration has submitted its proposed rule for the safe production and harvesting of fruits and vegetables to other agencies of the federal government for... |
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11/30/11Uncool● Brianne Miller has jumped to the other side of Capitol Hill and is currently employed by Senator James E. Risch (R/Idaho). The former legislative director for Congressman Doc Hastings (R/Washington), Ms. Miller is now assigned to handle energy and judiciary issues for Senator Risch. ● COOL is an acronym that has been off our policy screen since its adoption as federal policy within the 2008 Farm Bill. “Country of Origin Labeling” at retail was a hot issue in the decade preceding the current Farm Bill’s enactment, both for the fresh produce and beef industries. On one side were domestic fruit and vegetable growers, cattlemen, and consumer groups; on the other side major grocery store chains and food importers. In November a ruling came... |
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11/21/11Casino Jack and the JSC● The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (JSC), co-chaired by Senator Patty Murray (D/Washington) and Representative Jeb Hensarling (R/Texas), has admitted failure this afternoon. ● Late last week, to much fanfare, the leaders of the House and Senate agriculture committees announced agreement on a new multi-year Farm Bill package, highly favorable to specialty crops, that was to be inserted in the overall budget package to be approved by the JSC prior to Thanksgiving Day. The future of this stealth Farm Bill now is, to say the least, murky. My bet is that it is dead as a stand-alone proposal. ● Blame for the failure of the JSC is now in full bloom and the blighted flowers are being laid on various political doorsteps. The GOP blames free-spending Democrats,... |
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10/26/11Occupy Washington, D.C.● After arriving in the nation’s capital on Monday, the 17th, for a meeting later in the week of the Executive Committee of the National Council of Agricultural Employers, I walked past McPherson Square near the White House, where the “Occupy D.C.” protest originated. It was a nice, sunny day and at least a dozen of the protesters took advantage of the weather to engage in yoga exercises. Maybe a hundred in total were camped out in the city square. This provided an interesting contrast to the day before, a Sunday, when I was in Atlanta for the Produce Marketing Association’s convention. That day I was caught up in the crowd leaving the nearby football stadium, where 69,047 had watched the Atlantic Falcons play. ● Dennis Cardoza (D), a five-term member... |
