Writer: Jonathan R. Veit, 706/542-2524, veit@cviog.uga.edu

Contact: Maegan Rudd, 706/542-2738 rudd@cviog.uga.edu

Colquitt County Extension Coordinator Glenn Beard Receives UGA Hill Award for Distinguished Achievement

Athens, Ga. – At a recent awards ceremony at the University of Georgia, Glenn H. Beard, county extension coordinator for Colquitt County, received the Walter Barnard Hill Award for Distinguished Achievement in Public Service and Outreach for his almost 30 years of service to the advancement of Georgia agriculture through the UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences cooperative extension program.

For the past 17 years, Beard has served as extension agent in Colquitt County, which has the largest acreage of commercial vegetables in Georgia and is the largest producer of greenhouse vegetable transplants in the southeastern United States, exceeding $400 million in annual net value.

“Glenn’s service to agricultural communities in Georgia has had a major impact in the state and beyond. He has earned a national reputation for his expertise in recognizing and identifying vegetable diseases and has become a resource for farmers and county agents across the Southeast,” said Jennifer Frum, UGA’s Vice President for Public Service and Outreach.

Beard is the author of Diseases and Conditions of Vegetables in Georgia: A Pictorial Dictionary. He has received international recognition for his work in China teaching concepts such as soil fertility, pH, and crop rotation to local farmers.

A maximum of five Hill Awards are presented annually by UGA’s Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach. Each recipient is judged to have made contributions to the improvement of the quality of life in Georgia or elsewhere of an order that greatly exceeds the normal accomplishments of a productive faculty member.

Beard was presented with the award during the 21st Annual Public Service and Outreach Meeting and Awards Luncheon.

Lessons Learned from the Colorado Outbreak

May 23, 2012

9:00 am – 1:00 pm

(Lunch will be provided)

Tift County Extension Office

1468 Carpenter Road South

Tifton, GA

No matter the size of your operation, cantaloupe producers have felt the devastating market hit with food born illness outbreaks across the nation in recent months and years. The Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association is actively participating in industry initiatives to find and implement new research, pathogen detection methods, and even simply improve best management practices for cantaloupe growers.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012, GFVGA is hosting a half-day workshop for cantaloupe growers, shippers, and packers to learn about the initiatives being taken by the U.S. cantaloupe industry, lessons we can learn from the 2011 Colorado outbreak, as well as practical measures that can to help reduce the risk of potential food borne illnesses.

Click here to register for the event.

The agenda for the day is:

9:00 a.m.       Arrival – coffee, etc

9:30 a.m.       Intro and Welcome

Beth Oleson, GFVGA

9:35 a.m.       Cantaloupe Update Guidelines

Martha Roberts, University of Florida

10:00 a.m.     Intro to Good Agriculture Practices for Cantaloupe

Keith Schneider, FSHN, University of Florida

10:30 a.m.     What Happened in Colorado? Lessons we can learn

Michelle Danyluk, Citrus Research and Education Center

11:30 a.m.     Questions/Answers – Networking

Beth Oleson, GFVGA

Lunch – sponsored by Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association

1:00 p.m.       Adjourn

For more information, contact Beth Oleson at bbland@asginfo.net. For the purpose of our lunch count, please call 1-877-994-3842 or email  info@gfvga.org to let us know how many from your organization will be attending.

Click here to register for the event.

GFVGA President Dick Minor interviewed with National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation program Monday, April 30 about the intended and unintended effects of state immigration laws.

Interviewer Neal Conan began the program asking Minor about what had been happening in the agriculture industry since Georgia’s immigration law took effect in July 2011.

Minor noted that the effects of that legislation began as early mid-April 2011 when Georgia’s session came to a close.  “There was quite a bit of stir about it on the media,” he said. “It had an immediate impact of workers not wanting to come to Georgia out of fear of being targeted for immigration.”

According to a study done by the University of Georgia, Minor reported that that spring harvest suffered a loss of nearly 40 percent in labor—a deficit that created a $390 million loss in economic activity across the state of Georgia.

The radio host wondered why Minor and farmers don’t try to encourage domestic labor by raising their wage rate.  Minor pointed out that the current perceptions of laborers getting paid a low wage rate is simply a “fallacy.”

Harvest crews in the field perform specialized and highly skilled work and are paid in most cases a piece rate.  “So people harvesting watermelons may not be able to pick peaches, and people picking blueberries may not be able to pick peppers,” He said. “You’ve got to be in really good physical shape. You’ve got to know the process of harvesting crops.”

The more proficient these crews become harvesting a particular crop, the higher their wages climb. This rate, according to Minor, can range from $15 to $20 an hour.

To listen to the full interview or read the transcript, click here.  For more information about legislation specific to the agriculture industry, visit our website, www.gfvga.org or call Charles Hall at 706-845-8200.

The Senate Agriculture Committee has passed their version of the 2012 Farm Bill. For Specialty Crops there were some key improvements for specialty crops from the previous Farm Bill.

The Bill includes the following key provisions:

• Specialty Crop Block Grants funded at $70 million per year (increase of $142 million over 10 years)
• Specialty Crop Research Initiative funded at $25 million in FY13; $30 million in FY14-15; $65 million in FY16; $50 million in FY17 (increase of $416 million over 10 years)
• Plant Pest and Disease Program funded at $60 million in FY13-16 and $65 million in FY17 (increase of $109 million over 10 years)
• Market Access Program and Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops fully funded at 2008 Farm Bill levels ($200 million for MAP and $9 million in TASC)
• Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program fully funded at 2008 Farm Bill levels ($150 million per year)
• Hunger-Free Communities Grant Program for fruit and vegetable SNAP incentives (new funding at $100 million over 5 years)
• Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program (new funding at $100 million over 5 years)
• Section 32 specialty crop purchases funded at 2008 Farm Bill levels ($406 million per year baseline)
• DoD Fresh program fully funded at $50 million per year consistent with 2008 levels ($50 million per year)

While this is just the beginning of a long and difficult Farm Bill process, it is extremely important that the Senate Agriculture Committee has established an important marker for specialty crops. The committee heard and supported the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance (GFVGA serves on the Steering Committee) call for continuing to build on the foundation that was set in the 2008 Farm Bill.

In total approximately $1 billion in new mandatory funding was targeted to programs that will help specialty crop producers in Georgia and across the country.  This is in addition to the already $3 billion that was invested in the 2008 Farm Bill.

It is unclear when the Senate may take up the Farm Bill on the Senate floor.  Bottom line, the sooner the Senate completes their work on their version of the Farm Bill the more pressure the House will face to act on the Farm Bill.

Should you have any questions or need further information, please feel free to contact Charles Hall at chall@asginfo.net, or call the GFVGA office at 1-877-99GFVGA.

Committee review and debate will begin on Wednesday, April 25 at 9:00 AM. Listed below are some of the highlights of the Farm Bill proposal that affect our growers; however, there are several key elements yet to be reviewed and analyzed by the Alliance. We will keep you informed as more information is available to be shared.

ACTION ITEM – IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED

GFVGA asks you to make contact (via fax, email or call) with Senator Saxby Chambliss (GA), and other US Senators that serve on the Senate Agriculture Committee, and ask them to support the Specialty Crop provisions that have been included in the committee proposal. A sample letter is below the highlights.

Highlights of the released legislative language for the 2012 Farm Bill:

Block Grants:

• $70 million per year which expands the baseline by $15 million per year
• Base grants for all states goes up from $183,000 to $233,000
• The new distribution formula includes both value and acres for the remaining funding (approx $53 million).
• Multi-State grants are included with ramps up from $1 million in FY13 to $5 million FY17.

Pest and Disease:

• $60 million FY13-16 ($10 million increase)
• $65 million FY 17 (15 million increase)
• Combines Clean Plant Network with pest and disease, language clearly carves out under 10201.

Specialty Crop Research Initiative:

• $25 million FY13; $30 million FY14 and FY15; $65 million FY16 and $50 million for FY17 and establishes permanent baseline
• Have tied SCRI to requiring “consultation” with NAREE Specialty Crop Committee.
• A 10% waiver or matching waiver was not included

Trade:

• MAP fully funded $200 million
• TASC fully funded $9 million

Nutrition:

• Fully funds Fruit and Vegetable Fresh Snack program ($150 million per year)

SAMPLE LETTER TO YOUR SENATOR

(Please reprint adding your personal information and put on your company or individual letterhead)

Dear Senator ___________________________ :

I live in ______city, state________ and __(include info on your farm/business -’ I grow ___ acres of product’ or ‘I supply seeds to our vegetable growers, etc’ I appreciate the support and leadership you have provided to our fruit and vegetable growers over the years.

Under your leadership (this is true with Chambliss – may not be with other senators -edit accordingly) our industry made significant progress in the 2008 Farm Bill on policy affecting specialty crops. The 2008 Farm Bill was a landmark in how the federal government addresses the crops that account for nearly half the total farm gate value in this country.

As you, and your other Senate Agriculture Committee colleagues, begin debate this week on the provisions of the 2012 Farm Bill, it is critical to maintain the historic specialty crop program achievements started in the 2008 Farm Bill. I am very pleased the preliminary 2012 language released by the Agriculture Committee late last week included increased funding for Block Grants, providing base line funding for the SCRI, increased funding for the pest and disease prevention agencies, such as APHIS and full funding of the fresh fruit and vegetable snack program. These programs are critical to helping maintain a competitive specialty crop industry.

Thank you again for all of your hard work and dedicated support of our specialty crop industry.

Sincerely,

YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS

This training course is designed for Individuals seeking a better understanding of GlobalG.A.P. IFA V4 food safety audit requirements for ranch and packing of fresh fruits and vegetables. The course will provide a detailed understanding of the requirements for GlobalG.A.P. IFA V4 implementation and certification.

Content:

In this course an NSF Agriculture technical expert will lead participants through the fundamentals of the GlobalG.A.P. IFA V4 Food Safety Certification Audit. The course will cover in detail the requirements of the standard and its implementation.

To register click here.

Training dates:

• Wenatchee, WA  —– April 19-20, 2012
• Tifton, GA  —– April 24-25, 2012
• Winterhaven, FL —– May 21-22, 2012
• Ann Arbor, MI —– May 24-25, 2012