Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Grower's Association

News & Issues

 

Bill Brim Testimony

September 30, 2009 – 11:52 pm |  Filed Under: 
Testimony by Bill Brim National Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement Hearings September 30 – October 1, 2009 Jacksonville, FL My name is Bill Brim.  I am the co-owner of Lewis Taylor Farms and Quality Produce, Inc., a farm and shipping operation in Tifton, Georgia.  The farm was originally established as a vegetable seedling operation by my father-in-law in the 1940’s.  Today we still grow vegetable seedlings, approximately 115 million vegetable transplants and 18 million pine seedlings however, our operations have expanded to also include 4500 acres of mixed vegetables.  Included in the 4500 vegetable acres are 120 acres of cabbage and
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Testimony from Kent Hamilton

September 30, 2009 – 11:42 am |  Filed Under: 
Testimony by Kent Hamilton National Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement Hearings September 30 – October 1, 2009 Jacksonville, FL Hello, thank you for the opportunity to present testimony today.  My name is Kent Hamilton. I operate Hamilton Growers and Southern Valley Produce in Georgia.  Our operations farm many acres of mixed vegetables including 200 acres of cabbage that would be covered under this agreement.  In Mexico we also grow many acres.  All of our domestic produce is handled, packed and shipped from our Southern Valley Produce facility in Norman Park, Georgia.  According to SBA classifications I would be a large grower
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Testimony from Charles Hall

September 30, 2009 – 11:40 am |  Filed Under: 
Testimony for the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association Presented by Charles T. Hall, Jr., Executive Director Before the Agricultural Marketing Service, US Department of Agriculture DOCKET No. FV09-970-1 Leafy Green Vegetables Handled in the US September 30, 2009 My name is Charles Hall, Executive Director of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association.  The Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association represents the interests of growers, shippers, handlers and allied companies involved in the production and distribution of fruits and vegetables grown in Georgia.  In 2008, fruit and vegetable production in Georgia covered over 175,000 acres of land and had
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Bo Herndon Testimony

September 30, 2009 – 11:29 am |  Filed Under: 
Testimony for L. G. ‘Bo’ Herndon Before the Agricultural Marketing Service, US Dept of Agriculture Docket No. FV09-970-1 Leafy Green Vegetables Handled in the US September 30, 2009 My name is L.G. ‘Bo’ Herndon. I currently serve as President of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association.  I am a producer/packer/shipper of ???XX acres of fresh produce in Lyons, Georgia, including Vidalia onions, sweet corn and ??xx acres of leafy greens.  According to SBA business definitions my total operation would be classified as a large grower but my leafy greens operation would be considered a small grower.  I am classified
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Beth Bland Testimony

September 30, 2009 – 11:26 am |  Filed Under: 
Testimony of Beth Bland Agricultural Marketing Service, US Dept of Agriculture Docket No. FV09-970-1 Leafy Green Vegetables Handled in the US September 30, 2009 Jacksonville, FL Hello. My name is Beth Bland and I am the Food Safety Program Coordinator with the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association. About 10 years ago, Georgia producers came to our Association asking for help understanding the, then, new food safety guidance, programs and accompanying 3rd-party audits. They were also asking for help to alleviate the costs of implementing those programs and audits. As a result, the Georgia Good Agricultural Practices Food Safety Program
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GFVGA Statement August 2009

August 19, 2009 – 10:59 am |  Filed Under: 
August 19, 2009 Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulator Public Docket (7502P) Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-001 Subject: Re-registration of fomesafen (Docket # EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0239) Current proposed US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Re-Registration regulations for fomesafen will restrict vegetable production in Georgia. These regulations would eliminate the most effective tool to manage Palmer amaranth and morningglory in 67% of Georgia’s snap bean acreage (farm gate value of $22.6 million). These regulations will also eliminate the benefits of fomesafen currently being developed for fruiting vegetables and cucurbits (farm gate value exceeding $387 million), including its role as
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