Seal of disapproval

The plot thickens even before the Jan. 12 meeting that will give California growers and shippers a public airing of the proposed marketing agreement for leafy greens. This update from The Mercury provides a potential villain in state Sen Dean Florez, D-Bakersfield, who complains that the marketing agreement run by an industry-dominated board will be little more than the "fox watching the hen house." Also in the mix is the Center for Science in the Public Interest; a spokeswoman for that group said the marketing agreement can't be judged until specific food safety standards are published, which are not ready yet.

Even with some dissent, I see the marketing agreement moving ahead. There is no plan B that I can see and the industry is acting in good faith to upgrade its food safety practices and respond to consumer concerns.

Here is a consumer press article that reminds the industry why restoring consumer confidence with sound science is so important.

RFID marches on

We've been hearing about RFIDs for a while (the first mention of it was 1999 in The Packer's library). Now, momentum seems to be increasing. Here is news that Martori Farms is teaming with Intelligent Global Pooling Systems (iGPS Company LLC) to test the iGPS system and RFID technology this winter.

A good Web-based resource is PMA's FAQ on RFIDs, at this link.

A Brit questions local food

What some say is the hot social trend for this year - "local food" and the related issue of "food miles"- is being given even more credence in the U.K. Here, a columnist asks "Is local food really better?"

British PM Blair okayed a campaign to encourage consumers to "Just Ask" where the food on their plate comes from, and the country's Country and Land Business Association wants restaurant patrons to inquire where their food comes from and choose local over foreign produce. Not only to help farmers but to reduce the "carbon footprint."

The writer ask his readers, "So, is local food better food? Does it taste better? Is it ethically more virtuous to buy local rather than imported food? Why shouldn't we enjoy the fruits of globalisation and tuck into fresh produce all year round, even if it means importing fruit and vegetables from different hemispheres? "

A more positive treatment of the subject is found here, with the topic being local farmers in Missouri supplying university food service.

If time travel were possible, imagine the reaction to this debate on the dusty plains of Kansas or Oklahoma in the 1930s. When my grandma had chicken for dinner in Russell, Kansas, she knew it was local because she was the one who caught the chicken and lopped of its head.

She no doubt was grateful for that chicken could be purchased at the supermarket in her later years, and I seriously doubt she held it against the retailer if it was trucked in from afar. Times change.

AgJobs push starts anew

With the reintroduction of AgJobs in the Senate, Craig Regelbrugge, with the American Nursery and Landscape Association and a leader of the AgJobs coalition, confirms a 9 a.m. press conference tomorrow at the Senate Russell building. Besides members of Congress, the press conference will feature two growers in speaking roles and 30 growers and producer reps on hand. Maureen Torrey told me last week she will be there on behalf of United.


Visiting with Lorelei DiSogra of United today, we were talking about the hard work of lobbying. Through the ups and downs of the process, she said the persistence of industry efforts is coming through, even to lawmakers not used to listening to specialty crop growers. "We are not going to go away, and we want our part of the plans, programs and policies, whether in WIC, the farm bill, school meals or More Matters."

Further documentation of the "not going away" mentality is an extensive CQ Weekly article on the coming farm bill and the "early pitch" by specialty growers for a bigger piece of the pie. "We want a bill that looks at all of agriculture, not one that just focuses on the commodities," Robert Guenther was quoted in the piece.

I'm chapped Part 2

I got my Freedom of Information Act request back from the USDA today. My straightforward request of the f/v inspections performed at terminal markets in the last five years and partial data for year six was delivered in a first class envelope. The data is worth talking about - and I'm sure there will be opportunity for that.

The USDA charges FOIA requests for clerical time used to fulfill them. I was thinking $5 or $10 bucks for 6 numbers would have covered it. To my surprise, I/The Packer was billed $90 for this info. I'm chapped, part two.

Captive audience

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns addressed the Farm Bureau convention in Salt Lake, and this FB release reports his comments. Importantly, Johanns said that the next farm bill should provide more equitable support for all American farmers, citing the statistic that 60% of growers receive no direct support. He further noted that farm subsidies per se aren't the best indicator of the strength of the farm economy.