Fw: WESTERN GROWERS COMMENDS SCHWARZENEGGER FOR VETO OF FARM WORKEROVETIME BILL

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From: Paul Simonds <psimonds@WGA.com>

Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:44:08 -0500

To: Paul Simonds<psimonds@WGA.com>

Subject: WESTERN GROWERS COMMENDS SCHWARZENEGGER FOR VETO OF FARM WORKER OVETIME BILL

CONTACT: Paul Simonds, Mgr. Communications

(949) 885-2257/ PSimonds@wga.com
Or

 Wendy Fink-Weber, Dir. Communications

(949) 885-2256 / WFWeber@wga.com

 

WESTERN GROWERS COMMENDS SCHWARZENEGGER FOR VETO OF FARM WORKER OVETIME BILL

IRVINE, CA. (July 28, 2010) - Western Growers President and CEO Tom Nassif made the following statement about the governor's veto of SB 1121:

"This was the right thing to do for farmers and farm workers alike. This bill would have further burdened agriculture and was likely to hurt the very people it was supposed to aid.  Some people in government are more interested in adding regulations than in helping businesses and jobs survive.  A bill like SB 1121 would have imposed costs on farmers at a time of economic uncertainly, put farmers at a competitive disadvantage to those in neighboring states and in countries that export to California and jeopardized the ability of farm workers to earn a decent living. This is good news for everyone."

Western Growers is an 85-year-old agricultural trade association whose members from Arizona and California grow, pack and ship about half of the nation's fresh produce.

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Fw: GMA Appoints Leon Bruner Senior Vice President for Scientific &Regulatory Affairs and Chief Science Officer

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From: "Openshaw, Scott W." <SOpenshaw@gmaonline.org>

Sender: "gma-all_media-lists@lists.gmaonline.org" <gma-all_media-lists@lists.gmaonline.org>

Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:49:06 -0500

Subject: GMA Appoints Leon Bruner Senior Vice President for Scientific & Regulatory Affairs and Chief Science Officer

 

For Immediate Release                                                               

July 28, 2010

 

Scott Openshaw, sopenshaw@gmaonline.org, 202-295-2957

Brian Kennedy, bkennedy@gmaonline.org, 202-639-5994

 

GMA Appoints Leon Bruner Senior Vice President for Scientific & Regulatory Affairs and Chief Science Officer

 

(Washington, D.C.) Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) President and CEO, Pamela Bailey today announced the appointment of Leon Bruner, DVM, Ph.D., as GMA Senior Vice President for Scientific & Regulatory Affairs and Chief Science Officer.

 

"Science and regulatory affairs is the very foundation of GMA and is at the heart of everything we do," said Ms. Bailey. "Dr. Bruner is an accomplished and impressive consumer products scientist.  His training in veterinary medicine and pharmacology, combined with his corporate and professional achievements make him the right person for the job.  He has a tremendous track record of innovation and the application of metrics against stated goals that will help GMA better serve its members and accomplish the association's food and product safety mission."

 

Dr. Bruner is a twenty-three year veteran of the consumer products industry.  He has served in a variety of positions at Procter & Gamble and The Gillette Company. Most recently, he served as Director, Environment, Health and Safety within Procter & Gamble's Gillette organization.  He previously served as Vice President, Gillette Environment, Health and Safety from 2000 to 2007.

During his professional career, Dr. Bruner has developed a strong reputation as an innovator who is able to apply strategic vision, critical thinking and first-class execution in pursuit of business goals.  He is an internationally-recognized expert in the development and application of non-animal toxicity product testing methods, and is also an expert in product safety and regulatory compliance. He has written numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and several book chapters on those subjects.

 

"I am pleased to welcome Leon to GMA," said Chris Lischewski, president and CEO of Bumble Bee, a GMA Board Member and Chair of the Science & Regulatory Affairs Council.  "His scientific expertise, combined with his proven leadership skills and the ability to develop and lead strong teams will help GMA take its scientific and regulatory platforms, projects and member services to an even higher level of effectiveness."

 

Dr. Bruner holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology, both earned at Michigan State University.  He also received his bachelor's degree at Michigan State.

 

"The selection of Dr. Bruner is the result of a nationwide search.  I could not be more pleased that he is joining the GMA team.  I look forward to working with Leon on the issues of concern to our members, including food and product safety, health and wellness, environmental sustainability and many others," concluded Ms. Bailey.

 

Dr. Bruner will assume his new duties on August 27^th.

 

 

 

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The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) represents the world's leading food, beverage and consumer products companies.  The association promotes sound public policy, champions initiatives that increase productivity and growth and helps to protect the safety and security of the food supply through scientific excellence.  The GMA board of directors is comprised of chief executive officers from the association's member companies.  The $2.1 trillion food, beverage and consumer packaged goods industry employs 14 million workers, and contributes over $1 trillion in added value to the nation's economy.  For more information, visit the GMA Web site at www.gmaonline.org.

 

 

 

 

 

Fw: Press Release: Subcommittee Reviews Quality Control Systems in theSupplemental Nutrition Assistant Program

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-----Original Message-----
From: AgPress <AgPress@mail.house.gov>
Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:39:43
To: News Distribution<news@aglist.house.gov>
Reply-To: "news-request@aglist.house.gov" <news-request@aglist.house.gov>
Subject: Press Release: Subcommittee Reviews Quality Control Systems in the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program

News from the House Agriculture Committee

http://agriculture.house.gov

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Media Contact:

Liz Friedlander (202) 225-1564
Liz.Friedlander@mail.house.gov

Subcommittee Reviews Quality Control Systems in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program

WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Joe Baca, D-Calif., Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee's Subcommittee on Department
Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry, held a hearing to review quality control systems in the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP).

The Subcommittee heard testimony from government officials and advocacy and industry groups about efforts to reduce the error rate
in the SNAP program and to combat fraud and abuse in the system.

"In these tough economic times, it is essential that Congress ensures our federal nutrition programs serve as good stewards of
taxpayer dollars. Today's hearing provided an excellent opportunity to examine ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of
the SNAP program. With the program currently under great strain, serving a record 40 million Americans a month, this review is more
critical now than ever before," said Subcommittee Chairman Baca.

"The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has done much to help many Americans access food supplies for themselves and their
families in times of difficulty, and it is important to maintain the integrity of this program. Like all federal programs funded by
American taxpayers, we must ensure its sound program eligibility standards and improve efficiencies in its administration," said
Subcommittee Ranking Member Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb. "I was pleased to hear from our witnesses about how quality control measures
have been operating and how we can further improve SNAP."

The 2008 Farm Bill made substantial improvements to the SNAP program by increasing program benefits and clarifying eligibility
standards. The Farm Bill also increased the penalty the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) can levy on fraudulent retailers.

Written testimony provided by the witnesses is available on the Committee website: http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/index.html.
A full transcript of the hearing will be posted on the Committee website at a later date.

Witness List

Panel I

Ms. Julie Paradis, Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.

Ms. Kay E. Brown, Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office, Washington,
D.C.

The Honorable Phyllis K. Fong, Inspector General, Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.

Mr. Don Winstead, Deputy Secretary, Florida Department of Children and Families, on behalf of American Public Human Services
Association (APHSA), Tallahassee, Florida

Panel II

Mr. James D. Weill, President, Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), Washington, D.C.

Mr. Scott Faber, Vice President for Federal Affairs, Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), Washington, D.C.

Ms. Jennifer Hatcher, Senior Vice President, Government Relations, Food Marketing Institute (FMI), Washington, D.C.

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The U.S. House Committee on Agriculture web site http://agriculture.house.gov has additional information on this and other subjects.

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Fw: Majority of California Pear Growers Practice Sustainable Farming -Press Release

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From: Rosi Gong <rgong@foodandfarming.info>

Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:52:34 -0500

To: 'Rosi Gong'<rgong@foodandfarming.info>

Subject: Majority of California Pear Growers Practice Sustainable Farming - Press Release

California Pear Advisory Board

1521 "I" Street

Sacramento, CA  95814

(916) 441-0432

www.calpear.com

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                 contact: Chris Zanobini

July 28, 2010                                                                                        phone:  (916) 441-0432

 

Survey Shows Majority of California Pear Growers Practice Sustainable Farming

Sacramento, CA – A recent survey of California pear farmers has found that when it comes to sustainable farming practices such as employing Integrated Pest Management methods to reduce the use of pesticides, the California pear industry has a very high level of adoption. The survey, conducted by SureHarvest Inc. a leading agricultural sustainability program design firm, shows that over 90 percent of California pear farmers regularly incorporate practices such as daily scouting for pests to reduce spray applications and utilizing non-toxic pheromone treatments in place of pesticides to reduce pest populations.

The survey of California Pear Advisory Board members was conducted from June to November 2009 to assess the adoption of Best Management Practices related to several key areas of "sustainability."  For the purposes of this study "sustainability" is described as follows: "the concept and practice of balancing economic prosperity, environmental stewardship, and social responsibility so they together lead to an improved quality of life for ourselves and future generations."

 "We were quite impressed with the percentage of pear farmers who are using Integrated Pest Management practices to reduce pesticide use," said Dr. Daniel Sonke, senior scientist with SureHarvest.  "We work with several other industry groups and this study shows that California pears have one of the highest rates of adoption for IPM practices we have seen."

According to Sonke, the term IPM refers to a system which incorporates biological and non-chemical means of assessing and controlling pest populations to prevent or reduce the use of chemical pesticides.  Farmers who practice IPM methods will spend a great deal of time monitoring pest populations to determine when and if treatments are necessary and will incorporate control measures such as "mating disruption" which relies on pheromone applications rather than spraying of harsh pesticides.

Sonke noted that among other findings, key survey results show that 95 percent of California pear growers surveyed report scouting for pests throughout the year to inform their pest management decisions.   When it comes to controlling codling moth, one of the major pests of pears, 95 percent of California pear farmers use mating disruption pheromones as their primary treatment.  When deciding what amount of fertilizers to use, 82 percent of the pear farmers surveyed reported applying fertilizer at or below the rates recommended by university scientists and 87 percent of pear farmers reported their orchard row middles are vegetated, which reduces the likelihood  of soil erosion from wind or water. In addition, 76 percent of respondents reported providing housing for at least some of their employees.

"Pear trees live a long time, perhaps 50 or 75 years.  So, it's not too surprising that California pear farmers are focused on achieving sustainability," noted Chris Zanobini, President of the California Pear Advisory Board, a state marketing program which represents all pear farmers in the California.  "It's also important to note that California pear farmers belong to a close-knit community which has been embattled in recent years. At one time there were 300 pear farmers in the state and today there are just 60.  Those who are left have no choice but to utilize resources wisely." 

Zanobini explained that California pear farmers have long been advocates, supporters and practitioners of Integrated Pest Management. In the early 1990s pear growers formed an entity called the Pear Pest Management Research Fund whose primary function is to fund research to improve pear growing and processing practices that are economical and safe for consumers and the environment.

Zanobini noted that that the recent sustainability survey was conducted by the California Pear Advisory Board in conjunction with the Pear Pest Management Research Fund.  The Best Management Practices assessed in the survey were identified by a committee of pear farmers, packers and processors along with crop consultants and representatives of the California Pear Advisory Board and the Pear Pest Management Research Fund.  The survey had a very high rate of response with 71 percent of the state's pear operations participating.  This is especially impressive since the survey required that each pear operation complete a very lengthy self-assessment of farming practices which fell into the following general areas:

• General Farm Management
• Integrated Pest Management
• Soil & Nutrient Management
• Energy Management
• Water Management
• Ecosystem Management
• Employer Practices

"We are very pleased to see that pear farmers rate so highly in areas concerning pest management, soil and nutrient management and employer practices," said Zanobini.  "This survey will also be used as a tool to learn where farmers can make improvements in sustainability."

Zanobini explained that at the completion of the survey, each farmer was given a copy with their own individual results compared with the average results for the industry.  "This way each operation can judge itself in comparison to the rest of the industry and can make improvements accordingly," he said, adding that the California Pear Advisory Board and Pear Pest Management Fund plan to use the information gained from this survey to conduct educational workshops for growers and to fund follow-up assessments.

"The road to sustainability is a journey," said SureHarvest's Sonke, "There will always be room for improvement, but the California pear community is well down the path in their efforts to protect and improve the future of farming."  

An Executive Summary of this research project is available to the public on the website of the California Pear Advisory Board at www.calpear.com

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