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       CURRY LEAVES FROM HAWAII PROHIBITED ENTRY - On January 31, 2008, 10 boxes of treated and certified curry leaves from Hawaii were found infested with live male and female Asian Citrus Psyllid by Los Angeles County inspectors in violation of the November 2, 2007 Federal Order for Asian Citrus Psyllid and Citrus Greening. As a result, CDFA has notified USDA that, effective February 1, 2008 all shipments of curry leaves are prohibited entry into California. The fact that the live psyllid were found in a properly treated, inspected and certified shipment calls the efficacy of the treatment into question and poses a significant pest risk to California. Sunkist, with the rest of the California citrus industry, has been working closely with State and Federal agencies to raise the level of vigilance and response to threats such as this. KOREA SIGNS WORK PLAN - 12-7-07 UNITED FRESH APPLAUDS JUDGES Yesterday, Northern California’s Federal District Court issued a preliminary injunction in the Social Security no-match litigation, thereby blocking implementation of the rule for several months until the Court has had a chance to fully examine it. As a result, the Social Security Administration (SSA) halted its plan to begin sending Social Security no-match letters to approximately 140,000 employers regarding approximately 8.7 million employees. On September 11, 2007, United Fresh joined six other plaintiffs in filing a Motion to Intervene that challenged the regulation on several grounds, including violations of the Regulatory and Flexibility Act and of the Administrative Procedure Act. Among other claims, the suit cites the severe economic hardship that businesses could endure in order to immediately comply with the regulations. “I do not remember the last time a produce association sued the government to block an action that was unfair to its members,” said Emanuel Lazopolous, Senior Vice President of Del Monte Fresh Produce and United Fresh Chairman of the Board. “This shows how serious United Fresh is when it comes to working on behalf of its members.” “We applaud the Court’s decision to suspend the implementation of the No-Match rule,” said Tom Stenzel, president and CEO of United Fresh. “Further analysis is needed in order to understand the real burden this will place on businesses, and it is incumbent upon the federal government to assure the program is executed correctly.” Lawyers working with United Fresh and the other the plaintiffs have pointed out that the Court’s ruling on this issue indicate that the plaintiffs have a high probability of succeeding on one or more of the four legal theories that support the lawsuit. “For many of our members, the burden of correcting SSA errors is a time consuming process, and, in order to comply, they will have to develop new policies and procedures,” said Autumn Veazey, director of legislative affairs and associate counsel for United Fresh. “Fortunately, this preliminary injunction will provide the much needed time for our company members and allied organizations to understand the implications of the regulation.” CITRUS GREENING STRIKES IN POLK COUNTY The citrus industry’s biggest enemy has just crossed the line, the Polk County line. Four cases of greening were just discovered there. “Our growers probably should have expected it,” said Mike Sparks, Executive Director of Florida Citrus Mutual, the state’s biggest grower’s organization. “But you never want to confirm a disease like this,” Sparks said. Greening is now in every citrus-producing county in Florida. “We’re not able to eliminate it,” said Denise Feiber, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Citrus. “We’re going to have to keep it in check.” About 100 research projects are now underway hoping to do just that. In the meantime, growers are doing whatever they can. They are constantly on the lookout for signs of greening. They spray special pesticides to kill the bug that carries it. They take out infected trees as soon as they find them. Greening destroys fruit, and kills the tree. Since it’s hard to detect, and can lie dormant for years, its unclear where it may be hiding. “Until we get a handle on how far and how widespread it is, we’re not going to know the impact on the industry,” said Casey Welch of Florida Citrus Mutual. CHINA TIGHTENS FOOD SAFETY RULES FOR ITS PRODUCERS Having come up against some quarantine problems involving fruits exported to Russia, the Chinese government is barring from export any fruit from unregistered orchards or packing plants. Beginning Nov. 1, fruit exports will also be required to keep records on the origin, volume and destination of every batch of fruit they ship for at least two years. Standards are already in place for exports to North and South America, Europe, Australia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions. In the same news report, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture said the country exported 3.7 million tons of fruit last year, about the same as the previous year. However, the value of goods shipped was up 22%. The U.S., Japan and Russia were listed as the country’s top trade partners with apples, oranges and fruit juice as the major products. CHILEAN EXPORTS FORECAST 2007 VOLUMES The Chilean national fruit producers union predicts increases for lemon exports while orange export volumes are expected to fall in 2007. According to FEDEFRUTA forecasts, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest fruit exporter will ship a total of 2.34m MT of fruit in 2007, up 5% from last year’s 2.25m MT. Projected value is $2.93 billion, up 7% from last year. It predicts a 36% increase in lemon shipments and a 14% decline in orange volumes, a result of the winter freeze. USDA: PICTURE FOR U.S. CITRUS IS MIXED Although the value of the 2006-07 citrus crops rose 8% from 2005-06, volumes have declined dramatically from the record high production of a decade ago. U.S. citrus production for 2006-07 totaled 10.3m MT, down 13% from 2005-06 and 42% lower than the record 17.8m MT for the 1997-98 season. According to the USDA, the value of the 2006-07 U.S. citrus crop is $2.95 billion (farm gate equivalent). Total value of production for 2006-07 was higher for oranges, tangerines and tangelos and lower for grapefruit and lemons. Florida accounted for 70% of total U.S. production and California for 25% with Texas and Arizona sharing the 5% balance.
MEDITERRANEAN FRUIT FLY (MEDFLY)
Los Angeles County
Santa Clara County
Solano County
SUMMARY - 2007 MEDITERRANEAN FRUIT FLY FINDS
Los Angeles County
Santa Clara County
Solano County
MEXICAN FRUIT FLY (MxFF)
San Diego County SUMMARY - 2007 MEXICAN FRUIT FLY FINDS
San Diego County
ORIENTAL FRUIT FLY (OFF)
Los Angeles County Orange County A single male OFF was trapped 11/06/07, in Portola Hills. The Jackson/methyl eugenol trap density was five traps per square mile. In response, trap densities were increased in the CORE square mile to 25 traps per square mile.
Sacramento County
San Bernardino County
San Diego County
Santa Clara County SUMMARY - 2007 ORIENTAL FRUIT FLY FINDS Los Angeles County 16 Adults Trapped since 8/1/07
Orange County
1 Adult Trapped since 11/06/07
Sacramento County
San Bernardino County
San Diego County
Santa Clara County Comments on Proposed Rule for Movement of Fruit from Quarantined Areas
Formal Comments Submitted 8/07/07 POST FREEZE GROVE CLEAN UP ACTIVITIES GET FEDERAL HELP June 26, 2007, Washington - USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) has agreed to expand eligible in-grove clean up activities post January freeze to include tree pruning, debris resultant from pruning and fruit on the ground removal. John Johnson of FSA advised Sunkist and CCM that he directed FSA’s California office to recognize these activities as covered by the disaster assistance program. USDA has dedicated $16 million for this part of the Emergency Compensation Program (ECP). AG HAULING EXEMPTION AGREEMENT Word was received 6/15/07 from Don Gordon, President of Agricultural Council of California that it appears we have an agreement with the California Highway Patrol and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to exempt perishable agricultural products transported in bins, tubs and boxes from the field to the first point of processing or packing from the current federal cargo securement standards. Under the exemption previous load securement methods may be used to ensure cargo will not shift or spill. In requesting the exemption agricultural and trucking groups have agreed to work with the CHP to conduct a safety review of the previous cargo securement methods, which will involve testing and the development of alternative methods of compliance. Additionally, we will assist in the development of a formal interpretation request to be delivered to the FMCSA no later than December 1, 2007. While the exemption will get us through the current season, it’s unclear at this point as to what specifically needs to be done to attain a permanent resolution prior to the 2008 harvest. So we still have a lot of work to do. Our ability to obtain reliable safety studies will be a key factor. Hundreds of emails, telephone calls and letters where received by state and federal officials. Your collective “voices” were heard and you definitely made a difference! And the agricultural industry owes a debt of the Ag Council for its hard work on this issue on our behalf. FREEZE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT TRAINING SESSIONS SCHEDULED County agricultural commissioners in Fresno and Tulare Counties have scheduled informational training sessions in cutting and evaluating freeze damaged citrus. Tulare County in the Tulare County Ag Building Auditorium, 4437 S. Laspir, Tulare CA, at 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, January 24, 2007 Fresno County in the West Wing Conference Room of Fresno County Ag Commissioniers office, 7130 S. Maple, Fresno CA, on Thursday, January 25 at 1:30 p.m. CHINA LIFTS QUARANTINE OF FRESNO COUNTY CITRUS Late Thursday, 12/21, Sunkist received word from USDA in Beijing that the Chinese have agreed to lift their quarantine of Fresno County origin citrus and packing effective immediately. This quarantine, which kept large volumes of California navels from entering the China market, was based on a Peach Fruit Fly infestation that was declared eradicated last August. This issue was forcefully brought to the attention of the government by Sunkist’s Mike Wootton, Senior VP of Corporate Relations. LINK TO ITC REPORT PEACH FRUIT FLY QUARANTINE LIFTED Sunkist has received notice from USDA APHIS that the quarantine for Peach Fruit Fly in Fresno County will end July 28, 2006, at 5 p.m. China and other trading partners are being notified by APHIS. It is expected that they will accept the APHIS position. It is expected that all shipping restrictions in place as a result of the quarantine will be lifted and normal international shipments may resume. PEACH FRUIT FLY (PFF)
Fresno County
Antelope/Sacramento County
San Mateo County
SUMMARY - 2006 PEACH FRUIT FLY FINDS
Fresno County
Sacramento County
San Mateo County GUAVA FRUIT FLY (GFF)
Alameda County
Fresno County
Los Angeles County
Orange County
Sacramento County
San Diego County
Santa Clara County
SUMMARY - 2006 GUAVA FRUIT FLY FINDS
Alameda County
Fresno County
Los Angeles County
Orange County
Sacramento County
San Deigo County
Santa Clara
MELON FLY
Los Angeles County
SUMMARY - 2006 MELON FLY FINDS
Los Angeles County
MEXICAN FRUIT FLY (MXFF)
Los Angeles County
SUMMARY - 2006 MEXICAN FRUIT FLY FINDS
Los Angeles County ORIENTAL FRUIT FLY (OFF)
Los Angeles County Orange County On 12/5/06, a single unmated female OFF was found in Santa Ana. CDFA has completed four OFF male annihilation treatments in a 13 square mile area aound the finds. In addition, four ground Spinosad treatments of hosts within 200 meters of all finds have been made. Fruit removal has been completed at the pupal find site and adjacent properties.
Riverside County
Santa Barbara
Santa Clara County
San Bernardino County
San Diego County
SUMMARY - 2006 ORIENTAL FRUIT FLY FINDS
Los Angeles County
Orange County
Riverside County
Santa Barbara County
Santa Clara County
San Bernardino Country
San Diego County DIAPREPES ABBREVIATUS (Root Weevil/DRW)
San Diego County In response to the root weevil find, CDFA has initiated a visual delimitation survey in Encinitas. The DRW has been found on six properties within a 0.5 square mile area. Regulatory protocols are in place to restrict its movement. CDFA has delimited two other Diaprepes root weevil infestations outside of San Diego County in Long Beach, Los Angeles County and in Newport Beach, Orange County. Sunkist Growers -- 2005 Annual Meeting In this organization we have a great history … and I believe we have an incredible future ahead of us…if we use the tools available to Sunkist…and if we remember that it's about unity, about strength and about commitment. Before we go any further, I'd like to acknowledge some people I've worked with over the last year. David Krause is the chairman of the board and someone who has performed a great service to Sunkist. The Chairman of the Board at Sunkist really has a tough job, because the board of directors is ultimately responsible, as is every board of directors, for the success and policies of the company. And the chairman is the leader who helps manage the board process. It is important to have accountability for management, but on the other hand, you have to ensure that management is empowered to make decisions in a very fast-changing, dynamic world. The chairman of the Sunkist board spends a great deal of his personal time traveling the country, going to barbecues, attending meetings and workshops. He receives a lot of phone calls … and they're not all positive. And, he doesn't get paid a lot. I'd like you all to join me in giving David Krause a warm round of applause for his service this past year. The members of the board of directors also spend a great deal of their time traveling around the system and answering phone calls from growers and packers when things aren't going their way. They probably don't get too many phone calls when things ARE going their way. This group is very dedicated. They attend committee meetings and give up many days of their time during the year. I'd like to add my thanks to you guys for the work that you do. Sunkist, to me, is a three-way partnership -- a three-legged stool -- with the growers at the core. Next you have the packers who are responsible for getting the fruit off the trees and into the box and, ultimately, into the marketplace. Then you have Sunkist, which manages the business, provides the sales and marketing and organizes the process … the direct link with the customers. Over the last few years we have built what I think is a very dynamic management team. They're very hard working and very smart. As I go around this industry, I don't see another management team at the level as ours. I want to thank our team for the great job they do. And I want to thank as well, all the other Sunkist employees in the sales offices around the world, in Sherman Oaks and here in Visalia, who don't always get a lot of recognition. Thanks to all of you. The most difficult thing about the annual meeting is the timing. I'm up here bragging a bit about last year … and we're already four months into the new year. If it was a good year last year nobody is thinking about it. And if it was a bad year, everyone still remembers. Last year was a good year. Most growers had very good returns and many growers had excellent returns. And of course, as happens in an operation this large, there were a few growers that probably didn't have acceptable returns. Overall, however, I think we can celebrate success. The reasons are pretty obvious. There's great leadership…and if I were running for president of the United States, I would say even more. Mother Nature had a big hand in it, as always. Last year we were given a good quality crop with good size structure…one that was not too large and that had good vitality. In both oranges and lemons, we had good crops to sell. We've already talked about the success of CCGA and the collaboration we had with the independents. What CCGA does is profound because we are talking about more than grower returns. By managing supply, we're ensuring consistent volumes of high quality fruit on a weekly basis to benefit the consumer. For the buyers, we're ensuring continuity of supply so they are willing to buy more. And, of course, a very important aspect of this is that by managing supply, we are able to improve our grower returns. Last year's success was due to a winning combination of a good management team and a generous Mother Nature … along with tools provided by CCGA, under the leadership of Russ Hanlin. Sunkist is actually the CCGA leader in that we set the pace and, hopefully, the independents follow. It's not all smooth. We all have to compromise at times to work things out, but I'm very excited about the future with our ability to manage supply. Well, last year was last year. And we all know that we have a much more difficult orange crop to manage. In lemons, I think, we're okay, but this season's oranges are bigger…there are more of them…and they are not as pretty. In addition, the weather hasn't cooperated. We've had some freezes and a lot of rain. We all know this fruit is not going to last as long in the season. It is a more difficult crop to manage and in some ways, more of a test for CCGA. However, if you look at where we'd be if we did not have CCGA, I think you can appreciate the success we have had. We will get through it. Now, that doesn't mean that everyone's going to get their oranges picked when they want to, but we will get through the season. It is very important to focus on the positive aspects and not get caught up in the negatives. Now let's talk for a minute about the future. David put up a snapshot of where he thinks we might be in 10 years. Our job is to figure out how to get there. A big part of that is planning. Last year, we had a planning process, which involved the executive committee, consultants, board members and board committees. We reaffirmed much of what we already know and really took a look at what we need to do to be successful going forward. Some of it is pretty basic. Certainly, we understand the mission. It hasn't changed for 111 years … to provide the highest grower returns possible for quality California and Arizona citrus growers. The vision as to how we get there may be a little bit different because now we're talking about what the big picture looks like in 10 years. And frankly, my view of it is that the stronger Sunkist is … the stronger we can make Sunkist as a business (and that is not necessarily having a larger number of growers) … the more it's going to have a positive impact on our growers. We must be a strong business … and we must be a strong business in the global marketplace. There are two key cornerstones to building that foundation. One is unity. We could not, and cannot, do the things we do without being together. That is a cornerstone of Sunkist and has been for 111 years. The second is the brand. Today, the brand name is very strong and is getting stronger. In terms of consumer recognition and top-of-mind awareness, the numbers are up. The willingness of buyers to market and merchandise our brand is also growing. We must continue to drive that. Think of other brands with the same diversity, scope and popularity as ours. They spend a lot more money on their brand than we do. Most companies that have a brand with the recognition level of Sunkist spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year promoting the brand. We don't have hundreds of millions of dollars. Yet we are continuing to make the brand more distinct…to drive more premiums. The way in which we do that with the money we have is to increase positive brand impressions. We have to have a lot of good product out there. This is another reason the global sourcing strategy makes sense. It gives us a lot of brand impressions we currently don't have. Last year, for example, we sold a million flats of strawberries. That's 12 million consumer packs. That's 12 million times a consumer took home a pack that said Sunkist on it. That is one reason we are sourcing globally...why we are selling oranges from South Africa and Australia and lemons from Chile as we did last year. Robert Verloop and I were recently in Germany at the Fruit Logistica Produce Trade Show, a European version of PMA. I have never in my life seen anything like this, and I have been to a lot of conventions. It was amazing. For those of you who have been to PMA, it was four times that size … all produce from all over the world. The dynamics and deal-making were unbelievable. There was a huge Dole display. There was a huge Chiquita display. There was a huge Driscoll display. There was nothing from Sunkist except Robert and I with our business cards. There were buyers everywhere. The Costco team was there. The Wal-Mart team was there. All the major retailers had teams there. And they were looking for global programs. Costco, our largest navel orange customer in the U.S has 17 stores in the UK and they want to know how we can supply them. We really have to look at these opportunities and figure out exactly how we're going to execute them and then bring the bacon back home to positively effect our cost structure. When we get more brand impressions out there, perhaps there are other things we can do in terms of repatriating some of the money we could earn doing this other business. I think we should be creative going forward. When we go back to the planning process, we will focus on how we are going to get there and what other things we need to do. We also need to refocus on a couple of our principles. One of them is quality. When you buy something that's branded, what do you expect? You expect a quality product. There's no brand out there that's a sustainable, distinct brand that isn't usually the best quality in its category. That is just a given. Sunkist must get back to emphasizing quality. Now I know we have good quality a lot of the time, but we also have not so good quality some of the time. Ten years from now, knowing grower and packer behavior, I can tell you who's going to be around and who's not. The ones who are going to be around are the ones that can produce quality. If you're a grower and you think you will be able to produce the wrong variety at the wrong time and then put pressure on a packer to pick the fruit quickly, those days are over. You might get away with it next year…or maybe for a year or two…but eventually it will be over. And if you're a packer who thinks you can put Choice fruit into a Sunkist carton or inferior fruit into a hot market, you might get away with it at times, but not in the long-term. We have a branded program and we must have quality … consistent quality across the system. Remember the three-pronged partnership that is Sunkist? Obviously growers have a responsibility. If we don't have the quality product going in, everything else is in vain. I'm a grower. I know it's expensive … but at the end of the day, we must have the right trees in the right place at the right time and we must have the commitment. And the extortion of packers to pick your groves by November 1 or you'll go somewhere else … that model is not going to work forever. You have to get the groves in the right places at the right time and you have to work with your packers to understand what mix of fruit will work. Packers have a responsibility to push back when growers make unreasonable demands or have inferior products. Packers have the responsibility to put the right product in the box to provide consistent quality. And as the marketer, Sunkist has the responsibility, within reason, to move the fruit our growers produce. We must try to have fresh product in the marketplace at all times. We have to do all the things that customers want. There is a lot of detail work involved and we do a good job of that. We still need to do better. We also have to enforce the policies we have. One of the things we're doing that came out of some of the planning is improving our fruit inspection process. All our inspectors are now equipped with hand-held electronic computers. When they inspect fruit in a packinghouse, the information is immediately available on a daily basis, for everybody to review. Food safety is also very important for anybody in this industry today. When you're a brand, food safety is critical. And if you're Sunkist, consumers expect you to be at the top of the standard. Sunkist must be at or above industry standards as it relates to food safety. That doesn't mean we will say that Sunkist oranges are safer than someone else's oranges. Instead, it must be imbedded in our brand promise that our standards are high standards. We now have third party inspections in all of our packinghouses to ensure those standards. Longer term, as we continue to diversify our business, we will be looking for opportunities. This year Jim Meeks led our effort to reorganize the way we look at specialty citrus and the results were encouraging. We are seeing more easy peeling types of citrus in the market and in the ground. We successfully sold quite a few Clementines and they are going to be a very important part of our future. We need to understand what's going on in Europe and, to figure out how to get back in that market. We need to understand what's going on in Asia and China. There is a great deal of change in our world and we must keep moving forward to reach that 10-year goal. I'd like to conclude by saying that it's been a very interesting four years. We've achieved some major successes. We just got another Wal-Mart distribution center. Four years ago, we didn't even have one. Now, we have three and, thanks to John McGuigan and his sales team, we're on their preferred list. That's a good thing. We have some exciting new things coming in pre-cut fruit. If you haven't seen the Sunkist Fun Fruit exhibit here, please go see it. That could be a very big business for us...and it could sell a lot of our oranges and lemons. We talked about global sourcing and how it is going to be part of our future. We cannot be the brand leader without sourcing fruit from around the world to provide our customers with what they want, when they want it. I think the future is very bright. Somebody asked me last night if I would plant oranges. I said yes. I think we have a future for oranges in California. I think we have a future for specialties and I think we have a future for lemons, although the lemon deal is going to be a little trickier because they are more vulnerable to offshore competition. Right now, we're exporting some lemons to Europe. With the weak dollar and the absence of Spanish fruit due to the freeze there, we're seeing interest in our products from European buyers and it could have an impact in the fall. We will be pursuing strategic opportunities to get some fruit back into the European market. We have a great future if we stay focused on the basics…if we stay focused on unity and on commitment. We also need to understand that there is no entitlement out there. Sunkist cannot guarantee that everyone has a good future. Most of that responsibility is in your own hands. If you're growing the wrong fruit at the wrong time, you can't blame Sunkist if you don't get the right return. And if you're not packing a quality pack and, as a packer, paying attention to the supply chain and efficiencies inside your operation, you can't blame Sunkist if you don't make it. But if you take control of your destiny, we can and will control our destiny at Sunkist. We will do the things I know we can do and this will be a very successful story. I can't wait to hear about this meeting 10 years from now. Thank you for your attention and your confidence. LONGER RANGE OUTLOOK FOR FEBRUARY USDA DESIGNATES CALIFORNIA COUNTIES AS AGRICULTURE DISASTER AREAS LONGER RANGE OUTLOOK THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF JANUARY The long awaited cool intrusion of air looks likely to be moving into the Valley by the middle to end of next week. It will not "surge" into the Valley, but more likely seep in from the north and northeast. Present indications are that the coldest air will stay well to the east, but conditions will continue to dry out and as that happens the Valley has its tendency to "manufacture" its own cold air. The dry air gets trapped in the Valley and through radiational heat loss at night, it gets colder and colder. This may be the case late next week and into the weekend with temperatures in the upper 20's at night while rising to the upper 50's for the daytime periods. If slightly cooler air does filter in from the north and east, then temperatures could drop to the mid 20's on a widespread basis by Christmas morning. Warmer weather with increasing fog is seen for the following week and then maybe, and this is a fairly big maybe, some rain will develop for 5 to 7 days shortly after the first of the year. Another cooling trend with some fog is likely after the 10th of the month. THE WEATHER CENTER 1-800-992-6875 2004-05 FRUIT FROST FORECASTS FOR CALIFORNIA AND ARIZONA CENTRAL VALLEY: Central California Weather Watch and “The Weather Center” will provide the fruit frost forecast program for Tulare, Fresno, and a portion of Northern Kern County. Growers will be able to obtain the weather information by calling (800) 713-7678 and locally, 559 592-4140. “The Weather Center” forecasts begin November 15, 2004 and will run through March 15, 2005. It will provide daily forecasts at 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., with additional updates as needed. Growers can obtain additional weather information from “The Weather Center” web page at http://www.weatherwatch.com or contact “The Weather Center” direct at (800) 992-6875. INLAND EMPIRE: UCCE Riverside County and Riverside County Farm Bureau again have joined efforts to organize the program. Financing is provided through donations from packinghouses and private individuals, therefore the service is available only to growers associated with the contributing packinghouses. Growers should call their packinghouse to obtain the telephone number for the recording. “The Weather Center” will again provide the forecasts for the Inland Empire area. Forecasts are updated twice daily. The service will began November 15, 2004 and will continue through March 15, 2005. Individuals who are not associated with packinghouses can subscribe to the service by contacting Stephanie Bell, Riverside Farm Bureau, at (951) 684-6732. VENTURA COUNTY: Ventura County Farm Bureau continues to administer a fruit frost program for the county. Former NWS meteorologist, Terry Schaeffer continues to provide the forecasts. Under this program, each person subscribing to the service is to be issued a four-digit PIN (Personal Identification Number) for receiving the information via an integrated voice recognition system. For further information, contact your packinghouse or Kathy Bergeron, Ventura County Farm Bureau, at (805) 289-0155. COACHELLA VALLEY: Coachella Valley Water District provides the leadership in the Coachella Valley where meteorologist Carl Garczynski continues to provide weather updates. Updates are available by dialing (760) 398-7211. Weather information is also available on the district’s Internet site at www.cvwd.org. Carl Garczynski can be reached at (760) 398-2651. YUMA/PHOENIX: Call your packinghouse for detail. VOLUNTARY RAW ALMOND RECALL - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Q - Exactly what almonds are subject to the precautionary voluntary recall? A - Kirkland Signature from Costco in 3-lb. lay-flat plastic bags marked "raw almonds" with "best before" dates of 8/21/04-2/8/05. Trader Joe's Raw Almonds in 1 1-lb lay-flat plastic bag marked "nonpareil variety raw almonds with "best before" dates of 8/21/04 - 3/15/05 Sunkist Raw Almonds in a 10-oz. Lay-flat plastic bags marked "raw natural whole almonds" with "best before" dates of 8/21/04-3/15/05. Q - What about my Almond Accents and my jugs of almonds? A - Only RAW almonds are being recalled. 95% of almonds sold in the United States undergo processing such as blanching, roasting or baking which eliminates any potential bacteria such as Salmonella and these are not part of the precautionary voluntary recall. Q - What has happened to the people affected? A - Seven people became ill and all seven have fully recovered. Q - How often has salmonella been found in almonds? A - The occurrence of Salmonella in almonds is extremely rare. In fact, this is the first recall of its kind in the United States. For further information contact the Paramount Farms Hotline SEPTORIA SPOT OF CITRUS AND GUIDELINES FOR DISEASE MANAGEMENT IN CALIFORNIA Septoria spot of citrus has been reported from many citrus-producing countries around the world, including Australia, Argentina, Greece, Italy, and the United States (California). The disease is generally considered of minor importance. Damage may occur to the fruit rind and thus, the disease decreases fruit appearance. Lemons and grapefruit are very susceptible, however, the disease also occurs on oranges. Although several species of Septoria including S. citri, S. depressa, and S. limonum have been reported to cause the disease, an isozyme comparison of culture collections from Australia and the United States indicated that there was no detectable variation among 23 of the 25 enzymes evaluated for all isolates except one (Bonde et al. 1991). From this study it was concluded that there was only one species involved in the disease. Septoria citri is the earliest valid name. Symptoms occur on twigs, leaves, and fruit of citrus. On leaves, lesions 1 to 4 mm in diameter develop as raised blister-like black spots that are surrounded by a yellow halo. Lesion centers become necrotic and turn pale brown in older infections (Menge, 1993). Symptoms of the disease on fruit include circular, dark, and sunken spots 1 to 2 mm in diameter that may be surrounded by a reddish brown halo as fruit mature, as well as coalescing lesions that may resemble a “tear stain” pattern or blemish (Klotz and DeWolfe, 1969). Lesions are generally shallow and remain in the flavedo (oil-gland layer) but may turn into larger pitted lesions (4-6 mm in diameter) that extend into the albedo (white portion of the peel). The pathogen exists in the orchard in the asexual state producing conidia (spores) in an enclosed “flask-shaped” structure known as a pycnidium. These structures form on dead branches of citrus trees and within leaf and fruit lesions. During cool, wet weather or sprinkler irrigation the spores are splashed and air disseminated onto leaves and fruit where they can directly infect leaf tissue or fruit rind (Klotz and DeWolfe, 1969). Infections may remain quiescent or not visible until the plant tissue becomes senescent or the natural resistance of the host is lowered from environmental injury such as frost or cold damage. Once the host tissue is weakened the fungus is able to invade the tissue causing visible symptoms of the disease. Management of Septoria spot has historically been done in the grove through the use of protective fungicides namely copper- or zinc-based materials that are applied to new growth and fruit prior to favorable environments for disease (Klotz and DeWolfe, 1969). Copper and zinc materials completely inhibit germination of conidia of the pathogen, whereas sulfur and lime materials are ineffective in laboratory studies. In field studies, a single fall-season application of copper or zinc fungicides was very effective in controlling the disease on fruit and leaves. New leaves that grow after fungicide application, however, may become infected. Therefore, a second application may be needed to protect these leaves (Klotz and DeWolfe, 1969) and late-season fruit. These treatments should protect against Septoria spot, as well as brown rot caused by Phytophthora species, repel leaf hoppers and thus, reduce rind oil spotting damage that these insects cause on fruit, and prevent zinc (mottle leaf) and copper deficiencies in treated citrus trees (Klotz, 1978). CURRENT GUIDELINES I. Cultural Practices-
1) Orchard sanitation – II. Preharvest Fungicides- The following guidelines are based on information from Klotz and DeWolfe (1969) and Klotz (1978).
1) Early fall application for protection of fruit: Zinc-copper-lime (e.g., 3 lbs zinc sulfate monohydrate-2 lb copper sulfate pentahydrate, and 6 to 20 lb of hydrated lime in 100 gallons of water) should be applied at 400-750 gal/A (a dilute application) by mid-October. The lime concentration ranges from 6 to 20 lb because higher amounts reduce copper damage and provide protection against leaf-hopper damage. The 6 lb rate of lime in the Bordeaux mixture is ideal for managing Septoria spot. When not using a Bordeaux mixture, a minimum of 0.33 to 1 lb hydrated lime should be used per pound of copper fungicide in order to prevent copper damage in some years (Feld et al. 1979). Rates of copper hydroxide range from 0.25 to 0.5 lb metallic copper/100 gal at 400-750 gal/A and from 2.5 to 5 lb metallic copper/100 gal at 30-250 gal/A (a concentrate application). All studies were done as whole-tree fungicide applications. Note that treatments with gibberellic acid may not be compatible with treatments for management of Septoria spot and they will probably need to be applied separately before fungicide applications (Coggins et al. 1969). NEW DEVELOPMENTS
1) Healthy fruit does not express symptoms and the pathogen is extremely slow growing compared to most other fungal pathogens of citrus. Thus, the disease is slow to develop. Late-season fruit is exposed to favorable environments for disease during the winter season. Additionally, this fruit may be more prone to senescence. Thus, late-season fruit or fruit stored for long periods during transportation and marketing may be at high risk. REFERENCES
1) Bonde, M.R., Peterson, G. L., Emmett, R.W., and Menge, J.A. 1991. Isozyme comparisons of Septoria isolates associated with citrus in Australia and the United States. Phytopatholgy 81:517-521.
ISSUES REGARDING COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LEGISLATION In fact, Sunkist does support country-of-origin labeling on fresh produce and subscribes to the consumer's right to know. At minimal cost, Sunkist is currently in the process of converting our PLU fruit stickers to include USA origin information. Similarly our packaging materials - cartons, bags, etc - provide country-of-origin information. However, we do not agree with USDA's currently proposed implementation requirements for COOL that would needlessly impose significant costs on growers, shippers, suppliers and others. We estimate initial costs to Sunkist growers alone would exceed $3.5 million. We believe these costs are completely avoidable while still achieving the simple goals of providing country-of-origin information on all fresh fruit and vegetable products marketed in the US. For the past 18 months, Sunkist has both directly and in concert with other grower/suppliers via organizations like United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association worked with officials at USDA to assure adoption of policies and regulations that implement COOL to the benefit of growers and consumers in a manner that is simple, flexible, practical and fair. Recognizing historic grower support for COOL, we resisted the call by the US meat industry and the major grocery chains and others to oppose COOL. Instead, we worked to allow USDA the opportunity to address problems and deficiencies in the proposed regulations and to perfect the implementing requirements for COOL. To our disappointment, USDA in its October 30, proposed regulations governing COOL failed to remedy the identified problems and issues. Instead, USDA's proposed requirements would impose extensive and duplicative record-keeping, necessitate indemnification agreements with retailers, require logistical and equipment changes, segregated packing runs for non-stickered food service fruit, require stickering of all choice grade fruit that potentially could be displayed in loose bins by retailers or forcing us to abandon bin sales for other than first grade stickered fruit. We believe country-of-origin labeling of fruit and vegetables is a good idea and can be achieved in a simple and cost efficient way. Therefore, we support a 24 - month delay in mandatory implementation of COOL to allow industry to devise a substitute plan that provides product origin information without the cost and liability burdens. For your information, below you will find a summary of some of the identified problems associated with the regulations devised by USDA, which we will seek to improve upon during the next year. Meanwhile Sunkist will be displaying country-of-origin information on all our packaging, PLU stickers and point-of-sale signage to gain advantage of any consumer preference for American-grown product. IDENTIFIED PROBLEMS USDA forecasts very little benefit to producers and very high costs to implement mandatory COOL. "…estimated first-year incremental costs for growers, producers, processors, wholesales and retailers ranges from $582 million to $3.9 billion… USDA finds little evidence that consumers are likely to increase their purchase of food items bearing the US origin food label as a result of this rulemaking… Current evidence does not suggest that US producers will receive sufficiently higher prices for US labeling products to cover the labeling, record-keeping and other related costs." (Fed. Register pg 61953) For fruit and vegetables specifically, the economic impact indicates an upper-end estimate for the first year of $1.324 billion, with a direct cost of $24 million borne by producers; $580 million borne by intermediaries like packers, handlers, distributors and wholesalers, and $720 million borne by retailers. These estimates do not reflect the amount of these costs that will likely be passed along to consumers or back to grower/producers. In contrast to the current and successfully operating origin identification program in Florida, which we and others in the industry urged USDA to use as a model, USDA has created significant and problematic uncertainties about the retailer's ability to rely upon the information provided by the supplier by expecting of the retailer an obligation to "what is reasonably expected to be known". If this standard is indicative of USDA's enforcement attitude toward the definition of "willful violation" under the law - that is that the retailer should have known better about market conditions - retailers may be even more concerned about liability rather than less. This will increase the likelihood retailers will require independent verification by audits of supplier claims and indemnification contracts with suppliers. USDA's rejection of the Florida model also creates significant, burdensome recordkeeping obligations, interpreting the law to require records to substantiate origin declarations from grower through to retailer. 'USDA believes there are essentially no alternatives for verifying compliance other than through the use of an audit-based system…" Sunkist believes retailers should be able to rely upon the truthful declaration regarding COO by PACA licensed suppliers and is a significant regulatory and cost burden on the produce supply chain. On this point USDA seems unmoved saying, "AMS does not believe this type of enforcement program could serve as a model for enforcement of the Federal program." (Fed. Reg. Pg 61951) USDA imposes a requirement that growers, packers, distributors, handlers must maintain records evidencing origin for a period of two (2) years from the date of transaction. (Fed Reg. pg 61984) We see no reason for such extensive record retention but only contemporaneous proof of origin while the product is offered for retail sale. This would make COO a mandatory part of records for all transactions by PACA licensed traders. Records would have to be transaction specific, and underlying agreements would not be considered sufficient. The 2 year recordkeeping requirement would be imposed on thousands of growers who are not licensed under PACA, burdening them with new administrative costs. (Fed. Reg. Pg 61960) Store-level records at retail would be required for 7 days after the transaction and for 2 years by the covered retailer. Likely elimination of bulk displays of commingled commodities at retail by requiring 100% COOL stickering of product within the display. This could have an unintended negative effect on retailers' willingness to have bulk displays or might encourage them to reduce the number of suppliers or SKUs. Definition of "FRESH" versus "processed" may be compromised by USDA's effort to address complications created by bagged salads and fruit cups at retail. This could result in an unintended consequence of packaged, blended products displacing bulk fresh displays. This would be a change prompted by regulation not consumer preference. Penalties - The law contains enforcement provisions for both retailers and suppliers that include civil penalties of up to $10,000 for each violation." (Fed. Reg. Pg 61946) "Under the statute, suppliers of covered commodities are required to supply country of origin information to retailers and sanctions may be assessed against retailers only for willful violations." (Fed. Reg. Pg 61951) Produce suppliers, however, continue to face a maximum $10,000 liability for incorrect country of origin information without the "willful violation" protection afforded retailers. USDA suggests the possibility, inviting further comment, on requiring suppliers to provide an affidavit for each transaction to the immediate subsequent recipient certifying that the COOL claims are truthful and that the required records are being maintained. (Fed. Reg. Pg 61951) This suggests to retailers that mandatory legal indemnification might be warranted as a business practice. By limiting those retailers subject to COOL to PACA licensees, Congress may have provided an unintended competitive advantage to non-PACA licensed retailers, creating an economic incentive for retailers not to be PACA licensed, a prospect not appealing to the fresh produce industry. This might encourage some retailers such as convenience stores and small independents to limit their produce procurement to remain below the PACA license threshold and avoid being subject to COOL costs. RECOMMENDATION
USDA PROVIDES $150 MILLION FOR WILDFIRE RECOVERY EFFORTS IN CALIFORNIA Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman today announced that $150 million will be provided to help southern California wildfire recovery efforts and to address the tree mortality emergency in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, San Bernardino and Ventura counties. This funding is in addition to the more than $9 million for emergency environmental restoration work in southern California that USDA provided in November of 2003. “The Bush Administration remains committed to long-term recovery and prevention efforts in communities impacted by devastating wildfires,” said Veneman. “These funds will provide technical and financial assistance to local project sponsors to help heal the watershed and prevent further damage following a natural disaster.” The funds are being made available through the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Emergency Watershed Protection Program (EWP). USDA/NRCS will continue to work in partnership with local, state and federal agencies to ensure public safety and to address restoration efforts on private lands. The southern California fires burned 739,597 acres, took 22 human lives and cost more than $250 million to contain. Numerous cities and urban communities have infrastructure—basins, waterways, culverts, roads, homes and businesses—that are at significant risk from mud and debris flows expected from the burned areas. Many homes are located adjacent to steep burned hillsides with no cover. Existing debris basins may be overloaded from increased sediment and debris flows if significant rainfall occurs and several domestic water supply reservoirs are at risk from debris and sediment contamination. Rehabilitation efforts will provide sound erosion control measures that are economically and environmentally defensible. EWP measures include reseeding burned areas, placing sediment traps on slopes, constructing trash racks to trap large rocks and boulders, enlarging existing debris basins to increase capacity, and placing sandbags and other barriers to protect property. USDA has also committed more than $48 million in fiscal year 2004 for hazardous fuel reduction projects. Information on NRCS wildfire recovery efforts can be found on the Web at http://www.ca.nrcs.usda.gov and on EWP at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/EWP. TAX RELIEF FOR GROWERS AND COOPERATIVES TO BE CONSIDERED IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Sunkist Growers is urging grower-members to contact their Member of Congress in support of a federal tax relief package awaiting a vote in the House of Representatives that provides benefits for growers and cooperatives. Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Bakersfield) has introduced, and the House Ways and Means Committee approved, H.R. 2896 (The American Jobs Creation Act of 2003), providing an enhanced federal tax relief package for growers, cooperatives and other U.S. businesses. The measure is in response to the WTO ruling that current U.S. international tax policy relating to foreign sales corporations/ extraterritorial income exclusion (FSC/ETI) benefit is represent an illegal export subsidy. The European Union, under the same ruling, has threatened to impose $4 billion in sanctions or higher tariffs against imports from the U.S., including agriculture, as early as January 2004 if Congress fails to address the issue. This enhanced federal tax relief legislation includes a number of provisions important to farmer cooperatives and its farmer members. Some of these enhancements came as a result of the Sunkist grower survey last year that became the foundation for Sunkist Growers Federal Tax Relief Recommendations. Among those beneficial and recommended items, H.R. 2896 includes;
Sunkist Growers is strongly supportive of this legislation. It will likely come to a vote in the House of Representatives urgently. Therefore, we recommend contacting your House Member immediately to voice support for H.R. 2896. Sunkist’s new website, in cooperation with the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, makes contacting your Members of Congress easier than ever via the Contact Your Legislator link. Download: federal_tax.pdf FRUIT FROST FORECASTS FOR CALIFORNIA AND ARIZONA CENTRAL VALLEY: Central California Weather Watch and "The Weather Center" will provide the fruit frost forecast program for Tulare, Fresno, and a portion of Northern Kern County. Growers will be able to obtain the weather information by calling (800) 71 FROST or (800) 713-7678 and locally, 559 592-4140. "The Weather Center" forecasts begin November 15, 2003 and will run through March 15, 2004. It will provide daily forecasts at 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., with additional updates as needed. Growers can obtain additional weather information from "The Weather Center" web page at http://www.weatherwatch.com or contact "The Weather Center" direct at (800) 992 6875. INLAND EMPIRE: UCCE Riverside County and Riverside County Farm Bureau again have joined efforts to organize the program. Financing is provided through donations from packinghouses and private individuals, therefore the service is available only to growers associated with the contributing packinghouses. Growers should call their packinghouse to obtain the telephone number for the recording. "The Weather Center" will again provide the forecasts for the Inland Empire area. Forecasts are updated twice daily. The service will began November 15, 2003 and will continue through March 15, 2004. Individuals who are not associated with packinghouses can subscribe to the service by contacting Stephanie Bell, Riverside Farm Bureau, at (909) 684-6732. VENTURA COUNTY: Ventura County Farm Bureau continues to administer a fruit frost program for the county. Former NWS meteorologist, Terry Schaeffer continues to provide the forecasts. Under this program, each person subscribing to the service is to be issued a four-digit PIN (Personal Identification Number) for receiving the information via an integrated voice recognition system. For further information, contact your packinghouse or Kathy Bergeron, Ventura County Farm Bureau, at (805) 289-0155. COACHELLA VALLEY: Coachella Valley Water District provides the leadership in the Coachella Valley where meteorologist Carl Garczynski continues to provide weather updates. Updates are available by dialing (760) 398-7211. Weather information is also available on the district's Internet site at http://www.cvwd.org. Carl Garczynski can be reached at (760) 398-2651, EXT 318. YUMA/PHOENIX: As of this writing, no specific program available for Yuma. Phoenix area growers, call your packinghouse for forecast detail. USDA DESIGNATES CALIFORNIA COUNTIES AS AGRICULTURE DISASTER AREAS  |
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