California Fruit and Vegetable

Tag: Citrus Growers

  • California Citrus Mutual Names Tom Danowski as New CEO

    California Citrus Mutual (CCM) announced the selection of Tom Danowski as its new CEO following a search conducted by the CCM Board of Directors.

    Danowski brings more than three decades of executive leadership experience spanning agriculture, advocacy, trade association management and marketing to the job. More recently, he served for 13 years as President and CEO of the Oregon Wine Board and Oregon Winegrowers Association. During his tenure, he helped drive the Oregon wine industry’s total annual economic impact from $2.7 billion to $8 billion through industry collaboration, strategic advocacy and public policy work.

    “We are excited to welcome Tom to California Citrus Mutual,” said Julia Inestroza, CCM Board Chair. “The Board was looking for a leader with strong agricultural and advocacy experience who could help guide our organization into the future. With Tom’s leadership, experience working with growers, and ability to build strong relationships with policymakers, we are confident he will be a great leader for CCM and California’s citrus industry.”

    Danowski said he was drawn to the opportunity because of California citrus’s reputation and the organization’s strong leadership.

    “Citrus is one of California’s most iconic agricultural industries. California citrus has an outstanding reputation, and CCM has a highly respected Board of Directors and a dedicated team working on behalf of growers, said Danowski. “It’s an exciting opportunity to bring what I’ve learned from another premium specialty crop industry and apply it to helping California citrus continue to thrive.”

    “I look forward to building on the tremendous work already underway, continuing the energy and vision that have made California citrus so successful, and helping lawmakers and policymakers develop an even deeper understanding of the industry’s importance to California agriculture and our economy,” he continued.

    Ryan Young of Sun Pacific, who served on the CEO Search Committee, said the Board was intentional in finding a leader with the right blend of advocacy experience and executive leadership.

    “After an extensive and thoughtful search process, it became clear that Tom possesses the qualities we are looking for. He understands grower-funded organizations, has a strong track record of working with government leaders, and has successfully led a major agricultural trade association through significant growth and change,” said Young.

    As CEO, Danowski will lead CCM’s advocacy efforts on behalf of California citrus growers at the state and federal levels while overseeing the organization’s membership services, communications, industry partnerships, and strategic initiatives. He will officially begin his role as CEO on Sept. 1.

  • California Citrus Mutual Welcomes FDA Update to Orange Juice Standard

    California Citrus Mutual (CCM) recently welcomed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s decision to update the federal standard of identity for pasteurized orange juice. The action marks the first significant revision to the standard in more than 60 years and takes effect Aug.19.

    Under the revised standard, orange juice will be permitted to contain up to 15% juice from mandarins and mandarin hybrids while still being labeled orange juice. The rule also adjusts the minimum sugar-content threshold, known as the Brix level, to reflect current growing conditions. Together, the changes bring the decades-old standard in line with today’s citrus industry and strengthen the domestic juice supply.

    The FDA reviewed consumer sensory data during its rulemaking process and concluded that the change will not alter how consumers perceive orange juice. The agency found the update preserves the taste and quality consumers expect while giving domestic producers greater flexibility and reducing reliance on imported juice.

    CCM supported the update through the FDA’s public rulemaking process, submitting comments in favor of the change and working with members of Congress to advance it. The petitions that prompted the rule were led by Florida’s citrus industry, whose growers have faced production challenges from disease and severe weather.

    “The California citrus industry thanks the FDA for updating the orange juice standard and allowing the blending of complementary citrus varieties,” said Jacob Villagomez, CCM Director of Governmental Affairs. “This decision supports domestic juice production, reduces reliance on imports, and ensures consumers continue receiving the quality and flavor they expect.”

    The change is expected to create new opportunities for California growers, who produce large volumes of mandarins and mandarin hybrids. California is predominantly a fresh-market supplier, and the higher blending allowance opens a stronger processing outlet for fruit that does not reach the fresh market. Mandarins have become an increasingly important part of California’s citrus production.

    CCM appreciates the FDA’s willingness to update a decades-old regulation through a science-based process that benefits growers, processors, and consumers alike. — Story contributed by California Citrus Mutual

  • Using Predators to Counter Asian Citrus Psyllids

     

    The Asian citrus psyllid is an active threat for growers and the main vector for Huanglongbing disease. These invasive insects have wreaked havoc in Florida and spread to Southern California, but researchers at UC Riverside are finding ways to counter them. Matthew Malcolm from Malcolm Media Ag Publishing interviewed Bodil Cass at the World Ag Expo to discuss the use of predators against psyllids. Watch this quick video and read more in California Fruit & Vegetable Magazine.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor Simplot for their industry support.

  • Congressman Ted Yoho Addresses Citrus Growers on Ag Guest Worker Legislation

    I have worked in agriculture for over thirty years. At the age of fifteen, I worked loading produce during the harvest season at the Pompano farmers market in South Florida. I went on to veterinary school and after graduation, I worked as a large animal vet in North Central Florida for 30 years. For the last six and a half years, I have served on the House Agriculture Committee, proudly representing Florida’s Third Congressional District. With over three decades of experience in and around agriculture, I can confidently say that I understand the needs of American producers and those of the farmworker.

    Currently, agriculture faces an uncertain future because our nation’s farmers cannot find enough workers to tend to livestock or harvest crops. Labor scarcity in agriculture is not a new problem. Producers have been talking about this issue for decades, and likewise, lawmakers in Washington have failed for decades to come up with a commonsense reform to meet the needs of the producer while protecting the migrant workforce.

    Producers who cannot find domestic labor use the H-2A program or use the I-9 form to find temporary foreign labor. The H-2A program is a vital tool for producers, however, the program is flawed in that it only allows for temporary workers up to 10 months legally in the country. Industries like dairy, plant nurseries, and others have full time year-round labor demands that aren’t fulfilled by these programs. Another flaw is it has no enforcement to keep workers in the agriculture sector. So once in the country, the H-2A worker can go work in another industry, say construction for example, that often pays more than agriculture work

    The I-9 form that many producers rely on is plagued with many problems. One is that it does not confirm the legitimacy of a worker’s proper identification or social security number. E-Verify would help alleviate this uncertainty for employers, however the E-Verify program is not mandatory and therefore not widely used.

    While our citrus producers are currently able to use H-2A, there are problems with the program that our proposal would address. Our proposal would allow producers to continue bringing in temporary workers using the H-2A program, but it addresses the high costs of the program. Many citrus producers we have met with have discussed the issues they have with planning for the next year due to the unpredictability and high costs of the adverse effect wage rate (AEWR). Our reforms to H-2A would eliminate the AEWR, allowing market-based conditions to determine the wages paid to workers.

    Additionally, our program would make housing and transportation accommodations optional, allowing producers to charge a reasonable fee if they choose to provide these services to their temporary workers. H-2A would remain a seasonal program, allowing producers to bring in temporary workers for up to 10 months with the same contractual agreement between producers and workers. With these reforms the H-2A program would automatically enrolled the worker into the E-Verify system so an employer is confident they have hired a legal H-2A worker.  In addition, once a worker is in the system, their re-entry into the U.S. would be streamlined like TSA pre-check.  Our proposal would also simplify the petitioning process for employers who bring in H-2A workers. Once implemented this program will create certainty for producers seeking labor while easing restrictions on the valued H-2A worker.

    In addition to the temporary H-2A guest worker program, we are implementing a five-year program that will enable year-round workers to stay in the United States. The guest worker will be able to renew their visa every four and half years and will be allowed to travel back and forth between their county and the United States or follow the growing season around the country

    We must face reality. Without a reliable, predictable, and steady agriculture workforce, our food will not get to market, household food costs will increase, and our producers won’t be able to compete globally.  This also creates the risk of making America dependent on another country for our food supply, which no American should accept.   Our farmers and ranchers produce the highest quality food in the world. We are fortunate to live with such abundance, but we need individuals to work the fields and ranches to make this possible. It is imperative that we provide producers with the workforce they need to feed America and the world. While at the same time provide the hard-working migrants a legal, dignified way to generate income and opportunity.