Western Growers (WG) is pleased to announce the addition of Robert Medler as Arizona Government Affairs Manager. Medler brings nearly 15 years of government relations experience and will represent the most influential specialty crop producers in the fresh produce industry in the Arizona State Capitol.
“We are very excited to have Robert joining Western Growers’ State Government Affairs team,” said Matthew Allen, Vice President of State Government Affairs at Western Growers. “He brings a wealth of experience advocating on behalf of employers and is looking forward to utilizing his skills to represent WG member interests in the state of Arizona.”
Lobbying on behalf of the association, Medler will represent WG in all Arizona legislative and regulatory matters as well as monitor, analyze and report on policy recommendations for WG positions. Additionally, as part of his role, he will develop, draft and tactically implement policy strategies or legislation affecting agriculture, specifically relating to the fresh fruit, vegetable and nut sectors in Arizona.
Previously, Medler led the government relations, advocacy and public policy efforts at various associations including the Tucson Metro Chamber and Southern Arizona Chamber of Commerce Association. In 2019, Medler was selected as a “40 Under 40” award recipient from the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Arizona Daily Star.
“Western Growers is the preeminent advocacy organization for the agriculture community,” said Medler. “I am humbled and honored to join the Western Growers’ team to ensure our members have a strong voice in Arizona. Today’s policy decisions will have generational impacts; let’s make sure they are the right decisions.”
Medler earned a bachelor’s in Political Science & Communications from the University of Arizona and his master’s in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. He currently resides in Marana, Arizona.
To identify and prepare the next generation of Western Growers (WG) members for positions of leadership within the Western fresh produce industry, WG has inaugurated the sixth class of the Future Volunteer Leaders Program (FVLP). This year, for the first time in program history, the FVLP welcomes a future leader from Colorado, which became the third membership state in the WG family in 2015.
The following nine individuals have been selected to represent the next generation of industry leaders: • Phillip Adam, Innovative Produce • Mason Brady, Homegrown Organics Farms • Kristen Smith Eshaya, JVSmith Companies • Rocky Hampton, LIDCO • Tracy Jones, Booth Ranches • Colby Pereira, Braga Fresh Family • Garret Powell, Peter Rabbit Farms • Amber Strohauer, Strohauer Farms • Grant Talley, Talley Farms
“The increasing number of FVLP alumni serving on our board of directors is testament to the value of this leadership program,” stated Western Growers President and CEO Dave Puglia. ”This incoming class is a vibrant group and I look forward to their participation and future industry leadership.”
Over the course of the next two years, the Future Volunteer Leaders will shadow current members of the WG Board of Directors during board meetings, learning about federal, state and local issues affecting the Western fresh produce industry. Additionally, during the second year of the program, Class 6 will travel to Florida to tour a host of agricultural operations as part of an exchange program with the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association’s Emerging Leader Development Program. Future Volunteer Leaders will also participate in agtech initiatives through the Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology, as well as engage in media relations and social media efforts.
Since the program’s inception in 2011, seven FVLP alumni have graduated into a seat on the WG Board of Directors, including six who are on the current 2021-2022 board: • Alexander Muller, Pasquinelli Produce • Brandon Grimm, Grimmway Farms • Eric Reiter, Reiter Affiliated Companies • J.P. LaBrucherie, LaBrucherie Produce • Neill Callis, Turlock Fruit Company • Stephen Martori, Martori Farms
Click here to visit the FVLP website and learn more about the Class 6 participants.
About Western Growers:
Founded in 1926, Western Growers represents local and regional family farmers growing fresh produce in California, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. Western Growers’ members and their workers provide over half the nation’s fresh fruits, vegetables and tree nuts, including half of America’s fresh organic produce. Connect and learn more about Western Growers on Twitter and Facebook.
AMERICAN PHYTOPATHOLOGICAL SOCIETY – Potato is the most consumed vegetable crop worldwide. However, despite its importance, potato production is severely affected by high susceptibility to a wide range of microbial pathogens, such as bacteria from the genus Pectobacterium, which cause various devastating diseases in potato and produce important economic losses.
Even though resistance to Pectobacteriumspecies is limited within cultivated potato varieties, it is known that a potato wild relative (S. chacoense) is resistant to them; however, until recently, the underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon remained unknown.
In a recent study published in the Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions (MPMI) journal, scientists from Colorado State University (CSU) revealed that metabolites from S. chacoense contribute to disease resistance by altering the pathogenic behavior of Pectobacterium brasiliense, rather than inhibiting its growth or killing it.
“We tested if chemicals extracted from the wild potato affect the behavior of the bacterium and found that these inhibited their ability to produce the enzymes that degrade plant cell walls. The chemicals also intercepted their ability to communicate with each other. To use a battle analogy, the wild potato plant chemicals intercepted the bacteria’s missiles, they cut off their radio communications, and together this encouraged the bacteria to remain friendly neighbors,” explained Adam Heuberger, a CSU Associate Professor involved in the research.
“This wild potato is also resistant to insects, viruses, and fungi. The question is always why, and then how, we can translate this information to improve society. There is much to learn by studying wild relatives of food and ornamental plants,” Heuberger added.
University of Göttingen – The yield and quality of many crops benefit from pollination, but it isn’t just honey bees that do this work: bumble bees also have a role. However, placing honey bee or bumble bee colonies next to the field does not guarantee that they will visit the desired plants since there may be other plant species flowering at the same time that prove more attractive. A team from the University of Göttingen, together with researchers from the University of Applied Sciences Mittweida and the Julius Kühn Institute, used innovative molecular biological methods and traditional microscopy to investigate the pollen collecting behaviour of honey bees and bumble bees in agricultural landscapes. They show that bumble bees take much more pollen from dif-ferent plant species than honey bees to satisfy their need for protein. Furthermore, less pollen from the target – in this case strawberry plants – is collected when there are fields of flowering oilseed rape in the surrounding landscape. The results have been published in the journal Molecular Ecology.
The research team put honey bee and bumble bee colonies next to an experimental field (photo by Svenja Bänsch, University of Göttingen).
The researchers placed honey bee and bumble bee colonies next to strawberry fields in the Göttingen and Kassel region and collected pollen from returning honey bees and bumble bees. The bees collect the protein-rich pollen mainly for feeding their offspring. The pollen DNA was investigated working closely with the Division of Molecular Biology of Livestock and molecular Diagnostics at the University of Göttingen, and the Department of Biochemistry/Molecular Biology of the Mittweida University of Applied Sciences. “DNA analysis tells us which plant species the bees have visited and how diverse their foraging behavior is. To do this, we sequenced the DNA of the pollen and compared the sequences using a database of regional plant species,” says Dr Svenja Bänsch, post-doctoral researcher in Functional Agrobiodiversity at the University of Göttingen.
“Our study shows that honey bees and bumble bees use very different plants to source their pollen in the landscape. In particular, the wide range of bumble bee nutrition, which they find mainly in flower-rich habitats, should be taken into account when taking steps to improve nature conservation. Both honey bees and bumble bees, whose colonies can be purchased or rented, are suitable pollinators in strawberry cultivation. However, naturally occurring wild bees should be encouraged as a priority,” concludes Professor Catrin Westphal, Head of Functional Agrobiodiversity at the University of Göttingen.
Original publication: Bänsch S., Tscharntke T., Wünschiers R., Netter L., Brenig B., Gabriel, D. & Westphal, C. (2020) Using ITS2 metabarcoding and microscopy to analyse shifts in pollen diets of honey bees and bumble bees along a mass-flowering crop gradient. Molecular Ecology. Doi:10.1111/mec.15675 or: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/mec.15675
A coalition of agricultural and business employers has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court challenging the COVID-19 related emergency temporary standards (ETS) recently approved by the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (Board). The complaint alleges, among other things, that the Board lacks statutory authority to impose many of the sweeping measures of the ETS on California employers.
For California’s multi-generational farmers, the health and safety of their employees and the consumers they serve is their top priority.
“In the weeks and months following Governor Newsom’s emergency declaration in March, California farmers and processors moved quickly to implement dramatic new safety practices aimed at mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace,” said Dave Puglia, President & CEO of Western Growers. “While these measures helped reduce transmission in workplaces, this virus has swept through communities large and small in spite of lockdown orders and mask mandates, and through every sector of the economy as well despite extraordinary efforts by employers and employees alike. The Board imposed unrealistic, unfounded and economically harmful standards in total disregard of these realities. We have no choice but to seek judicial relief.”
The standards promulgated by the Board are unprecedented and sweeping. They were adopted with little public notice or opportunity for comment based on a purported “finding of emergency” and a declared need for immediate action, even though it took the Board nine months to enact these rules. Furthermore, Cal/OSHA staff insisted the ETS were not necessary for the agency to enforce the continually evolving general and industry-specific guidelines for the prevention of COVID-19. As stated in the complaint, “the ETS does not solve a crisis as much as it creates one.”
“We take this unfortunate yet serious action because we believe there are unconsidered mitigation steps that have and would continue to better protect farm workers while allowing our farmers to continue to produce a consistent supply of fruits and vegetables,” said Christopher Valadez, President of the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California. “As this pandemic has shown us over the last several months, it is imperative that science and data drive policy. That is at the core of what we seek in this lawsuit.”
The ETS create significant new obligations and liabilities for employers, and subject well-meaning California farmers and other businesses to additional enforcement actions and substantial penalties. The practical effect of these emergency standards is to shift the public health and economic costs of COVID-19 monitoring, investigation, compliance and remediation onto employers, all without any consideration of the financial damage inflicted on businesses already struggling to recover from the pandemic.
“These regulations will disrupt food supply operations all along the line, but it will be especially hard on our 20,000 small family farming members,” said Jamie Johansson, President of the California Farm Bureau Federation. “They and their employees are the unsung heroes of the pandemic but once again, they must react to a rule handed down by fiat instead of going through a deliberate regulatory process where the voices of farmers would be heard. We hope the court forces government to follow the law.”
It is important to note that the ETS will have a disproportionate impact on California farmers and their employees since one aspect of the regulations is to substantially reduce and eliminate vitally needed agricultural housing during a statewide housing crisis. A reduction in already-scarce housing will directly impact farmworker communities and harm rural economies across the state that depend on agriculture.
The lawsuit filed by lead attorney David A. Schwarz, Kent R. Raygor and Barbara Taylor, with Sheppard Mullin, argues that in enacting the emergency regulations without due process, the Board failed to explain the causal link between the ETS and the emergency situation to be addressed, or to adequately justify the necessity of the new rules. Additionally, the complaint contends that many of the regulations have nothing to do with workplace health or occupational safety but are designed to address non-work-related COVID-19 exposure risks.
To our friends in agricultural, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and share our appreciation for you and the reason for the season with this song, from our family to yours! For more fun & inspiring music, visit our new YouTube Channel Malcolm Family Music.
Enjoy the following article featuring two new strawberry varieties out of the University of Florida that may prove to be of value to West Coast growers in the near future.
A white strawberry? Not red? Yes, you “read” that right. And it smells a little like a pineapple. It’s also novel in that it’s the first white strawberry to go to market in the United States. Just in time for the west-central Florida strawberry harvesting season, which runs from now until the end of March, University of Florida Institute of Food & Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is releasing not one, but two new varieties – and the white strawberry is one of them. The other: another cultivar that UF/IFAS’ primary breeder says tastes oh-so-good.
Neither variety has a name yet. They’re known by numbers, which is typical early in the cultivar-release process. So far, they’re known as ‘FL 16.78-109’ (the white strawberry) and ‘FL 16.30-128’ (the red strawberry), said Vance Whitaker, a UF/IFAS associate professor of horticultural sciences and a strawberry breeder.
“Because the white strawberry is being test-marketed this year, there has been a lot of interest in it,” said Whitaker, a faculty member at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center. In fact, a grower told Whitaker that some chefs like the new fruit.
When it’s ripe and ready to eat, it is white inside and out, with a slight pink blush on the skin and red seeds, he said. “The flavor is very different from a typical strawberry, sweet but with a pineapple-like aroma,” Whitaker said. “White strawberries have been popular for some time in Japan, but this is expected to be the first white strawberry on the market in the United States.”
You can find white strawberries in nature, he said. Breeders have harnessed this naturally occurring trait, crossing white strawberries from the wild with modern strawberries to create something different in both appearance and taste.
Here’s how the white strawberry came about.
In 2012 strawberry seeds from Japan were sown at the University of Florida, and a few small plants recovered. The seeds were sown, and a few small plants were recovered. The pollen from these plants were crossed with a Florida variety. The seedlings from this cross-produced fruit that ranged from white to pink to red, Whitaker said.
“Commercial trials have been promising so far,” he said. “Pickers can tell when the fruit is ripe when a slight pink blush develops on the side of the fruit that is most exposed to the sun, and when most of the seeds turn red. By 2022, these new white strawberries should be available in U.S. grocery stores. They will probably be marketed as “pineberries” because of the pineapple aroma.”
Whitaker also touts the consistently even red color and conical shape of the new red variety, making the fruit more attractive.
Here’s how the colors differ in the two strawberries: The red from a typical strawberry comes from pigments called anthocyanins. White strawberries produce much lower amounts of these compounds in their flesh than red strawberries, Whitaker said.
As harvest arrives, farmers will welcome the new red and white strawberries from UF/IFAS, Whitaker said. UF/IFAS researchers and the Florida Strawberry Growers Association estimate strawberries generate about $300 million annually for those who farm them.
Out of the 10,000 acres of strawberries in west-central Florida, the new red strawberry may occupy as much as 300 acres in Florida during the 2021-2022 season, and if it continues to perform well, that number could grow.
The white strawberry, or “pineberry,” will be grown on fewer acres since it is a new specialty product. It will take time for farmers to become comfortable growing it, and it will also take time to educate consumers about this new fruit.
“The new red strawberry is notable for its outstanding flavor,” Whitaker said. “Because of its high sugar level, it tastes somewhat similar to (another UF/IFAS variety called) Sensation®, which is currently one of the leading varieties in Florida, yet with a more intense flavor due to the fruit’s higher acid content.” — Brad Buck, University of Florida Institute of Food & Agricultural Sciences
Dr. Ilenys Perez-Diaz (IP) is a Microbiologist with the Food Science and Market Quality and Handling Research Unit in Raleigh, NC. Her work involves research into microbes present during the fermentation and acidification of vegetables, and had some interesting things to share with the USDA-ARS in their Under the Microscope (UM) Q&A blog.
Dr. Ilenys Perez-Diaz
UM – As a microbiologist, how does your work connect to processed vegetables? What types of processes do these vegetables go through?
IP – There is a variety of microbes naturally present in fresh vegetables. The uncontrolled growth of such microbes in vegetables results in their decomposition and lack of appeal to consumers. We can control the growth of microbes in vegetables through the fermentation process, popularly known as pickles in the U.S.
I study the indigenous microorganisms in fresh vegetables and develop processes that produce fermented or acidified vegetables with prolonged shelf lives, enhanced flavor, and substantial nutritional content.
UM – What is the difference between fermentation and pickling?
IP – While these terms are used interchangeably in the USA, they are actually different. Technically, fermentation refers to the preservation of vegetables by converting the indigenous sugars to organic acids and increasing acidity. Pickling refers to vegetables that are acidified, primarily with vinegar, to extend their shelf-life.
Preservation of surplus tomatoes by sodium chloride free acidification (top) and fermentation (bottom). (Photo by Fernando Montero)
UM – Americans are usually not too familiar with fermented foods, but they are popular in other parts of the world. How safe are fermented foods?
IP – Fermented vegetables enjoy a strong record of safety; there are almost no outbreaks associated with them. Fermented vegetables are safe for human consumption as long as the microbial growth is controlled, and an appropriate pH level is maintained during storage.
UM – What are the benefits of fermenting or pickling your food?
IP – The main benefit of fermenting or acidifying vegetables is the extension of shelf-life. In certain vegetable fermentations, depending on the microbes, there can be enhanced levels of antioxidant or vitamin content.
However, we must not forget that the main metabolic products in a fermentation are lactic acid and acetic acid, which are building blocks of butyric acid and propionic acid. Such organic acids serve as energy sources for the gut lining, so it’s theoretically possible that fermented foods enhance human gut health. Lactic acid has also been associated with enhanced endurance in athletes who consume fermented vegetables and the juices.
Preservation of cucumbers via acidification in a reduced acid and salt solution. (Photo by Ilenys Perez-Diaz)
UM – Does the degree of fermentation impact the health benefits of a vegetable?
IP – This is a very interesting question. It is unknown to what extent fermented vegetables may enhance human health. However, we do know that butyric acid, the main energy source for the gut tissue lining, can be produced in some vegetable fermentations. Thus, it is of interest to further study the impact of fermented vegetables in the human gut health.
UM – We tend to think of pickled or fermented foods as extremely salty and briny. I understand that you and your team have worked to reduce sodium chloride in processed vegetables – please explain the process and how this can help consumers?
IP – Traditionally, the production of fermented vegetables has depended on the use of 6 to 10% sodium chloride salt in brines to control microbial growth. Salt makes it difficult for most microbes to grow on the vegetable and spoil it. Additionally, salt promotes the growth of bacteria that produce lactic acid, which leads to the desired conversion of sugars to acids.
Although this is a natural process, it can also result in environmental pollution if done on an industrial scale. The brining solution used to turn cucumbers into pickles is high in acidity and salt, which can harm the environment if disposed of improperly. My team and I have managed to replace most of the sodium chloride (table salt) in the brine with calcium chloride. Calcium chloride may improve soil quality and stimulate plant growth.
This new brining solution does not alter the taste or texture of the pickle, but it contains significantly less sodium – something many consumers may appreciate for health reasons.
UM – Recently, people have been interested in consuming probiotic or prebiotic foods like fermented vegetables. Please explain how these types of foods may promote gut health.
IP – Fermented vegetables not only serve as an environment for potentially beneficial microbes to grow, but they also naturally harbor indigestible dietary fibers that feed the gut microbiome. In theory, there is an advantage in using beneficial microbes in fermented foods that are customized to the gut’s natural pH acidity and environment. However, it is difficult to do so due to the level of microbial diversity within each individual’s gut, and also the complexity of microbial interactions within the human body.
Replicating another of its Salinas Valley programs, the Grower Shipper Association of Central California (GSA) has established a COVID-19 training prevention program for food facility and farm employees in the Yuma in cooperation with the Regional Center for Border Health clinic. The program brings health professionals directly to work sites to provide multi-lingual information on virus prevention practices while on the job and at home as well as answer any questions employees may have, including about the availability and safety of the new vaccines.
“This program was very popular among both employers and employees throughout last spring and summer and we are fortunate to bring this to the Yuma growing region where many of our members have farms and operations during the winter months,” says Christopher Valadez, GSA President.
In addition to the onsite prevention training, GSA also replicated its programs to establish a quarantined housing program as well as virus testing for farm workers in this region. GSA’s quarantined housing program became a model for California Governor Gavin Newsom’s “Housing for the Harvest” program. GSA’s housing provides daily deliveries of meals and necessities as well as health checks by nurses for those workers who have been exposed to the virus, tested positive or are symptomatic.
“As we have learned over the last several months and while we await the availability of the vaccine, prevention training, adequate testing and effective contact tracing combined with isolation alternatives through quarantined housing are needed to target the spread of this virus” Valadez says. “Bringing these programs to the desert growing region was a priority for GSA members to protect the farm workers who are essential to our industry and provide a consistent supply of healthy foods to consumers.”
Farmers who want more information on the prevention training, expedited testing for employees or housing should contact Christopher Valadez.
Replicating another of its Salinas Valley programs, the Grower Shipper Association of Central California (GSA) has established