Housing for Harvest Program Welcomes Two Additional Counties

October 1st, 2020

Today, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) announced the expansion of the Housing for the Harvest Program to Sacramento and San Luis Obispo counties. With the addition of these counties, ten California counties are now participating in the program: Sacramento, San Luis Obispo, Kern, Madera, Kings, Riverside, Tulare, Santa Barbara, Fresno and San Joaquin.

As previously reported in Spotlight, Housing For The Harvest is a program initiated by Governor Gavin Newsom that provides temporary hotel housing options for agricultural workers to self-isolate after testing positive for COVID-19 but do not require hospitalization.

Housing for the Harvest will ultimately be made available statewide and provide opt-in housing support for any counties or regions that are interested.

Why are Health Insurance Costs Rising?

October 8th, 2020

Health care costs in the United States have risen sharply over the past two decades. In fact, a study by the Journal of the American Medical Association found that U.S. health care spending increased by nearly $1 trillion from 1996 to 2015.

As the average premiums for single coverage and for family coverage continue to rise, employers shoulder the majority of those costs. So what does that mean for you?

When considering the problem of rising health insurance costs, it’s important to explore the reasons behind the cost increases. It’s also important to note that each organization will likely experience different cost drivers, but the following are among the most common across our region:

  • Skyrocketing prescription costs — Prescription drug costs continue to represent an increasingly large portion of health care expenditures. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) projects that the annual expenditures for 2021 on prescription drugs will be $455 billion.
  • Increase in chronic conditions — Approximately 133 million Americans live with one or more chronic diseases, which translates into an increased cost for employers. As a nation, 86% of our health care dollars go to treatment of chronic diseases.
  • Increased usage — A number of factors such as improvements in medical technology, the influence of managed care, elevated consumer awareness and demand, and a boost in the number of practicing physicians caused health services to rise significantly.
  • Aging population —According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of Americans ages 65 and older is expected to nearly double by 2025, and the elderly population (80 and older) will increase by 80%.
  • Low health literacy — It is estimated that low health literacy costs the United States $106 billion to $238 billion annually and accounts for 7% to 17% of all personal health care expenditures. The 2018 Broker Services Survey found that 41% of survey respondents believe helping employees become better consumers of health care was a top benefits challenge.

How can employers address rising costs?

Employers are struggling to contain accelerating health plan costs. After trying to absorb most of the costs because of hiring and retention issues, many firms are attacking the root causes of rising costs with sustained, systemic changes. With the growing epidemic of poor health and the uncertain overall impact of health care reform, many employers are looking at both short- and long-term strategies to manage costs, which include making plan design changes, focusing on employee well-being, education, and implementing additional benefits offerings.

As costs continue to climb, your organization needs to take action. Western Growers Insurance Services (WGIS) will guide your organization to health care cost-mitigation strategies.

For more information, contact Eric Trost, vice president of employee benefits at Western Growers Insurance Services, at (949) 885-2211 or [email protected]

Trust, but Verify: What Constitutes a Detailed Account of Sale?

October 14th, 2020

Timely and verified rejections of fresh commodities at contract destination do occur, making it very important to know precisely how to handle your next moves. Once a contract has been amended, the seller must know how to hold the handler accountable to ensure they’ve maximized the forwarded net proceeds once all sales are completed. In this blog, I will cover what criteria makes-up a detailed account of sale and I will share a mock-accounting that you should always expect to see from the receiver when you are reconciling.

When a buyer rejects a load of produce at destination for failing to meet “Good Arrival” or you otherwise contemplate moving a load of produce under a consignment agreement, you are entering into an agency relationship with a commission merchant selling your produce for the benefit of your company on a consignment basis. The only time a detailed accounting is required to be submitted by the consignee (the company selling your product) is on a consignment transaction. Be advised that using terms like Price After Sale or Open are not recognized under the federal PACA statute, therefore granting no protection and leaving your company vulnerable.

In a consignment, you as the shipper remain the beneficial owner of the product, until the receiver sells the product on your behalf in a prompt and proper manner. Following the completion of the sale of the product, the receiver is permitted to deduct usual and customary expenses directly connected to the sale, which you and the receiver should have previously agreed upon. 

So the question becomes, “What information is required on the accounting and what is considered a detailed account of sale?”  There are five main components of a detailed account of sales:

  1. Date product was physically received at the receivers facility
  2. Lot number(s) must be assigned to the product(s) received
  3. The date and the amount sold on a given date along with the respective gross selling prices
  4. For any discarded product over 5%, a dump slip or donation receipt must be provided, or a federal inspection showing the product has no commercial value on the dump date
  5. Reasonable and customary expenses by the receiver should also have all corresponding documents, including copies of the paid freight bill, USDA inspection, if any, donation receipts and dump slips, as well as any other miscellaneous expenses (if any) incurred in the handling of the product. The following link is a sample accounting reflecting all five components of an account of sale.

If any one of these components are missing from the accounting provided by the receiver (commission merchant) selling your product, then the receiver has failed to properly account and fully document the sales of the product being consigned. Failing to supply a full detailed accounting containing the information above could lead to the receiver being potentially responsible for the ‘Fair Market Value” of the product. That formula for fair market value could be the USDA Federal State Market News Quotes for your product at time of arrival.

As the shipper and beneficial owner, stay informed about the daily sales activity on your product, and always scrutinize the accounting provided to you. If you have concerns about the information, or lack of information, contained on an accounting you receive, please contact me so we can review and discuss. 

If we speculate that the accounting is not complete and accurate, you have the right to request the assistance of the PACA division in performing an audit of the complete records of the commission merchant that handled your product. Remember, the only time your receiver is obligated to give you an account of sales is when both parties have agreed to consignment handling of your product.

As always should you have any questions concerning the required documentation and consignment transaction or the components that make up a detail account of sales, please do not hesitate to contact me at 949-885-2392 or email [email protected].

Insurance Corner: Prescription Drug Strategy

October 29th, 2020

As prescription drug costs continue to increase, it is important for employers to understand the trends behind prescription drug costs and what they can do to better manage their health care expenses.

In 2019, the United States was projected to spend over $500 billion on prescription drugs, by some estimates—12 times more than the $40.3 billion spent in 1990. Although prescription drug spending has historically been a small proportion of national health care spending compared to hospital and physician services, it has grown rapidly in recent years.

In 2014, prescription drug spending in the United States increased by 13.1 percent—the largest increase since 2003. This jump was due to several factors—a major one being a 30.9 percent increase in spending on specialty medications, which are high-cost drugs used to treat complicated conditions like hepatitis C, cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. The growth in prescription spending was also due to more people being insured and gaining prescription drug coverage as a result of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Reasons Behind Prescription Drug Trends

A multitude of factors led to changes in prescription drug costs, as outlined below.

  1. Increasing Drug Prices: In 2017, traditional prescription drug spending decreased by 0.3 percent. Specialty medications prescriptions commanded 40 percent of the pharmaceutical market in 2016 ($180 billion). Specialty drug spending is projected to experience rapid growth over the next several years, due to pricing increases.
     
  2. Types of Drugs Used: Approximately 49 percent of the drugs that gained Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 2014 were specialty drugs, pointing to a steady rise in usage. This trend is likely to continue as more specialty drugs enter the market.
     
  3. Failure to Follow Physician Orders: A failure to fill prescriptions can have serious effects on patient health and lead to more costly medical problems down the road. A study found that 31 percent of prescriptions go unfilled and individuals over the age of 52 were more likely to fill their prescriptions than their younger counterparts. Women were more likely to fill their prescriptions than men, and, drugs with higher copayments were less likely to be filled.

Cost Control Strategies

Several tactics that employers and consumers can implement in an effort to curb rising prescription drug expenses are:

  1. Managing Usage: Many health plans have responded by creating drug formularies, which exclude certain drugs from coverage and step therapy requirements, which require individuals to try more cost-effective treatments before “stepping up” to more costly drugs. Prior authorizations may be required when an insurer believes a less expensive drug may work just as well as the more expensive drug the doctor prescribed.
     
  2. Using Other Payment Methods: Using generic drugs is a well-known way to save money on prescriptions without sacrificing quality, but a lesser-known option may be using cash to buy prescriptions—instead of using insurance. No longer bound by gag clauses as of 2018, pharmacists can now say whether you’ll save money by not using insurance and paying with cash instead.
     
  3. Rebates and Discounts: Some businesses have elected to partner with organizations known as pharmacy benefit managers in order to negotiate with pharmaceutical manufacturers to receive rebates and discounts on prescription drugs based on factors like volume and market share.
     
  4. Employee Awareness: Employers are not the only ones seeking to reduce costs when it comes to pharmaceuticals. As employees’ out-of-pocket responsibilities continue to grow, rather than paying for a brand name, more people are asking for cheaper or generic versions of drugs. Consumers are also using the internet and phone apps to make price comparisons between local pharmacies and to locate available coupons. Some consumers are also looking to mail-order pharmacies to handle 90-day supplies of their medications, which often offer lower drug prices.

To discuss developing strategies to control your employees’ prescription drug costs, contact Eric Trost, vice president of employee benefits at Western Growers Insurance Services, at (949) 885-2211 or [email protected].

FSMA Traceability Rule to be Discussed in Virtual FDA Meetings

October 6th, 2020

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be hosting three online public meetings to discuss the recently released proposed rule “Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods.” The meetings will provide additional information about the proposed rule, which was issued under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, and are intended to facilitate and support the public’s evaluation and commenting process on the proposed rule.

As previously reported in Spotlight, the FSMA Proposed Rule for Food Traceability will establish additional traceability recordkeeping requirements for certain foods.

The meeting schedule is as follows:

Registration is required to attend one of the virtual meetings. For more information or general questions about the meetings, click here or contact Juanita Yates, FDA, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, at [email protected].

Sustainability Metrics in Agriculture: New Online Stewardship Calculator

October 6th, 2020

From reducing food waste, energy, and GHG emissions to improving soil health, today’s growers and packer shippers are identifying new and ingenious ways to further sustainability efforts while meeting the ever-increasing demands from agricultural consumers. Though sustainability can be difficult to quantify, we now have a method to measure on-farm sustainability efforts!

Western Growers, in partnership with the Stewardship Index for Specialty Crops (SISC), introduces an advanced online tool developed with SupplyShift that allows growers, packer shippers, and brands to establish baselines and offers visualizations of trends to help gauge sustainability efforts within operations and across supply chains.

Join us for vital information about the newest online sustainability metrics tool and visualization platform that will take your sustainability practices to the next level.

Join us for our “Sustainability Metrics in Agriculture: New Online Stewardship Calculator” webinar on Wednesday, October 21 from 11:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. PT, as we familiarize you with the power of the calculator and how you can start making your operations more sustainable today!

Click here to register.

CDPH Issues Guidance on AB 685, California’s New COVID-19 Law

October 22nd, 2020

Signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 17, 2020, AB 685 (Reyes) requires employers to notify employees who may have been exposed to COVID-19 and to report workplace outbreaks of COVID-19 to the local health department. Additionally, the bill enhances the Division of Occupational Health and Safety’s (Cal/OSHA) ability to enforce health and safety standards to prevent workplace exposure to and spread of COVID-19.

Last Friday, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued two documents on AB 685 compliance. WG members should be aware of the following immediate implications:

  1. Definitions

In its requirements for employers, AB 685 refers to terms as defined by the CDPH. CDPH definitions for these terms are below.

  • COVID-10 Outbreak: A COVID-19 outbreak is defined as at least three COVID-19 cases among workers at the same worksite within a 14-day period.
  • Infectious Period: For an individual who develops symptoms, the infection period begins 2 days before they first develop symptoms and ends when 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared AND at least 24 hours have passed with no fever (without use of fever-reducing medications) AND other symptoms have improved. For an individual who tests positive but never develops symptoms, the infectious period begins 2 days before the specimen for their first positive COVID-19 test was collected and ends 10 days after the specimen for their first positive COVID-19 test was collected.
  • Laboratory-Confirmed Case: A positive result on any viral test for COVID-19.

Click here to access the CDPH’s Employer Guidance on AB 685: Definitions page.

  1. Employer Questions

The CDPH guidance addresses employer questions about AB 685, including:

  • What information am I required to give workers, and which workers must be notified?
  • When am I required to report COVID-19 cases to the local health department, and what information should I report?
  • How do local health departments and CDPH use the information I report?
  • Who qualifies as a COVID-19 case?
  • What does AB 685 authorize CAL/OSHA to do?
  • Which employers have to follow AB 685?
  • Where can I find more information about AB 685 and COVID-19 in the workplace?

Click here to access CDPH’s Employer Questions about AB 685 page.

Keep in mind, CDPH already issued COVID-19 employer guidance earlier this year. This guidance also requires employers to notify local health departments if there are 3 or more cases of COVID-19 in their workplace within a 2-week period. This requirement is already in effect, so employers must follow it now. The additional requirements under AB 685 go into effect on January 1, 2021.

Click here to access CDPH’s Responding to COVID-19 in the Workplace for Employers guidance document.

WG Women Media Training with Communication Expert Nancy Heffernan

October 27th, 2020

Have you ever wanted to be an industry spokesperson? With the proliferation of information sources in today’s world, including traditional, social and digital media, the thought of being an advocate can be daunting. But that is exactly why we need you; if you bring the courage, we’ll help you build the confidence!

Hone your advocacy skills by joining us for media training with communications expert and former journalist Nancy Heffernan. During this two-hour training session, you’ll learn how to put your best foot forward when communicating with the media. Nancy’s decades of experience as a media relations consultant on complex public affairs issues make her a deft instructor who will help you understand what makes news, when and how to provide comments for the media, and how to leverage your messaging across various platforms. You will also participate in a mock interview to put your new skills into practice at the end of this fun and informative session.

TRAINING DETAILS

WG Women Media Training

Date: Thursday, November 12, 2020

Time: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM PDT

RSVP: CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

USDA CFAP Payments Target COVID-19 Losses – Apply Now

October 1st, 2020

Have your operations been directly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic? USDA is implementing Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 2 (CFAP 2) for agricultural producers who continue to face market disruptions and associated costs because of COVID-19.

USDA’s Farm Service Agency are currently accepting CFAP 2 applications through December 11, 2020. CFAP 2 follows the first round of CFAP, which had an application period of May 26 through September 11.

Based on stakeholder feedback from the first round CFAP, USDA has incorporated improvements to CFAP 2 to better meet the needs of impacted farmers and ranchers, including an expanded list of eligible commodities and an easier application process.

Payments Based on 2019 Sales, Not Losses

Unlike the first CFAP, there is no requirement to demonstrate that a crop has suffered a loss. Instead, CFAP 2 payment calculations will use a sales-based approach, where producers are paid based on five payment gradations associated with their 2019 sales. Additional commodities are eligible in CFAP 2 that were not eligible in the first iteration of the program, including most fruit, vegetable and tree nut crops. and all seed crops for eligible crops.

Eligibility
There is a payment limitation of $250,000 per person or entity for all commodities combined. Applicants who are corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, estates or trusts may qualify for additional payment limits when members actively provide personal labor or personal management for the farming operation, with a maximum of $750,000.

Farmers who applied for and received funds from the original CFAP are eligible for CFAP 2. Any funds received from CFAP do not count toward the payment limit for CFAP 2.

Producers will also have to certify they meet the Adjusted Gross Income limitation of $900,000 unless at least 75 percent or more of their income is derived from farming, ranching or forestry-related activities. Producers must also be in compliance with Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation provisions.

If your agricultural operation has been impacted by the pandemic since April 2020, we encourage you to apply for CFAP 2 at USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) county offices. A complete list of eligible commodities, payment rates and calculations can be found on farmers.gov/cfap.

Additional USDA Resources

  • USDA CALL Center: A call center will be available for producers who would like additional one-on-one support with the CFAP 2 application process. Please call (877) 508-8364 to speak directly with a USDA employee.
  • USDA Press Release: Click HERE to access the USDA press release.

For additional information, please contact Dennis Nuxoll at [email protected].

U.S. EPA Grants Valley Air District Funds to Replace Ag Tractors, Low-Dust Harvesters

October 22nd, 2020

The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District recently received over $30 million in additional U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funding to augment its grant program to replace old agricultural tractors and low-dust harvesters.

The District will use $20,000,000 from this grant for its Tractor Replacement Program. The funding will support the replacement of approximately 526 older, high-polluting tractors with significantly cleaner Tier 4 tractors.

Additionally, $10,366,695 from this grant will be allocated for the District’s Low Dust Nut Harvester Replacement Program, helping fund the replacement of approximately 170 pieces of nut-harvesting equipment with new, low-dust harvesting equipment.

Though the District has not yet opened up the applications period for either programs, a complete listing of program requirements for both the Tractor Replacement Program and the Low Dust Nut Harvester Replacement Program can be found at www.valleyair.org/grants or by calling program staff at 559-230-5800. We will keep you apprised of when the application periods will commence. 

Court Blocks USCIS Fee Increases

October 6th, 2020

Last week, a federal judge granted a motion for a preliminary injunction blocking the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from moving forward with its rule imposing a new fee schedule. The USCIS had issued a rule that could dramatically increase fees on employers that use the H-2A program, among other immigration-based programs. The fees were scheduled to go into effect on October 2, 2020.

As previously reported here, the rule would reduce the fee for petitions for unnamed workers from $460 to $415. However, for named petitions which are typically used for H-2A extensions and transfers of H-2A workers to other temporary labor certifications, the fee would jump 85% to $850 per petition. It would also limit the number of workers listed in the petition to 25, requiring many employers to file multiple $850 petitions for the same job order.

 In issuing the injunction, District Court Judge Jeffrey S. White, in the Northern District of California, found that the “Plaintiffs have met their burden to show they are likely to succeed on their claim that Mr. McAleenan and Mr. Wolf were not lawfully serving under the HSA (Homeland Security Act),” wrote Judge White. “Defendants conceded at the hearing that if this Court rejects their arguments on this issue, which it does, the Final Rule would have been promulgated without lawful authority.” A federal judge in Maryland had ruled last month that Chad Wolf is likely unlawfully serving as acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and former acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan’s appointment was invalid under the agency’s applicable order of succession.

Judge White also ruled that the USCIS fee rule likely violates procedural and substantive requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act and that USCIS probably failed to consider important aspects, such as the negative impact the rule will have on low-income immigrant populations.

The USCIS will likely appeal the decision. For now, the pre-existing rule schedule for USCIS petitions remains unchanged.

USDA to Discontinue Ag Labor Survey

October 6th, 2020

The U.S Department of Agriculture announced last week its intent to suspend the Agricultural Labor Survey which is used to set the Adverse Effect Wage Rates for H-2A workers each year.

According to USDA, “[t]he Agricultural Labor Survey provides quarterly statistics on the number of agricultural workers, hours worked, and wage rates. Number of workers and hours worked have been used to estimate agricultural productivity; wage rates have been used in the administration of the H-2A Program and for setting Adverse Effect Wage Rates. Survey data have also been used to carry out provisions of the Agricultural Adjustment Act.

In justifying this change, the agency stated the labor survey is redundant and pointed to alternative sources of ag labor data including the Agricultural Resources Management Survey (ARMS), Census of Agriculture (COA), and the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS), among others.

USDA’s most recent farm labor survey was scheduled to be conducted in mid-October, and a report on its findings was set to be published in November, but now the USDA has pivoted away from Agricultural Labor Survey.

It is not clear what the effect of the suspension of the Agricultural Labor Survey will be on the setting of the Adverse Effect Wage Rates. Labor advocates have cried that the suspension of the survey will have the intended effect of lowering farmworker wages, without promulgating a rule that expressly lowers wages. However, it not yet clear what methodology the U.S. Department of Labor will use to set the H-2A wages, or if wages will increase or decrease.  Earlier this year the Ag Workforce Coalition, which includes Western Growers, sent a letter to Congress arguing that spiraling Adverse Effect Wage Rates put domestic producers at a competitive disadvantage.

CPS Research Symposium Review: Bringing Executive Summaries to Life

October 1st, 2020

The 2020 Center for Produce Safety Virtual Research Symposium provided a broad glimpse of knowledge gained and in-progress awareness of its sponsored research to its largest and most geographically broad stakeholder audience.

For many, sometimes it is not quite clear whether this new knowledge represents solutions ready for adoption, and if not, how close and what needs to happen next? What sectors should be preparing for subtle shifts in practices or policies and which project outcomes are fueling significant game-changing expectations? Join WG, PMA, and United Fresh in revisiting selected research presentations, including one from WG’s VP of Science, De Ann Davis, focusing on those outcomes which improve our ability to identify, assess, and reduce or manage risk. Discussions, opinions, and interpretive suggestions will bring to life highlights from the sessions and solicited stakeholder input on research priorities for future CPS funding.

Click here to access CPS Research Symposium Webinar Series Executive and Weekly Session Summaries

WEBINAR DETAILS

CPS Research Symposium Review: Bringing Executive Summaries to Life

Date: Monday, October 12, 2020

Time: 11:00 AM PDT

Speakers:

  • DeAnn Davis, PhD, Senior Vice President, Science, Western Growers
  • Jennifer McEntire, PhD, Senior Vice President, Food Safety & Technology, United Fresh Produce Association
  • Trevor Suslow, PhD Vice President, Produce Safety, Produce Marketing Association

Click here to register

2020 Western Growers Compensation & HR Practices Post Survey Webinar

October 6th, 2020

Along with good land and reliable water, talented people are essential to the continued growth and prosperity of the fresh produce industry. But how exactly do you go about recruiting, retaining and developing talented people in your operations?

Join us for an exclusive look at how to use data from our annual WG Compensation and HR Practice Survey on Thursday, October 15 at 11:00 AM (PT) to make informed, strategic workforce decisions. With more than a decade under our belt, our survey represents the gold standard in compensation and HR practices data in the Western fresh produce industry.

Presented by WG in collaboration with PeopleMatter, this webinar will take a deep dive into how the survey is crafted and conducted, explore the “art and science” of compensation management using real-life scenarios, and provide tips on how to use the survey results to make strategic pay and benefits decisions.

Take advantage of this opportunity to gain invaluable insight from the compensation experts at Western Growers and PeopleMatter. Commit to participating in the 2021 survey and obtain the results for free ($2500 value).

Click here to register.

 

Western Growers Hires Walt Duflock as Vice President, Innovation

October 20th, 2020

IRVINE, Calif. (October 20, 2020) – Increasing its industry-leading efforts to quicken the pace of technology solutions for the fresh produce industry, Western Growers has added Walt Duflock as Vice President, Innovation. In this role, Duflock will be singularly focused on accelerating agtech for Western Growers (WG) member companies, including expanding the footprint of the Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology (WGCIT), a premier agtech incubator located in Salinas, Calif.

“The need for innovative technology in our members’ fields and facilities has never been more urgent,” said WG President and CEO Dave Puglia. “Walt Duflock has guided many technology entrepreneurs and brings a demonstrated ability to propel growth in the agriculture technology sector. I am thrilled that Walt will now join WGCIT Director Dennis Donohue, who is driving tangible progress on key agtech initiatives such as automation and food safety enhancement. Together, Walt and Dennis will further strengthen our ability to drive rapid commercialization of the technologies our members need to thrive into the next generation.”

Duflock brings over 25 years of experience in the agriculture and technology sectors, with an emphasis on startup development. In addition to his involvement in his fifth-generation family ranch in Monterey County, Duflock has dedicated his career to building programs and strategies at high-growth Silicon Valley startups, including eBay, MerchantCircle (now Reply) and APTARE (now Veritas). In his most recent role, Duflock served as Executive Innovation Leader for SVG Ventures THRIVE.

“I am excited to be joining the WG team and look forward to working with farmers and startups to increase the speed and scale of solutions, especially for food safety and labor automation,” said Duflock. “My decades of experience in agriculture and working with Silicon Valley startups, along with building a successful agtech accelerator, give me the right set of skills to lead WG’s innovation initiative.”

Duflock earned a B.S. degree in Business from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and a law degree from Santa Clara University. He is active in his local community and serves on several volunteer boards, including the Los Gatos United Soccer League and Rancho Cielo, which aims to transform the lives of at-risk youth. In 2019, Duflock launched SAGE, a 501(c)(6) that focuses on sustainable ag and energy and vibrant rural economies. 

Click here for the headshot of Walt Duflock.

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

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CDC Expands Definition of “Close Contact”

October 22nd, 2020

Yesterday, the CDC updated its definition of “close contact” of someone infected with the COVID-19.  Previously, “close contact” was defined as someone spends more than 15 consecutive minutes within six feet of an infected individual. Now, CDC has updated its definition of a close contact as someone who was within six feet of an infected individual for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period, starting from two days before illness onset (or asymptomatic patients, two days prior to test specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.

This means that multiple, brief exposures (e.g., three 5-minute exposures for a total of 15 minutes) may now result in finding that a close contact has occurred. The change has significant implications, including potentially triggering more isolation and quarantine situations, and making contact tracing more difficult.

“[I]t’s critical to wear a mask because you could be carrying the virus and not know it,” the CDC said in a statement Wednesday. “While a mask provides some limited protection to the wearer, each additional person who wears a mask increases the individual protection for everyone.”

Employers are advised to update their IIPP or other workplace protection plans to incorporate the expanded definition of “close contact” and ensure that workplace conduct is consistent with those plans in practice.

Upcoming FBIA Webinar Covers Traceability

October 27th, 2020

Join the Food and Beverage Issue Alliance (FBIA) and the Consumer Brands Association this Monday for insight on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) proposed rule, Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods

On November 2nd, Hogan Lovells U.S. LLP will deliver an overview of the scope of the proposed rule, what the proposed rule could mean for companies and identify specific issues in the proposed rule that could warrant comment to FDA.

There will be a question and answer period following the presentation. Participants are encouraged to send all questions in advance of the webinar to Sarah Brandmeier by October 30.

Registration is open to FBIA members. Western Growers is a member of the FBIA, Western Growers members are welcome to join this webinar.

WEBINAR DETAILS

FBIA Webinar: FDA Proposed Rule for Traceability

Date: Monday, November 2, 2020

Time: 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM PDT

Speakers:

  • Elizabeth Fawell, Partner, Hogan Lovells U.S. LLP

RSVP: CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

For questions, contact Sonia Salas at (949) 885 – 2251.