Yesterday, Western Growers President & CEO Tom Nassif joined a group of national leaders in agriculture, regulatory agencies and legislators to discuss the changes that are occurring in Washington D.C. and how they affect agribusiness in Arizona. During this Arizona Agribusiness Roundtable, Nassif discussed issues directly affecting Western Growers members and the agriculture industry such…
Yesterday, the Arizona Senate passed SB 1063, which allows the Arizona Department of Agriculture—rather than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration—to oversee the FSMA Final Rule on Produce Safety in Arizona. The bill was sponsored by Senator Gail Griffin and passed out of the senate 29 to 1. SB1063 provides the Arizona Department of Agriculture ...
California’s SB 3 requires an increase in minimum wage each year between 2017 and 2022, until the minimum wage reaches $15 an hour. As of January 1, 2019, California’s minimum wage has gone up from $11 per hour to $12 for employers with 26 or more employees. For employers with 25 employees or fewer, the ...
The Arizona State Legislature today passed their portion of the Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan. This is historic for Arizona and on the deadline set by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke. The consensus plan preserves the levels of Lake Mead and mitigates the losses if and when the Lake reaches below Tier 1 ...
House Bill 2275, which clarifies an existing tax exemption ensuring the fairness and consistency of agricultural tax, passed out of the Arizona State House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee yesterday. Arizona is one of only two states being taxed on fertilizer, causing many Arizona growers to cross state lines to purchase their inputs, ultimately ...
Yesterday, Western Growers (WG) was awarded the Alliance Award from the Industrial Commission of Arizona (ICA) for all the work WG has done to help members facilitate safety both on their farms and for their employees. “Western Growers should be an example and benchmark for all industries,” said ICA Chairman Dale Schultz. “Their willingness and ...
Help establish priorities for iceberg lettuce research by participating in the Arizona Iceberg Lettuce Research Council’s (AILRC) 2018 iceberg lettuce research survey. The AILRC requests your participation in the following survey: https://tinyurl.com/AILRC-2018 The results of the survey will help determine the needs of the iceberg lettuce producers when prioritizing research projects that are…
Yesterday, Governor Doug Ducey announced Thomas Buschatzke as head of the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR). Buschatzke has been serving as assistant director for the department's Water Planning Division since 2011. In that capacity, he has been responsible for planning and policy programs for the management of the state's water supplies. According to the…
Earlier this week, the Arizona Senate Commerce Committee passed SB 1061 on a 7-1 vote. This legislation, sponsored by Sen. Gail Griffin at the request of Western Growers, would expressly permit common piece rate compensation practices in Arizona that have come under attack in other states. Specifically, SB 1061 would permit piece wage and commission ...
Western Growers Executive Committee and Arizona Directors, led by Chairman Vic Smith, President and CEO of JV Smith Companies, and President and CEO Tom Nassif, were in Arizona this week for meetings at the Arizona State Capitol. The Western Growers delegation met with statewide officials and legislators regarding several issues facing our members. The ...
The Arizona Department of Agriculture’s Plant Services Division will host two listening sessions in Phoenix and Yuma in early April to gather input on: · Current division regulations impacting stakeholder’s businesses · Current service delivery and potential process improvements…
Governor Ducey signed Executive Order 2015-01 on January 5th. This order, to promote job creation and more customer-oriented agencies, requires all state agencies to provide an evaluation of their rules with recommendations for amending or repealing those that inhibit economic development, are burdensome, antiquated, or contradictory. To comply with this order, the Environmental Services…
On January 5, 2015 Governor Doug Ducey signed Executive Order 2015-01. The purpose of the order is to promote job creation and more customer-oriented agencies, and requires all state agencies to provide an evaluation of their rules with recommendations for amending or repealing those that inhibit economic development, are burdensome, antiquated, or contradictory. As a ...
Late last week, Governor Ducey announced the appointment of former Speaker of the House Mark Killian to lead the Arizona Department of Agriculture. Director Killian officially took over the department on Monday. The new leadership at the ADA is a positive step. Western Growers recommended Mr. Killian's appointment, along with several other ag groups. Western ...
The Arizona Department of Agriculture has announced that it is convening a Citrus Summit on April 28, 2015, at 10 a.m. to discuss pests of concern and quarantines. The meeting is open to the public and will be held at 1688 West Adams Street, Room 206; Phoenix, AZ 85007. A public comment period is scheduled ...
As Arizona’s 23rd Governor, Doug Ducey is somewhat of a newcomer to politics. Although most recently he served a four-year term as State Treasurer, his path to the Ninth Floor is not a usual one. Because of a string of deaths in office, resignations and an impeachment, Ducey is only the second Governor in 40 ...
Arizona’s position as a landlocked state with vast amounts of desert land could be a water nightmare. Yet, since the state’s inception, our policy makers have embarked on a long and distinguished history of protecting our most precious resource. Starting in 1973, Arizona led the nation in regulating groundwater for development. This was followed by ...
By AnnaMarie Knorr The unions have not been shy in taking advantage of Arizona’s low threshold to refer laws to the ballot. In 2006, they created Arizona’s first minimum wage law through the initiative process. Ten years later, they are at it again. The Fair Wages and Healthy Families Initiative, as filed by the unions, ...
The only poll that matters is the one taken on Election Day when voters go to the polls and cast their votes. This was especially true this year. Nationally, the presidential election certainly proved the pollsters wrong. In Arizona, pollsters also got it wrong. All of the hype that Arizona was turning blue was laid ...
Farming isn’t the only job that necessitates working on a holiday. The Arizona Legislature provided a Memorial Day to remember, working throughout the entire holiday to wrap up the state budget and adjourn Sine Die in the wee hours of the morning on Tuesday, May 28. While they did not achieve their statutory deadline of ...