USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service is accepting applications from eligible organizations for fiscal year 2021 funding for five export market development programs. The application deadline for the five programs is June 26, 2020. Market Access Program Under the Market Access Program, USDA provides competitive, cost-share assistance to U.S. exporters and agricultural, fish, and forest product…
USDA is accepting applications now through August 28, 2020. The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) provides financial assistance to producers of agricultural commodities who have suffered a five-percent-or-greater price decline or who had losses due to market supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19 and face additional significant market costs. Visit USDA’s Farmers.gov to view the…
Cal/OSHA has provided new guidance, including a video and checklists, on COVID-19 infection prevention in the agriculture industry. The video and checklists are intended to help agricultural employers implement their plan to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. This guidance does not introduce any new legal obligations, but because COVID-19 is widespread in ...
FDA and USDA have released a guidance document offering recommendations for addressing shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), cloth face coverings, disinfectants, and sanitation supplies in the food and agriculture industry. Click here to access the full PPE guidance document. According to the guidance document, Sector entities can apply the following considerations when attempting to…
The Federal Reserve announced a series of upcoming webinars and drop-in sessions for potential Main Street Lending Program (MSLP) borrowers. The sessions will be on May 29 and June 3. This webinar is an opportunity for potential borrowers to learn more about the program and ask questions to senior officials from the Federal Reserve. To allow ...
Last Thursday, May 21st, WG President and CEO Dave Puglia joined KCBS (San Francisco) Radio’s Stan Bunger to field coronavirus-related questions from the Bay Area audience. During the popular Ask an Expert segment, Puglia covered concerns ranging from supply chain disruptions to food bank donations to worker protections. Click here to listen to the full ...
On Friday, May 22nd, the Calif. Department of Water Resources announced that the State Water Project (SWP) now expects to deliver 20 percent of requested supplies in 2020 as a result of above-average precipitation in May. An initial allocation of 10 percent was announced in December and increased to 15 percent in January. The announcement ...
As your company continues to navigate the current business and public health climate, schedule some regular time to review the WG COVID-19 Resources Page. At the top of the page, you’ll notice a “Latest Updates” section, which will help you identify the most recent guidance and resources. In case you missed it, here are the ...
With heavy hearts, we share the sad news of the passing of Tom Oliveri, who passed away in his home Thursday morning, May 28, at the age of 67. Affectionately known as “Tommy O” by Western Growers (WG) members and many others throughout the industry, Oliveri retired from the association in January 2018, several months ...
By Cory Lunde and Stephanie Metzinger When Boaz Bachar and Iftach Birger founded Fieldin in Israel seven years ago, the millions of dollars they saved growers in pest management in such a short amount of time was impressive. The start-up company has now brought its smart sprayer to the California market to help Western Growers ...
Cal-OES State Operations Center made a number of surgical masks and cloth masks available for farmworkers and other agricultural employees, with the cloth masks intended specifically for migrant housing facilities. These have shipped to County Ag Commissioners’ (CAC) offices and will be made available according to local needs. This is a one-time emergency shipment to ...
Last Friday, May 8th, Calif. Rep. T.J. Cox (CA-21) headlined a letter to House leadership calling for any COVID-19 infrastructure stimulus package to include the Bureau of Reclamation infrastructure. Bureau of Reclamation facilities supply drinking water for 31 million people and irrigation water for over 10 million acres of farmland. The letter states: “Farms and…