Posts By: Matt McInerney

Colorado Welcomed into the Western Growers Family

Yesterday, Western Growers announced its expansion into Colorado with the unveiling of a strategic partnership with the Colorado Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (CFVGA).  The collaboration is outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding agreed upon by both organizations. “For almost 90 years, Western Growers has represented members from California and Arizona in Washington, D.C. when…

Alliance for Food and Farming Poses Inconvenient Questions for ‘Dirty Dozen’ Group

In response to the Environmental Working Group’s release of its annual Dirty Dozen list, the Alliance for Food and Farming (AFF) posed a “half dozen” inconvenient questions to highlight the lack of science and conflicting information inherent in the list.  For the last 20 years the EWG has inaccurately disparaged many of the most popular ...

WG Seminar: Navigating Best Practices for Successful Sales Contracts

The most effective PACA training the industry has to offer is coming to the Salinas Valley! AND YOU’RE INVITED! On Tuesday, March 31, 2015, Western Growers and the Grower-Shipper Association will hold a FREE seminar in Salinas, California, to demonstrate to you and your team the best industry practices for completing successful sales contracts. Gather ...

Join WG in Salinas for a FREE PACA Seminar and Lunch

Next Tuesday, March 31, Western Growers will present a FREE 90-minute PACA training seminar in Salinas at the Monterey County Ag Commissioners Conference Center.  And there's no need to 'PACA' your lunch as a free hosted lunch is included.  Matt McInerney, executive vice president of Western Growers, and Tom Oliveri, director, Trade Practices & Commodity ...

Nassif Reappointed by U.S. Ag Secretary to USDA Advisory Committee

Western Growers President and CEO Tom Nassif has been reappointed by USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman to serve on the Agriculture Policy Advisory Committee (APAC).  According to a United States Department of Agriculture release, APAC is an advisory committee system established in 1974 to ensure a private-sector voice in setting ...

ELD Implementation to be Detailed in Free Webinar

On November 21, Western Growers and C.H. Robinson will overview the impact of Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) on refrigerated transportation and will highlight the new ELD mandate that goes into effect on December 18, 2017. The free live webinar will begin at 11:00 a.m. PST on Tuesday, November 21, 2017. As previously reported in Spotlight, ...

CDFA Seeking Nominations for Standardization Advisory Committee

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is looking to fill nine vacancies on the Standardization Advisory Committee. This committee makes recommendations to the CDFA Secretary on all matters regarding the Standardization Program—a program which enforces laws and regulations governing minimum standards for maturity, quality, size, standard container and pack and container…

Canadian Produce Marketing Association Hosts Food Safety Forum and Town Hall in Salinas

On February 20, 2018, the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) will be hosting a food safety forum and town hall in Salinas, Calif., on the soon-to-be published Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) and updates on the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). This event is part of CPMA’s revitalized food safety focus. This information ...

Tops Markets Files Bankruptcy Citing Debt Levels

Tops Markets announced that it is filing for bankruptcy to eliminate a substantial portion of debt from the company’s balance sheet. We understand that this financial restructure may affect a number of Western Growers members, and if shippers are in need of guidance with their PACA Trust rights, please contact Western Growers Trade Practices Department. ...

EWG Releases “Dirty Dozen” List, Again Targeting Strawberries & Spinach

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) released their annual “Dirty Dozen” list yesterday, and once again, the group targeted strawberries and spinach as having the most pesticide residues. The EWG has a reputation of misleading consumers about pesticide residues and produce, and year over year, their list has been repeatedly discredited by scientists and peer reviewed ...

USDA Seeks Nominations for Fruit & Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking nominations to fill 25 positions on its Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee (FVIAC). FVIAC was established in 2001 to examine issues facing the fruit and vegetable industry and to provide recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture on ways to improve programs to better meet the changing needs ...

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Agricultural Exception Guidance on ELD Utilization

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued regulatory guidance today to clarify the applicability of the “Agricultural Commodity” exception with the “Hours of Service of Drivers.” The guidance clarifies the exception with regard to: Drivers operating unladen vehicles traveling either to pick up an agricultural commodity or returning from a delivery point to…

New Kroger Payment Terms Conflict with PACA Trust Rights

Kroger sent out a letter to shippers recently announcing their new August 1, 2018 standardized payment terms of Net 90 days. Accepting these new payment terms directly conflict with protection rights under the PACA Trust. Agreeing to any extension beyond 30 days permanently waives your PACA trust protection. Under PACA, to be eligible for trust ...

Industry Push Back Against New Kroger Payment Policy

Kroger sent out a letter to shippers recently announcing their new August 1, 2018 standardized payment terms of Net 90 days. The new policy directly conflicts with protection rights under the PACA Trust. Agreeing to any extension beyond 30 days permanently waives the PACA Trust protection for any produce supplier. Since receiving this notice, Western ...

Kroger: Never negotiate away your PACA Trust Rights, regardless of the customer even for the invitation to participate in Kroger’s early payment program

Many of you may have received a letter from Kroger (click here), or you have no doubt read in the Western Growers Spotlight (click here) or other trade publications about Kroger’s attempt to brazenly extend payment terms on the backs of suppliers to 90 days.  Effective August 1, 2018, Kroger wants to raise capital on ...

Kroger Rescinds New Payment Policy Following Industry Push Back

Kroger sent a response today in regards to a letter from the USDA’s PACA Division Director, Judith Wey Rudman. It states that produce suppliers under PACA are not required to participate in the Net 90 payment terms. This, following a unified push back against Kroger’s original announcement about the policy, would have directly conflicted with ...

How to Become a Certified USDA Vendor – Webinars Offered This Month

The USDA is developing trade mitigation programs to assist farmers in response to trade damage from unjustified tariff retaliation from China and other countries. The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is offering a food purchase and distribution program that will be offered to specialty crop growers. However, in order to qualify and sell directly to USDA, ...

Overview of Trade Mitigation Programs for Specialty Crops

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has launched the trade mitigation package to assist farmers suffering from damage due to unjustified trade retaliation by foreign nations. The package offers three means of assistance to specialty crop commodities: Food Purchase and Distribution Program, Agricultural Trade Promotion Program, and a program that has yet to be determined ...

PACA Trust Rights and Bankruptcy: Defeating a Preference Claim

We are pleased to provide a guest article from Mr. Jason Read.  R. Jason Read is a partner with the law firm of Rynn & Janowsky, LLP, devoting the majority of his practice to PACA and other aspects of agriculture law. You can access Mr. Read’s bio at http://www.rjlaw.com/read.php. You sell a load of produce.  You ...

United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Reached Over the Weekend

Over the weekend, the United States, Mexico and Canada reached an agreement to modernize and rebalance trade between the countries. The new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will enable food and agriculture to trade more fairly, and could help expand exports of American agricultural products. All food and agricultural products that have zero tariffs under the ...