New USDA Deputy Secretary
On Monday, President Obama announced his intention to nominate Kathleen Merrigan as the Deputy Secretary of USDA. Merrigan is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Agriculture, Food and Environment MS and PhD Program at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, Boston MA. Prior to joining the Friedman School, Merrigan held a variety of policymaking jobs at the state, federal, and international level. From 1999 to 2001, she was Administrator of Agricultural Marketing Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. From 1994 to 1999, she worked at the Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture, and served as an expert consultant at the Food Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. From 1987 to 1992 she was a staff member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, working for Chairman Patrick Leahy. From 1986 to 1987,
Merrigan worked in the regulatory division of the Texas Department of Agriculture and from 1982 to 1985, she worked for Congressman John Olver during his tenure in the Massachusetts State Senate. Merrigan holds a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in environmental planning and policy, a Master of Public Affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, and a B.A. in Political Science and English from Williams College.
Salt Study
The California Food Production and Processing Coalition (the Ag Council is a member) has submitted a letter to the State Water Resources Control Board urging support for proposed funding for the development of a salinity and nutrient management plan for the Central Valley over the next three years. The Salinity and Nitrate Objective and Beneficial Use Study Project will provide foundational work including gathering data and supporting the establishment of beneficial uses and preliminary objectives acceptable for protecting the groundwater basins of the Central Valley. The project will leverage funding and data from studied areas to assist in establishment of uses and objectives throughout the region, including areas which have only limited data. The Coalition believes that the project will significantly contribute to management and control salinity in the Central Valley.
Newly Introduced Bills Please contact us directly if you would like a copy of any of the following bills:
Franchise Taxes - AB 327 (Garrick) Reduces the minimum franchise tax paid by corporations, limited liability partnerships and limited liability companies from $800 to $100 beginning January 1, 2009.
Apple Pests - AB 443 (Galgiani) Implements the California Apple Pest and Disease Prevention Act of 2009 to ensure that apples produced or handled in the state are pest and disease free. The program would be administered by an appointed 11 person committee acting with the concurrence of the Secretary of Food & Agriculture. The committee is responsible for making recommendations to the secretary of designated pests and diseases not already present or identified in California as of January 1, 2007, the establishment of designated areas (outside of California) and the adoption of regulations establishing terms and conditions for handling apples from designated areas to prevent the introduction and spread of designated pests or diseases. The program would be funded through assessment fees authorized and collected by the California Apple Commission.
Farmworker Housing -AB 494 (Caballero) Authorizes a landowner subject to a Williamson Act contract to subdivide (under specified conditions) not more than 10 acres of land under contract and sell or lease it to a nonprofit organization, a city, a county, a housing authority, or a state agency the land will be used for farmworker housing for at least 30 years.
Compatible Use – AB 512 (Yamada) Includes horse breeding and training facilities as a compatible use of land secured under a Williamson Act contract.
Direct Marketing - AB 537 (Arambula) Requires the Secretary of Food & Agriculture to increase access to healthy food for all Californians by allowing redemption of all nutrition program forms of payment at farmers' markets, and to invest in sustainable models of distribution for California-grown products to retail markets in low-income neighborhoods.
Commercial Feed - AB 547 (Mendoza) Extends until January 1, 2015 the existing licensing fee scale that is set $100-$600. The bill also extends the authority of the Secretary of Food & Agriculture to allocate a portion of inspection tax revenues to funding for research and education regarding the safe manufacture, distribution, and use of commercial feed.
Organics - AB 557 (Caballero) Changes the membership of the California Organic Products Advisory Committee from 15 to 16, and would require that the additional member be a certifier who’s accredited by the United States Department of Agriculture.
Cotton Districts - AB 604 (Fuller) Renders several of the duties and powers administered by the San Joaquin Valley Cotton Board inoperative. The board, with the concurrence of the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, is authorized to periodically determine that provisions made inoperative by this bill become operative for a specified period of time. The board is also authorized to make refunds or transfers of moneys deposited in the Food and Agriculture Fund.
Blueberry Commission - AB 606 (Ma) Authorizes the establishment of a California Blueberry Commission to promote research, marketing and education regarding California's blueberry industry.
Aerial Applications - AB 622 (Swanson) Requires the observance of a safety zone of no less than 3.3 miles when pesticides are aerially applied around residential areas, including known sensitive sites, if the pesticide contains any active or inert ingredient that is known to be or suspected to be a carcinogen, a mutagen or an endocrine disruptor.
Water Bond - SB 301 (Florez) Enacts the Water Supply Reliability and Ecosystem Recovery and Restoration Act of 2009, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize, for the purposes of financing specified water supply reliability and ecosystem recovery and restoration programs, the issuance of bonds in the amount of $15,000,000,000.
Milk Pooling - SB 362 (Florez) Repeals the Gonsalves Milk Pooling Act which provides
for equalization pools and milk pooling to govern the production and distribution of fluid milk and fluid cream.
Governor’s Water Bond SB 371(Cogdill) Enacts the Safe, Clean, Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2009 which, if approved by the voters, would authorize, for the purposes of financing specified water supply reliability and water source protection programs, the issuance of bonds in the amount of $9,980,000,000.
Due to the Ag Council’s 90th Annual Meeting, the next issue of In the Know will be distributed on March 13.
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